THE Plant of This Year's Show?

At every garden show there's always one plant which flies off the stands to feature prominently in lots of bags and trolleys. Yesterday at Malvern was no exception.

This is Fatsia japonica 'Spider's Web', which displayed itself to perfection in the Floral Marquee on a dull and rainy day. Even I succumbed as I have just the spot in the garden which needs a lift via some lighter foliage. The person in the queue behind me was also buying this plant and the person behind her said:
'Gosh it's real, I thought it was plastic!'

It wasn't to everyone's taste* - I could tell by the look on Victoria's face she didn't like it. However, I was called over excitedly by the volunteers on the RHS stand who all demanded to know the identity of the plant in my bag. Also Claudia de Yong's designer's eye could see the possibilities for a shady spot.

Variegated plants have a reputation for reverting back to green when placed in the shade. I've been assured that this shouldn't happen - I'll be reporting back to Claudia on how this plant fares in my garden.

* = see this article by Geoff Stebbings - I can see his point re the foliage resembling red spider mite damage. I usually don't go for variegated foliage myself, but I can see how my purchase can work in the spot I have in mind for it.

Other blog posts:

• Veg Plotting has a show overview
• Helen has a thorough look at the nurseries, plus her personal experiences of AGS showing and helping on the Avon Bulbs stand
• Ann has put together a two page journal with plenty of snippets about the show
• Sign of the Times has a poignant message from one of the schools gardens
• The Cynical Gardener shows off her haul from the Floral Marquee
• Naturally, the other blog dedicated to Malvern has a few things to say on the subject (work back from this link to find plenty of other posts about this year's show)
• I'll add further links from other attendees as and when I find them. Let me know about yours in the comments below

A Quick Walk and Some Snippets About May :)

Life has been very hectic lately with trips up to Birmingham on various family errands, so it was lovely on Monday to stop off at Malvern on the way home to catch up with what's happening with the preparations for the Spring Show.

I was a bit too early for my appointment, so an added bonus was parking the car close to Helen's and taking a quick walk at the foot of the Malverns on the common land near her house. As you can see it was a glorious spring day and a real tonic after a stressful morning.

It was great to see Vicky, Nina and Sharon again and to find out what's in store for us in May. There's eleven showgardens entered for the Chris Beardshaw Scholarship which is significantly up on last year's numbers. I'm hoping some of them will feature in guest posts here at Meet @ Malvern once the build gets underway on the 18th April. This year's theme is Atom, so there's lots of scope for interesting features and focal points in the designs.

Last year's Biodiversity theme continues in the Garden in Harmony theatre where James will again be master of all he surveys. Previous CBS winner Paul Hervey-Brookes has designed the stage area plus two satellite gardens. See my Green Shoots post for more details on this year's programme of events.

The theatre will be further from the coffee/catering area this year so we need to think where it'll be best for us to meet up at the show, especially as we won't have our Bloggers' meeting area this time. We do have the option of using the large flags to create a meet-up point though, so your thoughts on where these might go if we use them are welcome.

A new feature for this year's show is a book slot, with various garden authors appearing on each day to talk about their books and to sign copies. I'm pleased to see that quite a few of last year's Meet will feature prominently: Mark with his Taste of the Unexpected; Lia's lovely Twilight Garden and Anne Wareham with her hot off the press The Bad Tempered Gardener. I'll tell you more when I have the full list of authors and appearance dates.

It looks like it's going to be a great show!

Green Shoots for the Spring Show

You don't need to worry about getting there just yet, but already bloggers are making their plans to attend this year's show...

Malvern Spring Show may seem like it's far away, but already the PR team are hard at work to tell us about the 'green shoots' they have planned for this year. I'll be back shortly with a revamped Meet @ Malvern site to tell you more about what's happening here on the blogging front. In the meantime, sit back and have a look at Sharon Gilbert's recent press release...

For the first time ever, the Malvern Spring Gardening Show (12-15 May 2011) is dedicating its entire theatre programme to the subject of conserving the natural environment, and will be showing green-fingered visitors how small changes in the way they garden, can make a significant impact on local, and ultimately global, diversity.

