Tag: Malvern Autumn Show

Horticultural heroes and gastronomic greats to feature at this year’s Malvern Autumn Show

July 17, 2024

A feast of familiar faces from the worlds of horticulture and baking will take to the stages at this year’s Malvern Autumn Show (27 – 29 September 2024 at Three Counties Showground), sharing their insights and expertise on everything from how to grow your own fruits, vegetables and flowers, to how to use what you’ve grown to create delicious dishes.

Malvern Autumn Show is one of the UK’s biggest annual harvest season celebrations, featuring the showstopping CANNA UK Giant Vegetables Championships (which each year sees new Guinness World Records set for spectacularly large crops), the prestigious RHS Flower Show, over 100 different Grow to Show classes to see in the Harvest Pavillion, plus barrows full of family fun and epicurean delights.

Hosting the Garden Theatre at this year’s Malvern Autumn Show will be BBC Radio Two and Escape to the Country presenter, Nicki Chapman. Special guests joining Nicki on stage throughout the weekend include BBC Gardeners’ World presenters, Adam Frost (Friday) and Rachel de Thame (Saturday), celebrity florist and floral expert on BBC’s The Big Allotment Challenge, Jonathan Moseley (Friday – Sunday), gardener, author, broadcaster and plant-based nature therapist, Ellen Mary (Friday – Sunday), and former Blue Peter gardener and head of horticulture for Garden Organic, Chris Collins (Sunday). Visitors can expect to pick up top tips on preparing for a beautiful spring garden, how to introduce seasonal colour over the autumn and winter months, the best late season edibles to plant, as well as the popular Gardener’s Question Time.

Gardening consultant and broadcaster, Martin Fish, will return to the show to host The Potting Shed theatre, located in the Harvest Pavillion, from Friday – Sunday, joined by a variety of guests throughout the weekend.

A brand-new feature for this year’s Malvern Autumn Show, The Great Malvern Cake Off tent will host well-known faces from popular series of BBC and Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off, including Briony May Williams from 2018’s series (Sunday), and Giuseppe Dell’Anno from 2021’s series (Friday and Saturday). As well as Q&A sessions, visitors can enjoy cake and dessert baking demos, and fun challenges and competitions, including technical challenges and race against the clock competitions. Budding baking afficionados can even join in by entering themselves or their own bakes into competitions!

An extra special guest at this year’s show, former Strictly Come Dancing star, actor, professional dancer and choreographer, Kevin Cliton will dazzle visitors with his dancing skills at the Vintage Village on Saturday. For fans of Strictly, this is your chance to live out your dream as you can join Kevin and learn some dance moves from one of the very best! Kevin will also be joining Nicki Chapman on stage at the Garden Theatre on Saturday for a general Q&A session.

More new features at this year’s show include the Tipple Zone, where visitors can enjoy samples from leading spirit, cider and beer producers as well as the opportunity to chat to them about their craft, purchase bottles to take home and enjoy live music. A brand new ‘dog day’ on Sunday 29^th September will welcome visitors who’d like to bring their well-behaved dogs on short, non-retractable leads with them to enjoy the show. There will also be a dedicated Dog Show with fun, informal categories such as ‘waggiest tail’ and ‘softest coat’. Sunday dog entry tickets are free and need to be booked in advance at https://www.malvernautumn.co.uk/ (With the exception of assistance dogs, all other dogs will not be permitted for entry on Friday or Saturday at the show).

As always, Malvern Autumn Show will offer visitors plenty of botanical inspiration, and the Floral Marquee will once again be bursting with seasonal colour, plus top-quality plants, flowers and bulbs to purchase. The Bulb Market will also house an array of interesting bulbs, plants and flowers to shop, and the free plant creche and porter service will free visitors up to enjoy the show while their purchases are stored safely and conveniently transported back to cars when it’s time to leave.

For those visiting Malvern Autumn Show with children, there is plenty to keep kids of all ages entertained. The Family Green will host an exciting range of free entertainment and activities, including pedal tractors, a climbing wall and rural crafts, as well as the World of Animals area, where children can meet animals aplenty. Tickets for Malvern Autumn Show 2024 cost £20 in advance, with children under 16 free of charge, and are available to book here: https://www.malvernautumn.co.uk/

Apply to dress a stage at the Malvern Autumn Show

July 5, 2024

Are you a passionate creative that is looking for a new challenge to showcase your stage dressing and interior design talent?

We’re on the look-out for someone who can inject some added brilliance into our Garden Theatre:

Malvern Autumn Show is one of the UK’s biggest annual harvest season celebrations, featuring the showstopping CANNA UK Giant Vegetables Championships (which each year sees new Guinness World Records set for spectacularly large crops), the prestigious RHS Flower Show with Garden Theatre within, over 100 different Grow to Show classes to see in the Harvest Pavilion, plus barrows full of family fun and epicurean delights.

About the Stage

The Garden Theatre at Malvern Autumn is one of the highest footfall areas and most photographed areas of the Showground, setting a beautiful foreground for our Special Guests familiar faces from the world of horticulture and beyond sharing their insights and expertise through their talks and demonstrations.

