Tag: animals

Malvern Autumn Show rolls out its new Giant Red Apple

August 15, 2023

How do you like them apples?

Pictured L-R: Kate Dufton – Malvern Autumn Show Lead, Daisy Allen, David Prescott and Suzi Freely – Three Counties and Helen Weston – Westons Cider.

Much Marcle, Herefordshire

They say that the apple never falls far from the tree and that is definitely the case with Helen Weston, the great granddaughter of Westons founder Henry Weston, who heads up the famous cider makers. Helen and her team are proud Herefordians and keen supporters of the local Three Counties Showground in nearby Malvern, having a long association with Malvern Autumn Show they were only too happy to unveil the new giant apple at their Much Marcle factory.

The UK’s biggest harvest celebration, the Malvern Autumn Show has rolled out a giant 8ft apple in celebration of this year’s event. The ginormous rosy fruit couldn’t have been more at home when it was launched earlier this week by the head of Westons Cider, Helen Weston, at the cider makers UK headquarters in Herefordshire.

A selfie magnet for visitors to Westons Cider, the apple towers at over 8ft in height and weighs in at a whopping 75 kilos and will provide visitors to Much Marcle with lots of photo opportunities over the coming weeks, as a beacon for the country’s largest autumnal event.

Malvern Autumn Show Festival is athree-day seasonal extravaganza held at the Three Counties Showground, in association with Westons Cider from 22 – 24 September 2023, with a whole host of celebrity chefs, gardening experts, theatres, immersive experiences and interactive demonstrations.

The show features an unmissable line-up showcasing the country’s best-known expert horticulturalists and foodie personalities, including BBC Gardeners World presenters Adam Frost and Arit Anderson, plus celebrated authors Arthur Parkinson, Ben Dark and Kiran Sidhu and Great British Bake-Off stars Crystelle Pereira and Jurgen Krauss, alongside their fellow champion baker and Strictly star John Whaite.

Next on the Giant Apple Tour itinerary is John Lewis in Cheltenham, with the giant welly arriving on 24^th August to 4^th September, followed by Gloucester Quays from 4^th September to 14^th September and finally to Crowngate Shopping Centre in Worcester from 14^th September to 21^st September.

Pots of inspiration for cooking and gardening will be served up by a wealth of special guests at the Malvern Autumn Show.

August 10, 2023

Well-known faces and rising stars will be coming together at the event, which takes place at the Three Counties Showground on September 22, 23 and 24. The much-loved seasonal showcase is hosting the biggest group of authors, presenters and celebrities the event has ever seen!

A variety of cuisines will be on offer in the Kitchen Theatre, award-winning food and garden writer and photographer Mark Diacono will host for the 3 days, with demonstrations and information-packed talks from chefs, cooks and food experts. Don’t miss Expert forager Liz Knight, author of Forage: Wild Plant to Gather, Cook and Eat, will be appearing on Friday and Sunday and Helen Rebanks from the Lake District will be sharing her love and enthusiasm for food and farming with some delicious dishes. Familiar faces from the Great British Bake Off (GBBO) will be among some of the UK’s best-selling food and drink authors appearing in the Kitchen Theatre during a brand new Octopus Publishing takeover on Saturday, September 23.

Join Arthur Parkinson and Blanche Vaughan for a debate called Vegetable Versus Flower Gardening. Kew Gardens-trained Arthur’s new book Planting a Paradise, which is published in October, is an inspirational guide to growing flamboyant blooms for humans and bees. He is the designer of a garden for the Emma Bridgewater factory in Staffordshire which, like the accompanying book The Pottery Gardener, received wide acclaim. He followed up with The Flower Yard, which was one of the Times Best Gardening Books of 2021. He’s a guest presenter on BBC Gardeners’ World, writes about keeping poultry and co-hosts the Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange podcast with Sarah Raven. Blanche Vaughan is a food writer and chef who worked at the River Café, Moro and St John. Her books include One Pot and Egg and itsu: the cookbook, which she wrote with Julian Metcalfe, while her latest, House & Garden A Year in the Kitchen, is published in September. Blanche is the food editor at House & Garden magazine.

Chef-turned-food and travel photographer Joe Woodhouse, whose More Daily Veg is published in September, will be discussing how to make vegetables the star of the meal with GBBO contestant Crystelle Pereira. Crystelle, the writer of Flavour Kitchen, was raised in London by Kenyan-born Portuguese-Goan parents and was included in the Vanity Fair list of Best Performances of 2021. Flavour Kitchen, published in May, showcases easy recipes using the most vibrant and exciting flavours.

John Whaite won the third series of GBBO and was runner up in the 2021 series of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, on which he made history by being the show’s first all-male pairing. He’s written five cookery books and a memoir Dancing on Eggshells, published on August 24. At Malvern John will be sharing stories and memories through food.

