Introduction
Spetchley Park Gardens near Worcester covers approximately 30 acres, and contains one of the best collections of plants in the country. It has the distinction of being one of the first three gardens opened under the National Garden Scheme in 1924, and is considered to be one of the finest examples of late Victorian design.
This will be our 12th Plant Fair at Spetchley Park Gardens, and once again we are pleased to have the support of the RHS. We have booked a 200 seat marquee and will be hosting a series of lectures and demonstrations throughout the day.
Spetchley Park and Gardens
Royal Horticultural Society
Admission charges
Entrance to the Plant Fair and Spetchley Gardens will be £4.00, payable on the day. This does not include the John Massey Lecture - please see below for details of how to book tickets for this lecture.
RHS regional lecture by John Massey.
John Massey – proprietor of Ashwood Nurseries has been invited by the RHS to give the main talk at 2pm. John has travelled all over the world giving lectures and collecting new plants. He has been responsible for numerous breeding programs at Ashwood Nurseries developing new and improved strains of Helebores, Lewisias, Cyclamen and Hepaticas. Over recent years he has been developing his garden at Ashwood Nurseries. His talk will be entitled Plants for all seasons.
He will take his audience through the annual cycle in his his garden and will discussing the challenges of gardening in a frost pocket on a light sandy soil, including the use of mulches to retain soil moisture. John likes to firstly plant up an area with a single season in mind, and then adds additional interest for other seasons of the year, paying particular attention to plant association. As trees and shrubs mature, he raises the canopy to reveal their structure and allow extra planting beneath. John has amassed a huge range of plants, many of which are rare in cultivation and he will share some of his favourites with the audience. His wide knowledge of plants and his very practical approach to gardening should make this lecture a fascinating insight into his world of plants.
Tickets for The John Massey Lecture (including entrance to the fair and gardens) must be booked in advance.
To avoid disappointment book early on:
RHS Ticket Hotline 08456 121253 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
|
RHS Members |
£8.00 |
Other speakers.
The other speakers will be Bob Brown from Cotswold Garden Flowers, 'Good and Bad Plants for the Garden’. Also Kevin Lindegaard, who’s talk entitled ‘The Wonderful World of Willows’ will focus on ornamental willows for the garden and the various uses they can be put to; e.g. to attract bees and making useful structures.
Following the talks, there will be an opportunity for the audience to participate in an informal questions and answer session with the three speakers.
In addition to the talks, there will also be a Pershore College marquee, where you will have a chance to pick up gardening tips and secrets from the experts, Free plant and gardening advice will be available and you can watch live demonstrations by the College including planting hanging baskets.
Don't forget to bring along any plant samples for identification or questions to test the horticultural advisors.
Nurseries Attending This Event
More than 30 specialist nurseries from England and Wales will be attending the event and many thousands of garden plants will be on sale including rare and new varieties seldom offered by Garden Centres. These will include a wide range of Japanese Maples, Trilliums, Arisaemas, Ornamental Grasses, Ferns, Tender Perennials, Airplants etc.
For a full list of the nurseries attending, please click here
For those wishing to learn some of the history behind the gardens, guided tours will take place throughout the day.
Refreshments will be available all day including a traditional pig roast as well as organic vegetarian food. The tea rooms will also be open for light snacks, teas and cakes.
Plant Search
As in previous years we will be offering a plant search facility for those visitors looking for a particular plant. Please click here for further details.
Directions To Spetchley Park Gardens
Spetchley Gardens is situated on the A44 about 2 miles from Junction 7 of the M5. Click here for a GoogleMap of the location.
If you are using satellite navigation, please use the postcode WR5 1RS, to locate Spetchley Park Gardens.
For more information;
01531 - 650480
Spetchley2009@plantfair.co.uk