ALMOST 100,000 people flocked to the Three Counties Showground as the 2015 RHS Malvern Spring Festival hit the town.
The very best in horticulture and food was on display as visitors enjoyed 15 show gardens, more than 80 award-winning nursery displays, local and international food producers and top tips from celebrity chefs and garden experts.
Raymond Blanc, MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace and Otter Farm’s Mark Diacono were three of the high profile names headlining the Festival Theatre alongside BBC Gardeners’ World presenters Monty Don and Joe Swift.
A RECORD number of RHS gold medals were awarded as more than 90,000 people came through the gates of the 2015 Spring Festival.
The four-day event, which celebrated its 30th anniversary, ran from Thursday (May 7) to Sunday (May 10) and saw more than 500 exhibitors, 80 floral exhibitors in the Floral Marquee, seven show gardens, eight festival gardens, three feature gardens and 11 school gardens.
Gold medal winners included An Andalusian Moment by Jason Hales in the best show garden category, best festival garden entry Constraining Nature by Kate Durr, The Gift of Life by Keyscape Landscape Design and As Mad As A Hatter by Gary Bristow.
Drointon Nurseries also scooped gold in the Floral Marquee for their twist on the traditional Auricula theatre along with Halina Steele for the Best Botanical Art Exhibit.
The festival also saw the launch of the Princess Charlotte Auricula, by Drointon Nurseries, named after the birth of Princess Charlotte.
Ken Nottage, chief executive of Three Counties Agricultural Society, said: “Our 30th RSH Malvern Spring Festival has been an absolute success.
“We have welcomed over 90,000 people to the Three Counties Showground, seen more RHS Gold medal awarded than ever before and enjoyed some of the finest exhibitors and celebrities that the worlds of gardening and food have to offer.
“The atmosphere has been fantastic, there has been a real festival vibe and we are sad that it is all over but elated that we are continuing to go from strength to strength.
“We are now firmly looking forward to the Royal Three Counties Show in June.”