Learn about Christmas traditions and how to prepare for your best festive season yet with The Ginger Pig Rebecca Seal and GBBO’s Jürgen Krauss. Rebecca has written 10 cook books, including seven produced in collaboration with the restaurant group LEON. Her latest is Ginger Pig Christmas Cook Book, which comes out in October. Jürgen, who won the hearts of many during GBBO’s 2021 season, hails from the Black Forest but now lives in Brighton. His German Baking, a celebrating of German home baking, is published in August.

Discover how to make cocktails in 60 seconds with ‘The World’s Best Spirits’ Joel Ridley and Neil Harrison/ how to match cocktails with canapes with Rebecca Seal. Joel and Neil are at the forefront of providing expertise and innovation within the drinks world and are regulars on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch. Their latest book is 60 Second Cocktails.

The popular Garden Theatre will return for 2023, hosted by Escape to the Country presenter Nicki Chapman who will be joined by a star-studded line-up of guests, including Ben Dark head gardener and award-winning broadcaster working at the top of British horticulture. Plus, Kiran Sidhu, author of the moving and transformational book, I Can Hear the Cuckoo: Life in the Wilds of Wales.

The Garden Theatre will provide plenty of tips on what to plant for seasonal colour outside, along with advice for the veg plot. BBC Gardeners’ World presenters Arit Anderson and Adam Frost will be making return visits, as will popular florist Jonathan Moseley, whose exuberant displays never fail to please audiences.

Meanwhile, Malvern favourite Martin Fish, who has a wealth of gardening knowledge and practical advice to share from his 35 years in horticulture, will be hosting the Potting Shed Stage in the Harvest Pavilion, talking to nurseries, growers and specialist plant societies.

He will take part in daily ‘Gardeners’ Question and Answers’ panels with regular appearances by Jon Wheatley of Stonebarn Landscapes, based in the Chew Valley near Bristol, who has created more than 20 Royal Horticultural Society gold medal-winning features at various events.

Martin will also team up with his wife Jill for ‘Gardening on the Menu’ talks, and there will be talks from Jonathan Moseley and Arit Anderson too.

The Malvern Autumn Show is the UK’s biggest harvest season celebration and packed full of exciting new experiences and unique entertainment. For more information visit: https://www.malvernautumn.co.uk/whats-on/special-guests/

Click here to register your interest in our Octopus Publishing special guest talks & demos on Saturday 23 September 2023.

A spectacular showcase of large legumes, dazzling dahlias and fantastic florals at the UK’s biggest harvest celebration this September

August 9, 2023

Three Counties Showground in Malvern is set to transform into a blaze of autumnal colour when the Malvern Autumn Show returns from 22 – 24 September 2023. With an outstanding reputation as the UK’s biggest harvest season celebration, this year’s Show will not disappoint.

One of the defining features of the Malvern Autumn Show is the spectacular CANNA UK Giant Vegetables Championships, which is set to return again this year with more astounding oversized fruit, vegetables and legumes. Eleven new Guinness World Records were set at last year’s Show, including the heaviest aubergine (3.362kg by Peter Glazebrook from Nottinghamshire) and the longest leek (1.432m by Derek Hulme from Stoke-on-Trent). Once again, expert growers will battle it out at this year’s show in this globally recognised competition.

Drawing the esteemed RHS Flower Show season to a close for another year, the RHS Flower Show at the Malvern Autumn Show promises an abundant display of autumnal colour for visitors to enjoy. This year, a bumper selection of over 40 of the UK’s leading and RHS medal-winning nurseries will proudly display the fruits of their labour, whilst competing for recognition from the eager eyes of the RHS judges. The Floral Marquee will be filled to the brim with top quality plants, flowers and bulbs to admire or purchase. Expert growers will be on hand to offer inspiration and advice for planting your own seasonal colour at home.

The Plant and Bulb Markets will offer a wide range of excellent spring flowering bulbs to plant ahead, ready to enjoy next year, as well as rich Autumn perennials to bring instant colour to outdoor spaces, plus an interesting variety of shrubs and trees. The free Plant Creche service will be a handy place to leave purchases while exploring the rest of the show, and the free Porter Service will transport plants, flowers and trees back to the car without visitors even breaking a sweat.

New to this year’s show, Organic Gardener from Sidmouth, Devon, will feature in the Plant and Bulb Markets offering a selection of organic, eco-friendly plants, bulbs and seeds to purchase – all grown without the use of pesticides in an environmentally-conscious way.

Marit Bakker, from Organic Gardener, explains: “Conventional flower growing heavily relies on pesticides, chemical fertilizers and heating. Unbeknownst to most consumers, these practices have significant negative impacts on nature.

