Talks Theatres

RHS Malvern Spring Festival is the place to find inspiration for both your garden and your table. Check out what you can expect to find at the 2024 Festival below:

Festival Theatre

The 2024 Festival Theatre, sponsored by My Pension Expert, will boast a jam-packed timetable featuring gardening glitterati and celebrity favourites, who will inspire visitors with lively talks, fun and informative demonstrations. Visitors will also be able to take-home expert advice from the much-loved Gardeners’ Question Time.

Join the likes of Alan Titchmarsh MBE, Frances Tophill, Adam Frost, Ellen Mary plus so many more horticulture experts in the Festival Theatre – click here to find out more!

The Festival Theatre is located on the Festival Green, where visitors can enjoy delicious street food from a wide range of vendors located in the area while performers in the band stand provide entertainment.

Click here to view the Timetable for all four days of the Festival.

Tips & Tricks Theatre

The Tips & Tricks stage, sponsored by Clean Air by Resysten, will feature a range of experts demonstrating how to fix, make and create things for your home and garden from a range of items that perhaps you typically may not have thought of!

It will also feature a timetable of talks from a range of florists, horticultural experts and growers on topics such as growing, harvesting and maintaining florals and vegetables.

Learn top garden and growing DIY skills from a range of skilled experts including Niall McCauley, Cara Thompson, Jason Williams (Cloud Gardener) and Carolyn Dunster, among others. Click here to find out who else will be joining them in the Tips & Tricks Theatre.

Click here to view the Timetable for all four days of the Festival.

NEW Festival of Houseplants with Green Rooms Market

This brand new area will host an impressive array of horticulture experts sharing their advice and top tips on everything from how to choose the perfect houseplant for your space, to troubleshooting advice for tricky specimens through talks, demos and drop-in or bookable workshops. Click here to find out more.

Photos credit: Green Rooms Markets

NEW Kitchen Garden Theatre

The new Kitchen Garden Theatre invites you to step into a world where the beauty of gardening and the artistry of cooking unite seamlessly. Immerse yourself in the charm of this unique theatre, where visitors have the opportunity to be seated within a working kitchen garden. Picture yourself surrounded by raised beds adorned with an array of herbs, flowers and vegetables, creating a vibrant atmosphere of colours and scents. Settle into this enchanting space and enjoy live cooking demonstrations by a lineup of talented chefs and outstanding local food producers.

The focal point of this immersive and educational experience is the connection between cultivating herbs, fruits, vegetables, and flowers and their culinary applications. Theatre host, Mark Diacono, brings a wealth of expertise to the stage, offering practical insights and clever ideas that bridge the gap between the productive garden and the kitchen.

Explore the garden’s varied offerings, from soft, cane, and bush fruits to raised beds featuring an assortment of herbs and edible flowers. The inclusion of fruits and vegetables draws on the richness of the culinary possibilities showcased in the theatre. Learn about the requirements and care of a Kitchen Garden, gaining expert tips that will transform your own plot and cooking.

The garden emphasises innovative gardening techniques to shield crops from pests or adverse weather conditions whilst making the most of a small space. Discover how to create a controlled environment for specific crops using structures like cages or covers, unlocking the secrets to a successful harvest.

The new Kitchen Garden Theatre seeks to spread inspiration, encouraging visitors to embrace the joy of growing and cooking with home-grown ingredients and demonstrating how to incorporate them into meals, drinks and garnishes. Witness the entire life cycle, from cultivation to consumption and gain valuable insights into gardening practices and culinary creativity, fostering a deeper appreciation for sustainable living.

This is not merely a theatre; it’s a celebration of the journey from soil to plate.

Discover how to create a kitchen garden, grow your own, make the best of garden produce and brush up on home cooking with guests including Si King (Hairy Bikers), Lorraine Caley, Marcus Bean and Jekka McVicar in the NEW immersive Kitchen Garden Theatre. Click here to find out who else will be joining them on this unique stage. 

Click here to view the Timetable for all four days of the Festival.

Potting Shed Theatre

The Potting Shed Theatre will once again be brought to RHS Malvern Spring Festival and hosted by expert horticulturalist Martin Fish.

The expert talks and Q&A sessions provided by an impressive lineup of horticulture specialists are not to be missed by those new to gardening through to those with years of experience.

Martin will be joined by expert nurseries, growing gurus and Chris Collins on stage. The provisional list of speakers and topics is as follows (subject to change):

• Our master growers ‘Hilary Collins from Grafton Nurseries’
• ‘Stella Exley from Hare Spring Cottage Plant’ covering camassias & perennials
• ‘Vicky Fox from Plantagogo’ – Heucheras & tiarella specialists
• ‘Rob Hardy from Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants’
• Flowers from the Farm West Midlands Group – Discover the beauty of seasonal local flowers
• Jonathan Moseley – Growing & arranging fabulous flowers
• Chris Collins and Ellen Mary will also be joining Martin
• Steve Hickman – Hoyland Plant Centre  Agapanthus & nerines
• Martin & Jill Fish – Gardening on the Menu: Growing & cooking seasonal produce
• Q&A: Ask the experts with Jon Wheatley & Martin Fish
• Colin Jones, Fuchsia specialist from Roualeyn Nurseries

Click here to view the Timetable for all four days of the Festival.