The new ‘Garden in Harmony Theatre’ boasts two walk-through gardens designed by 2010 Chris Beardshaw Mentoring Scholarship winner, Paul Hervey-Brookes. The ‘In Flight Garden’ is a pocket space of valuable wildlife habitats and native species, and the ‘Companion Garden’ is an area of pest-repellent, companion planting.

Television gardener and designer, James Alexander-Sinclair is the host for an exciting four-day programme of talks and demonstrations from a star-studded line-up of respected gardeners, wildlife enthusiasts and industry experts, speaking about subjects ranging from log hotels, compost cafes, natural predators, habitat creation and rain gardens.

Matthew Wilson (Landscape Man, Channel 4) and herb expert Jekka McVicar are heading up the discussion panel on Thursday May 12, and talking about rain gardens and integrated pest management respectively.

On Friday May 13, ‘Biodiversity – What, Why and How?’ is the subject of a talk by award-winning garden designer and television presenter, Chris Beardshaw, and on the same day, Kim Hurst of The Cottage Herbery, will demonstrate organic and natural planting.

Joe Swift (BBC Gardeners’ World) takes to the stage on Saturday 14 to explain how even the smallest urban garden can work in harmony with the natural environment, without compromising on beauty and style, and Brigit Strawbridge and Tony Grey will be talking about wild bees, beekeeping and the importance of pollination and planting.

The RSPB will also be at the Show on Saturday with its Garden Bird Roadshow.

Mike Dilger (‘Wild Gardens’, ‘Springwatch’ and ‘The ONE Show’) makes his Malvern debut on Saturday and Sunday 14 and 15, with a look at garden wildlife and natural predators. He will also lead a new Showground nature trail for children and adults, which will take in foraging, pond dipping and habitats.

Said Sharon Gilbert, Press & PR Manager for the Showground: “The programme of global conservation agreed at the UN Convention on Biodiversity in Nagoya last year was a great breakthrough in the fight to protect our natural environment.

Gardening is one area where the general public can do its bit to preserve and create habitats, plant native species, compost waste, garden organically and dig ponds. It might be small scale, but it all contributes to the global effort, and events like ours must get behind the initiative, keep up the momentum and promote the message to as many people as possible.

We are very excited by the prospect of dedicating this year’s theatre programme to such an important subject, and hope that Britain’s gardeners will use some of the ideas they glean from the speakers to make a few small changes at home.”

The Floral Marquee

The giant Floral Marquee is one of Malvern's tipitty-top highlights. As it's the show's Silver Jubilee this year, the organisers are ensuring that it'll be the best ever. 104 nurseries will be exhibiting, including Bob Brown's fabulous Cotswold Garden Flowers nursery - Gardens Illustrated readers may recognise him from his monthly plant selection column this year - NB he will not be exhibiting at Chelsea, so his appearance is always a major coup for Malvern.

Of these 104, 25 nurseries have been invited to form the Marquee's centrepiece on the theme of Celebration. David Matthewman, famed for his sweet peas is coming back specially (having retired 2 years ago) to provide the anniversary cake. All nurseries have the chance to contribute their favourite plant for a Best of the Best display: they will also be judged for RHS medals as usual and there will be a new People's Choice award, so we will have the opportunity to vote for our favourite exhibit.

If all that plus my couple of photos from last year doesn't whet your appetite enough, here's Happy Mouffetard's in-depth tour around last year's Floral Marquee (text and photos are her copyright as usual). NB do take her tip about visiting early in the day - it can get rather crowded.

SomeBeans has banned me from buying any more seeds this year. He didn't, however, mention anything about not buying plants. So, it was with itchy fingers that I entered the floral marquee on Saturday.

It's always the first place we go, to try and avoid the huge crowds later in the day. And what a wonderful sight to the plant lover. Such variety, such care taken over the displays. So many great plants that I wanted.

I'm not a huge fan of bonsai, but this hawthorn was eye-catching.


I'm also not a fan of auriculas, but another great display. I can see why people get obsessed with the different flower colours, the doubles, the farina, even if I can't understand it myself.

This peony, on the other hand, is so delicious I could have eaten it.

From peonies to pleiones - I wish I was brave enough to try and grow them.

This angelica looked stunning against the canvas of the marquee.

