Cult-Vate Live at Malvern Spring Show Part #002

Malvern Spring Gardening Show at the three counties show ground was on from May 8th – May 11th this year and what a show it was! Despite the very late season there was a fantastic array of plants on display. Here are a few of Culti-Vate’s highlights from the show!

Floral Marquee Stands

To start with, my favourite display  was in the floral marquee this year, Hampshire Carnivorous Plants. I am not normally a fan of carnivorous plants but this stand was just so full of life and colour I couldn’t help but love it. The vivid colours and intricate patterns of each of the plants were mesmerising. I am looking forward to seeing their display at Chelsea this year, hopefully they will be adding to their tally of Chelsea golds! They won gold at Malvern for this display.

Hampshire Carnivorous Plants

Craig House Cacti  had a great display, with some very impressive mature cacti. (gold medal) 

The best floral marquee exhibit prize went to Southfield Nurseries for their fabulous cacti stand, there was so much colour!

Pleinoe & Hostas, an amazing ‘White Feather’ Hostas, this is on my ‘must grow’ list.

Matthewmans Sweetpeas (gold medal)

Another great cacti stand in the marquee was The Plant Lovers, I got some great help and advise here along with two new additions to my  growing succulent & cacti collection. (silver-gilt medal)

Grafton Nursery  – I purchased a great Eucalyptus glaucescens from here, more info coming soon. They also had great plant pots! (gold medal)

Warmenhoven had a very dramatic and colourful display, the amaryllis were particularly spectacular! (gold medal)

Show Gardens

There were quite a few show gardens, 15 to be exact. All of which had appealing features, but the two that stood out the most to me personally are the ones photographed below. I chose these two for similar reasons; they both had very naturalistic planting and both had unique design styles, two of the things that always stand out to me in show gardens. Don’t get me wrong I love innovative raised beds and planters and neat stone paths teamed with elegant structures, but sometimes it’s the more chaotic natural elements that work the best and stand out the most.  The burial garden in particular had wonderful grassy mounds with intermingled ‘Ravenswing’ Anthriscus sylvestris and cowslips Primula veris. I can see my mum re-creating the Boathouse in her woodland, she has had half a small rowing boat lying around since she persuaded dad into bringing it back from another exhibit at Chelsea one year! 

Boathouse No.9 by Mark Eveleigh (silver-gilt medal)

Natural Burial Site Garden by Felix Dennis Estate, designer Ann Sharrock (bronze medal)

 

The amateur gardener categories – always a favourite!

The colour of the Primula auricula ‘ice cap’ is perfect, this has to be my favourite flower of the show. It won 1st prize in it’s category.

Malvern Spring was great fun this year, not just hard work! Culti-Vate met a lot of great people who were extremely helpful and encouraging, some of who you will be hearing more about later in the year. Our little Culti-Vate stand did quite well, hopefully if you came to the show you saw our lovely boxes of edibles and displays of flowering Ranunculus.