“Organic flower bulbs adhere to natural principles and practices instead. They are grown without the use of harmful pesticides, relying on natural fertilizers. The positive effects are far-reaching; benefiting pollinators and encouraging biodiversity, as well as contributing to soil health.

“By choosing organic plants and bulbs, you create a safe sanctuary for pollinators and wildlife visiting your garden, ensuring an environmentally friendly space.”

Jurassic Plants, a specialist nursery in Denbighshire, north-east Wales, will feature in this year’s Floral Marquee. Combining their passion for plants with horticultural research and a scientific background, husband and wife Dr Zoltan Hamori (PhD) and Magdolna Hamori-Kovacs (BSc) and their team have carefully cultivated over 600 different species of rare and exotic plants suitable for all sizes of garden. Visitors to the Jurassic Plants stand at the Malvern Autumn Show will be able to browse a fascinating selection of unusual and rare plants that can add vibrancy, uniqueness, flavour and ornamental value to any outdoor space.

Anna Johnson from Jurassic Plants said: “Our highlight this year is our extensive Sechuan Pepper (Zanthoxylum) collection, also our personal favourite. It has given us so much enjoyment over the years, we decided to extend our range to six different species. Each with their own unique peppery flavour, pleasant lemony scent, and level of heat and spice. It gives us great pleasure picking the fresh, young, citrusy leaves and vibrant Sechuan peppercorn straight from our garden, adding fabulous flavours to Japanese and Chinese dishes.

“Another popular highlight includes our delicious fig varieties, pomegranates (some are seedless), mini kiwis and many South American superfruits from the Myrtus Family (Luma, Blepharocalyx, Myrceugenia, Ugni).

“We are also offering selected frost tolerant citrus species, like the Japanese Bitter Orange (Citrus trifoliata) which is fully hardy and fruits in the garden when established; or the Yuzu (Citrus junos) which is a culinary delicacy and the Sweet Lemon (Citrus limetta), both hardy to – 8C when established and can be grown in pots on the patio.”

This year’s Malvern Autumn Show will also feature a huge Harvest Pavilion, in which visitors can admire over 175 different Grow to Show classes, where talented growers proudly present the very best produce grown in their own garden or allotment spaces, including fruit, vegetables, cut flowers and succulents. The Harvest Pavilion also plays host to National Plant Societies who are keen to share their passion and gives tips and advice on growing the perfect specimen. This year, a remarkable 10ft pyramid of beautiful fuchsias will stand proudly in the Pavilion to mark the 85^th birthday of the British National Fuchsia Society, with society members on hand to offer their expert advice on caring for these dainty little flowers.

Once again, a stellar line-up of green-fingered special guests will feature across the Malvern Autumn Show’s two gardening focused theatres. BBC Gardeners’ World presenters and horticultural experts, Adam Frost and Arit Anderson will be giving talks in the Garden Theatre, along with other gardening gurus, while in the Potting Shed Theatre, hosted by gardening consultant, Martin Fish, some of the UK’s top growers, nurseries and specialist plant societies will give visitors the chance to pick up plenty of helpful advice on growing, plant care, and maintaining your own green spaces.

All this, plus a delectable food and drink offering from some of the finest local and artisan producers, special guest chef demos in the Kitchen Theatre and plenty of family fun, makes the Malvern Autumn Show an unmissable day out this September.For the full Malvern Autumn Show 2023 programme, and to book tickets (£20 in advance, with children aged 16 and under free of charge) visit: https://www.malvernautumn.co.uk/

MALVERN AUTUMN SHOW ANNOUNCES AN UNMISSABLE PROGRAMME OF FOOD, FLOWERS AND FAMILY FUN FOR SEPTEMBER 2023

July 25, 2023

The UK’s biggest harvest season celebration, the Malvern Autumn Show, is set to return to Three Counties Showground from 22 – 24 September 2023 with a programme packed full of exciting new experiences and unique entertainment. From the crowd-pleasing CANNA UK Giant Vegetables Championship to the colourful RHS Flower Show, here are nine new and unique experiences to expect from this year’s Malvern Autumn Show:

CANNA UK Giant Vegetables Championships

Year after year, the CANNA UK Giant Vegetables Championships at the Malvern Autumn Show draws thousands of excited spectators eager to marvel at the enormous fruit and vegetables harvested by expert growers. Last year’s Show scored a record-breaking number of Guinness World Records, with 11 new titles set for everything from the heaviest field pumpkin (121.6kg by Mark Baggs from Dorset) to the longest turnip (4.605m by Joe Atherton from Nottinghamshire). A highlight of the Show for many visitors, this is a spectacle you won’t want to miss!