And finally, to continue my obsession this year with tulips, I loved the light coming through these petals.

I didn't actually buy any of the plants above, though. I bought...

Astrantia 'Hapsden Blood', Geum 'Borissii', and Centaurea montana 'Alba', each of which I've been able to split. Very restrained of me, I think you'll agree.

Malvern Memories: A Real Shopper

Whilst we're on the subject of shopping, Anna admirably demonstrates the rewards that proper dedication to the art can bring. I've combined a couple of her previous posts to bring you:

First up at Meet @ Malvern is the house that Himself built...

I am away from home and garden at the moment but himself is keeping me updated with his progress in putting up my new greenhouse. We bought this at the Malvern Spring Show back in May at a special show price. I did not have any intentions of making such a purchase before the show and was sweet talked into it by himself. However I am smitten with it already - it's bigger and better than its predecessor whose removal still caused my eyes to moisten as it departed for pastures new. I can't wait to get home later this week to make a start getting everything sorted out and to sow some sweet peas.

...and then she took us home to meet the family...

They are sociable, are not fussy eaters, do not play loud music at night and only speak when they are spoken to !

They came home with us after we visited the Malvern Spring Gardening Show earlier this year. Himself having not only talked me into buying a new greenhouse but also into purchasing a Can -O- Worms from Wiggly Wrigglers who were exhibiting at the show. We shared our campervan with a thousands worms for a night or two - well I am exaggerating somewhat - they were in a sealed bag in a storage box, fixed to the back of the van. There was definitely no danger of any of them worming their way into our bed.

I must admit that I had hankered after a wormery for several years and just like the greenhouse they were on sale at a special show price. They are a source of constant amusement - I disappear into the shed at least once a day to check on their well being and to talk to them. However I do not think I will have any usable compost until the spring and I do not think that there will be vast amounts in the future to bulk up my allotment beds. My thoughts were confirmed by a recent visit to the library where I read a report on wormeries in "Which ? Gardening". Although Can- O -Worms emerged as the best buy the report advised that this product will not meet all the average gardener's compost needs. I am not complaining though as I think that I am getting my moneys worth in enjoyment, as well as having another place to dispose of kitchen waste. The question of the moment is whether they will be warm and cosy enough in the shed overwinter or should I bring them inside? Himself is not enthusiastic about the latter option.

Their very first meal ~

Anna wrote this in October 2009, so it looks like her worms have thrived since last year's Spring Show. And only last week she wrote about how delighted she still is with her greenhouse.

Content and pictures courtesy of Greentapestry.

The Gentle Art of Shop 'Til You Drop

A few days ago Frances realised she and Gail won't be able to take part in the fun that is stuffing-your-car-with-as-many-plants-and-gardening-gadgets-as-you-possibly-can-plus-a-few-more game and was feeling a little disappointed. That very same day, @Malvernmeet Twitter follower Sarah Walker (aka @ArtShades) delivered the guest post she'd kindly agreed to do which shows some of the other shopping opportunities available. There's plenty of quality arts and crafts to be found courtesy of the Worcestershire Guild of Designer Craftsmen and their stalls are in the very same cattle sheds which Edith told us about in her recent guest post.

So without further ado, here's Sarah to tell you a little more about life as an exhibitor...

The Malvern Spring Gardening show is as eagerly awaited by enthusiastic craftsmen from the three counties of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire as it is by enthusiastic gardeners.

For members of the Worcestershire Guild of Designer Craftsmen it’s the first big show of the year and we all look forward to meeting at Malvern in May. It’s great to get together again after months of toiling away alone in our workshops and many of us haven’t seen each other since our pre-Christmas show.

The show set-up is full of enthusiasm – we are all eager to unpack new stock and reveal our new designs. It’s a cheery and fun atmosphere with everyone helping each other to put on a good display. There’s everything from fine furniture to ceramics, a variety of textiles and many forms of glass, willow baskets and silverware, forged metalwork and jewellery in numerous styles and materials.

Most of us bounce in bright and early on the first morning of the show full of optimism and anticipation. There’s always a discussion about the weather forecast and how many layers we have or haven’t put on. The weather at the show over the years has ranged from four days of cold winds and constant rain to sweltering heat when you can think of far better places to be than a dusty cattle shed.