Important information

A celebration of harvest: Horticulture is at the heart of Malvern Autumn Show and we’d like to see this celebrated throughout the stage design as the dominant theme. We’d love to see the use of autumnal accents such as pumpkins and gourds and seasonal British blooms as well as structural height provided by an attractive backdrop.

Build-up begins at midday Monday 23 September and must be complete by 7pm Thursday 26 September.

Breakdown can begin at 6:15pm Sunday 29 September and must be cleared by midday Monday 30^th September. The Showground does not accept responsibility for items used in set dressing.

Exhibitors must remove or put in the bins on site all items brought onsite, including rubbish and building materials etc.

How to apply

We’re asking all those eager to apply to submit their designs to Charlie Gwynne, Shows & Horticulture Executive: charlie.gwynne@threecounties.co.uk

This should include:

Proposed furniture & prop choices.
Flower/plant list including colours and/or themes.
A sketch/mood board of your design, with dimensions
Explain how you will achieve the design without floral foam.

Please ensure no banned plants/flowers are included in your design. The banned plant list can be found here.

If you know someone who would be ideal for this opportunity, or you think you could be the perfect fit, then click here to download the full factsheet.

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 launches fresh new look for 2023!

June 23, 2023

Malvern Autumn Show, in association with Westons, is the UK’s biggest harvest season celebration, held each autumn at Three Counties Showground, and new for its 27^th annual event, the show has unveiled a fresh new identity for the three-day extravaganza, from 22 – 24 September 2023.

Nestled below Worcestershire’s glorious Malvern Hills, the event is a seasonal showcase celebrating the very best of autumn, from giant fruits and vegetables to demos from celebrity chefs, artisan ciders and perries to locally produced food and drink.

A real highlight is always the CANNA UK National Giant Vegetables Championship, where competitors from across the country battle it out for a chance to win the coveted Guinness World Records title. Each year new records are set with gigantic legumes and enormous fruits. Visitors can peruse everything from super-sized pumpkins to extra-long leeks in a purpose-built marquee, housing hundreds of entrants. Meanwhile, in the colossal Harvest Pavilion, visitors can admire over 175 different Grow to Show classes where growers present the very best produce grown in their garden or allotment space including cut flowers, fruit, vegetables and succulents.

The RHS Flower Show will bring a riot of colour and fragrance with dazzling seasonal blooms, as some of the UK’s best nurseries and growers compete for recognition from the esteemed RHS judges. Visitors feeling inspired can pick up some interesting bulbs, plants and flowers to take home and transform their own outdoor space in the plant nurseries and plant and bulb arcades. Expert growers will be on hand to offer helpful suggestions and advice for the best plants to suit your space.

The Family Green will host a range of entertainment and activities for all ages, including willow weaving, pedal tractors, circus and bushcraft skills, wand making and broomstick making. There will also be animals to meet, including rabbits, cavies, ponies, dogs, pigs and exotic animals. After working up an appetite, tuck in to a delicious dish from an impressive range of street food traders in the Food and Drink Festival, or pick up foodie treats to take home from the Artisan Food and Drink Market.

Sit back and soak up the atmosphere and live music with a refreshing, locally produced cider in the Westons Cider Garden, or if perry is more your thing, head to the Festival of Perry, where over 50 different types will be available to sample, including single varieties, blends and international perries. Skilled perry producers will be on hand to share the art of perry making, tips on looking after an orchard and to share their love of this unique and highly valued drink.

Gin lovers will enjoy the dedicated Gin Garden and the Gin Show, supported by Ludlow Gin, featuring plenty of samples, shopping, live music and, of course, space to relax with a tipple surrounded by the beautiful backdrop of the Malvern Hills. Throughout the weekend, a selection of artisan producers will be on hand providing talks about their craft alongside samples of their creations.

This year’s show will once again welcome a host of familiar faces and well-known names to its theatres, with Nikki Chapman, Martin Fish and Jonathan Moseley already confirmed to provide interesting talks and top tips for green fingered visitors.

Jane Edwards, Head of Shows at Three Counties Showground, said: “This year’s Malvern Autumn Show is back with a brand-new look and feel, celebrating one of the best times of the year. We’re delighted to share a packed programme of vibrant seasonal flowers, plants, expert horticulturalists and growers, outstanding local food and drink, plus lots of family fun.”

Tickets for Malvern Autumn Show 2023 cost £20 in advance, with children aged 16 and under free of charge, and are available to book here.

Get 15% off Malvern Autumn Show tickets using code EARLYBIRD15 for a limited time only*. Don’t miss out, buy your tickets now!

*T&Cs

Book before midnight on Sunday 18 July for 15% off advance adult tickets on Friday, Saturday or Sunday of Malvern Autumn Show 2023 with code EARLYBIRD15.

Offer is valid for full price, adult tickets bought in advance only and is not applicable for Three Counties members tickets.

Offer cannot be applied retrospectively.

Booking fees apply.