RHS Shows 2023 – where should you go?

Each of the RHS flower shows has a distinctive feel – their location and available space, the time of year, the show gardens and stallholders, all playing a part. Tickets are now on sale for the 2023 shows, so if you want to get ahead, now is the time to book! In 2022 I spent time photographing at the Malvern Spring Festival, the Chelsea Flower Show, Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, and the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park; if you’re unsure about which to go for, here’s a visual round-up of what you can expect.

The season of RHS shows gets off to a flying start in early May, with the Malvern Spring Festival. With a dramatic open vista towards the beautiful Malvern Hills, this one was recommended to me as a friendly and spacious show to visit. It had a real community feel – for example with local schools entering mini show gardens – and talks and demonstrations going on throughout, offering loads of practical inspiration for gardeners. The RHS Malvern Spring Festival for 2023 is from Thursday 11 May until Sunday 14; this is a wonderful show to attend if you’re looking to stock up on top-quality plants at prime planting time, as there are stalls galore with some of the country’s expert and specialised nurseries. If you need structure, outdoor furniture or other garden solutions, you’ll find a whole host of options to grab your attention.

The garden below – Alan Williams and Jo Whiley’s ‘Vitamin G Garden’, did the rounds of the garden shows in 2022 with planting that changed according to the season. See if you can spot it again later!

The world-famous Chelsea Flower Show, in the grounds of the Royal Hospital in London, is from 23-27 May 2023. Press Day on Monday 22 is where the garden designers will be talking to journalists, having their pristine gardens photographed, chatting with celebrity visitors and awaiting the comments of the RHS judges. Amongst the famous faces, there are very definitely keen gardeners – Judi Dench, for example, is known for her deep love of growing trees, and Jo Whiley finds that spending time gardening is a fantastic gift to mental health. Craig Revel Horwood’s fiancé Jonathan Myring works as a horticulturalist, and Zoe Ball was spotted listening intently as she was shown around the RNLI garden designed by Chris Beardshaw. So there are people not just here to be ‘seen’ at an RHS flower show, but actually picking up tips for their own spaces and promoting causes they feel passionately about.

As the Royal Horticultural Society’s flagship show, Chelsea is really packed with things to see – I was there over three separate days this year, and still didn’t see everything. My tip: watch the TV coverage, read the press articles, and have a plan in advance of what you connect with and want to prioritise seeing. There were a total of 39 – thirty-nine!!! – show gardens in 2022; 13 main show gardens, along with balcony gardens, sanctuary gardens, container gardens, and All About Plants gardens all eligible for medals. There are also awards handed out for best construction, and for People’s Choice in each category. For the designers, this is both prestige and pressure, where attention to minuscule detail means everything. And of course, you won’t be short of shopping opportunities, with all sorts of garden-inspired art, clothing, and top quality garden products waiting to be discovered amongst the many trade stands.

In July, it’s the turn of Hampton Court Palace to host their RHS Garden Festival. This is the height of summer, often with wonderful weather; in terms of area, at 34 acres this is the world’s largest annual flower show. You enter as you cross the Long Water, alongside the breathtaking palace backdrop – but as well as all that ground to cover, you’ll also find plenty of opportunities to sit and enjoy entertainment, garden talks, an ice cream or Champagne in the most beautiful surroundings. This is an extremely busy show but, with this much space, you won’t feel hampered as you move around. If retail therapy is your thing, you’ll love Hampton Court – from the huge Country Living marquee of stalls, to abundant and wide-ranging plants, and all sorts of garden businesses with solutions for your space.

Late July hosts the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show, near Knutsford in Cheshire. Here, I happened to notice that those with access needs, mobility scooters or even bringing their dog along had no trouble at all. There’s plenty of wide open space, easy to navigate, and very much the friendly welcome! Tatton is the place for the next generation of garden designers to make their mark – the main gardens are created by first-time show designers; plus there were front gardens, pocket gardens, community-designed areas, and spaces designed by competition-winning members of the public sponsored by local radio. It felt like a very inclusive and inviting place to spend time, again with so many nurseries and businesses exhibiting to sell their plants and garden solutions; as well as food & drink, jewellery, and much more.

…And if you’ve been looking out for the Vitamin G Garden at another of the RHS shows, here it is again wearing its late-July clothes, at Tatton Park! It was great inspiration for mixing different textures and plant combinations together, for seasonal interest all year round.