On the first day the serious RHS gardeners appear once they have scoured the show for the prize plants and visited the floral marquee to see the blooms at there very best. There is a steady flow of visitors and it is a very civilised atmosphere – these visitors know quality when they see it! As exhibitors from the same tribe we share the excitement of the first big sales and wide grins are exchanged as a Guild member leads their first customer to the communal credit card machine. It’s a long day, but everyone is fired up by the positive response to their work and goes home happy.

Friday is busy from the start – it’s usually a good day for sales. Visitors are chatty and interested in our work, often they have taken the day off work to be there and they make serious purchases. It is also the start of the game we play – spotting the ‘must-have’ plant of the year. We start to make predictions as more and more of the same thing comes wafting past. One year it was Acers, another double clematis, then hellebores, hostas, blue Himalayan poppies and ornamental grasses. We go home happy, but in need of that large glass of wine.

Saturday is full of couples and keen families. For me it’s great that husbands and wives are shopping together as my lamps are often a joint purchase. We start to spot the gadget of the year – usually a cumbersome object that is designed to inflict as much damage as possible on the surrounding crowds. Over the years we’ve seen the telescopic window mop, all manner of folding wheelbarrows, the brightly coloured plastic trugs and wire plant supports (often worn elegantly around the husband’s neck). Sales are usually brisk and we are busy chatting to our customers. We start to flag in the afternoon and if some kind soul has baked a cake word soon gets round and you’ll find us deserting our stands and hotfooting it to the tea cubicle for a sugar rush. By the end of the day our bums are numb from perching on a high at-eye-level-with-your-customer stool, our feet ache and we are tiring of being so nice to everyone! We get home and immediately bark at our loved ones for not anticipating just how tired we would be and making sure the dinner is ready and waiting. At this point you wonder if you’ll ever be able to smile at anyone again.

Everyone drags themselves in on Sunday and the show takes a while to get going. We moan a lot on Sundays! Our joviality has run out and we now know why it is we work alone. Having confirmed both the plant and the gadget of the year we are now sick of seeing them. If it’s hot we like to complain about the amount of flesh on show, the dripping ice creams, the sticky fingers and where we’d rather be. If it’s wet we moan about the dripping waterproofs, brollies and contents of the burger buns. Many of the visitors have no interest in what we are selling and plod aimlessly through the hall following the crowd in front, without ever turning their heads. One bonus is that we don’t have to smile as much on a Sunday as so few people make eye contact! We are eternally grateful to those that show a genuine interest in our talents and hand over their hard-earned money on a Sunday. They are the real highlights of our long day.

As 6pm draws near, and word goes round that we can pack up, the lethargy disperses and we dismantle our stands and march our boxes back out to the cars and vans with renewed vigour. The display boards and electrics are whisked away and we all help to load up the trailers. After four days in a darkened shed I lift my eyes to the beauty of the Malvern Hills and am eternally grateful that I live there. I am within just five minutes of that bottle of Pinot Grigio waiting for me in the fridge. Cheers!

We hope you can tear yourself away from all that is gardening and venture into the Wye Hall to say hello.

Sarah Walker

Sarah designs and makes contemporary lampshades and writes a blog about her design ideas which are often inspired by her garden on the Eastern slopes of the Malvern Hills. [She also visited Painswick Rococo Gardens a few days after I did and it's interesting to see how her visit and The Exedra in particular, inspired her - Ed]

She is a member of the Worcestershire Guild of Designer Craftsmen, which exhibits in the Wye Hall at the Malvern Spring Gardening Show and the Malvern Autumn Show.

Malvern Memories: The Other Malvern Spring Show

Staying with the theme of exploring outside of the Showground, Happy Mouffetard takes us back to the splendours of the Malvern Hills which can be seen in springtime...

What a weekend. I'll write lots on the Malvern spring garden show tomorrow when I'm back home, including which garden designer was upstaged by an egg-laying chicken [don't worry it'll get featured later on - Ed]. However, just in case anyone is thinking of going to the Malvern Show tomorrow [or even this year] and wants to round off a great day out with something even more spectacular, I'd recommend a trip to Cowleigh Woods in West Malvern.