RHS Flower Show

Another popular feature of the Malvern Autumn Show is the much-loved RHS Flower Show, which will bring with it a blaze of autumnal colour and dazzling seasonal blooms. This year will see a bumper crop of RHS medal winning nurseries displaying their finest bulbs, plants and flowers whilst once again competing for recognition from the esteemed RHS judges. Visitors can browse hundreds of beautiful blooms, as well as purchase interesting plants and bulbs to transform their own living spaces from the plant nurseries and plant and bulb arcades.

Hear from some of the UK’s best-selling food & drink authors

A brand-new Octopus Publishing Takeover on Saturday 23 September will see some of the UK’s best-selling food and drink authors sharing snippets and insights from their latest books with Food & Drink Theatre host, and award-winning author and food writer himself, Mark Diacono. Visitors will also be treated to some special cooking demonstrations, plus the chance to meet some of the authors and snap up signed copies of their latest books. Keep an eye on the Malvern Autumn Show website for more updates and special guest announcements https://www.malvernautumn.co.uk

A bigger and better than ever Family Green

The popular Family Green is back at this year’s Show and it will be bigger and better than before, packed full of free family fun for all ages. Youngsters can get ready for Halloween by making their very own magic wand, hand-carved from a piece of wood, as well as the chance to create their own broomstick to complete their magical toolkit. Families can get involved in weaving willow into the shape of a giant chilli, or try their hand at circus skills, including plate spinning, juggling, stilt walking, diabolos, unicycles and mini bikes. Plus, there will be plenty of arts and crafts activities to keep little hands busy throughout the weekend.

Enjoy talks from horticultural experts and special guests

This year’s Garden Theatre will be hosted by BBC Escape to the Country host, Nikki Chapman, who will be chatting to expert horticulturalists and familiar faces from BBC Gardeners’ World, including Adam Frost and Arit Anderson. Catch sizzling live cooking demos from top chefs and best-selling cook book authors over at the Kitchen Theatre, hosted by food writer Mark Diacono. At the Harvest Pavilion, the Potting Shed Theatre will be hosted by gardening consultant, Martin Fish, who will be chatting to some of the UK’s leading nurseries, growers and specialist plant societies, sharing handy tips on plant care and creating and maintaining your own green spaces.

Tuck in to some of the UK’s finest food & drink

Another new feature at this year’s Malvern Autumn Show will be the Great Taste Food & Drink Market. Enjoy a delectable array of artisan produce from a selection of award-winning food and drink producers, recognised by the world’s largest and most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme. Chat to the makers and find out more about their award-winning produce, indulge in a sample or two, and take home some tasty treats or stock up on special gifts.

Meet some friendly furry friends at the World of Animals

A brand-new feature of this year’s Malvern Autumn Show, Joseph’s Amazing Racing Camels, promises to be a highlight of the weekend. Head to the World of Animals Arena to cheer on the camels as their compete in friendly races, and even meet these curious creatures up close. These are not just ordinary camels, these are celebrity camels, having features in numerous TV shows and films, working alongside well-known names including Sir David Attenborough, Will Smith, Jess Glynne and Tom Hiddleston.

The popular Exotic Animals area will return to this year’s Malvern Autumn Show, giving visitors the chance to get up close to fascinating creatures and learn more about them, including skunks, snakes, lizards, tarantulas, scorpions, pygmy hedgehogs and meerkats.

Step back in time at the Vintage Village

Relive the golden days at the Vintage Village, back for this year’s Show with a bigger area featuring live bands performing toe-tapping music throughout the long weekend. Get into the spirit and don your finest vintage clothing, there’s also a ‘Best Dressed’ competition and a ‘Parade by Decade’ to get involved in. Learn some new (or old, as it may be!) moves in one of the free 1940s/50s dance lessons. A new vintage hair styling stand will see creative vintage hair-stylists curl, clip and spray hair into some of the most popular hair styles from yesteryear, with a free hair style per day offered to the winner of the ‘Best Dressed’ competition to complete their look.

Another new feature at this year’s Show, the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAFFi) will have a range of vintage military vehicles for visitors to admire, with home-front re-enactors on hand to chat to visitors about the vehicles and the role that the home front played during World War II.

British Fuchsia Society’s 85^th Birthday National Show

In celebration of the British Fuchsia Society’s 85^th Birthday, a spectacular 10ft tall pyramid of beautiful fuchsias will feature in the Harvest Pavilion to mark the occasion. These dainty, ballerina-like flowers, originally from Central and South America, are popular plants for their versatility, and can be grown as standalone shrubs, informal hedges, climbers, in hanging baskets, patio pots or to bring colour to borders. Expert growers from the British Fuchsia Society will be on hand to offer tips and advice for growing these pretty plants at home.

For the full Malvern Autumn Show 2023 programme, and to book tickets (£20 in advance, with children aged 16 and under free of charge) visit: https://www.malvernautumn.co.uk/