And here's why...







And then we had a quick trip to Welland Village Hall, where there are these beautiful green-winged orchids.



Stunning!

Contents and photographs courtesy (and copyright) of The Inelegant Gardener.

3 Men Going to Malvern

A tempting trailer to get your pulses racing...



There was a problem with the sound on the embedded version earlier on today, so here's a direct link just in case the same thing happens when you're watching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5uBAdO6Y-c

Press Cuttings

All publications like to keep all the nice things people say about them and Meet @ Malvern is no exception. Of course being a blog, press cuttings are kept that little bit differently: in the form of links to the posts other bloggers have written. So there's a new link list in the sidebar today as a way of saying thank you to everyone's that's posted about Meet @ Malvern so far called (rather unoriginally I fear) What They're Saying About Meet @ Malvern. Naturally, this has been put there to tempt you further into coming and joining the fun and also to introduce you to anyone you may be unfamiliar with.

Rest assured if I've missed out your post about Meet @ Malvern, it wasn't my intention. Get in touch in the usual way with your post's link and I'll get it on there ASAP.

There Will Be Cake!

Yay! We'll have a birthday girl amongst our midst at Malvern, so Helen has volunteered to mark the occasion properly with a cake. Things got a bit out of hand on Twitter the other day, so @gardenergirl1's expectations may be a little high as we eventually had three possibilities of rather nice men (James, Chris Beardshaw and Matthew Wilson) leaping out of various cakes to deliver her birthday greetings.

We've had an amazing response from you to say you're interested in coming to the show so I've offered Helen my own cakely contribution - probably different to that shown above, but I felt a post about cake was in desperate need of a picture of one ;)

I'll be updating the blog soon with the details of who's coming and when, plus availability for meals out. This is so:

a) You can see what's what

b) You can let me know anything that's incorrect or changed

c) Others will be tempted into coming along

Once published, I'll be updating that post regularly, so do keep your eye on it!

Coming Soon

I just thought you'd like to know what's coming up on here in the run up to Malvern. If there's something else about the show you'd like to see, then let us know and we'll add it to the 'To Do' list. Offers of guest posts and any contributions (e.g. photos) for any of the proposed posts are welcome too :)

• Who's coming
• Arrangements for our Meet
• Show highlights
• Show guide - hints & tips to get the best out of your visit
• My Malvern - Helen introduces you to her home town
• Guest Post from Claire Potter - re the 25th Anniversary Show Garden
• Guest Post from Deb Bird - re her Show Garden
• VPs VIPs - interview with Nina, the show organiser
• Where to stay
• How to get there
• Malvern Memories - a round up of blog posts and photos from previous years, especially for those of you needing more temptation to persuade you to come
• Something for the weekend - for those of you staying over who may also want to take the opportunity to see something of the area

Some of these posts will get updated as things get firmed up or more news comes along. Remember, it's your Meet, so Helen and I welcome your questions, comments, ideas for articles and fun things we could all do at the show.

Michelle
xxx

Can We Tempt You?

James has not only kindly mentioned Meet @ Malvern in his latest post, he's also divulged some news of what's happening this year:

The exact plan is still under review but hopefully quite a few of you will get there: I am there, as usual on every day but the exciting news (if you are easily influenced) is that Joe Swift and Cleve West are also there on Friday and Saturday so we will be doing the first ever Three Men Went To Mow - Live. [this news alone will be sufficient to get many of us quivering with anticipation - Ed]

Again we are unsure what we will do but it should be jolly. On Sunday, Joe and I will be Cleveless. For those of keener on gazing upon the perfectly formed torso of Chris Beardshaw* he will be in attendance on the Thursday. Also available will be the effervescent Katie Johnson** to keep us in order and the ever knowledgeable Reg Moule** to answer those horticultural questions that leave us stumped.

There will be Acrobats as well [the show has a circus theme this year].

* = This will be for the judging of the Chris Beardshaw design mentorship bursary - more on this in a later post

** = these will be familiar faces to previous attendees who've gone to events in the Design Theatre. They're the people who hand the microphones round for audience questions and join in with all the banter

I'll keep you updated on what's happening as soon as I have any more news :)

Tempted? Then do come and join us!