The Midsummer Garden Life Festival

It was a total joy to visit the Midsummer Garden Life Festival which was recently held at the Three Counties Showgroun in Malvern.  I was lucky to have been granted press entry for which I am always grateful.  

The forecast was cloudy and maybe rainy, but I set off with my waterproof jacket prepared for whatever the weather may bring.  It thankfully did not rain and the sun popped out a couple of times making the temperature rise each time.  This show was not a replacement for the cancelled Malvern Spring Festival, but it did fill a nice gap and it felt like a treat to be able to go.

It was such a treat.  So many great stalls.  I may have bee-lined for ice cream when I arrived, it was very good ice-cream too.  I plumped for a scoop of honeycomb and a scoop of caramel chocolate brownie.  Yum!

I admired the basket stalls and thought it isti me I went on a proper picnic again soon.  I love a good picnic basket and this stall had some really nice ones.

I wandered along the beach and listened to James Alexander Sinclair, Ann-Marie Powell and Joe Swift have a very entertaining conversation and Q&A session that was very informative.


The beach itself was wonderful, such a good idea (as long as the sun shines, which it was doing by this point.)
I enjoyed the garden displays.
I always admire and enjoy the skill and enthusiasm that you can see has gone into creating these displays.
and best of all there were lots of really good plant stalls.  You know I am that predictable that whilst I enjoy the other bits, it is the plant stalls that are the main attraction for me.

Did I buy anything?  Mais oui!

I could not resist these Hedychium tubers from Harts Nursery,  Look at the size of them!  I know we are told size does not matter, but this is proof to the contrary.  They have some nice shoots emerging too.  I have planted them up and I will let you know how they get on.

I also bought this pot of ladybird poppies from Hardys Cottage Garden Plants.  Usually I would not buy a pot of annual poppies as a packet of seeds is cheaper; but I have tried to grow this poppy from seed several times and it does not want to grow for me.  When I have had this issue like this with other plants I have bought a pot to plant in the garden and then I find they self-seed around happily.  Well that is the theory, I will let you know.

I had such a lovely time at the show.  As the day progressed more people came along which was nice.  I really enjoyed my day and I would hope that it will continue even when the bigger shows return.  It was a nice size, it had a nice feel to it and it made a very good day out. 

My only regret was not seeing Tom Barnaby or his nephew John Barnaby there, one of them must have been the headline speaker surely.......

Stay safe and be kind.

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Comments

  1. That sounds a lovely day out, ice-cream 'n all. The other day I was thinking I could do with a new laundry basket but am reluctant to buy more plastic so I may be setting out to find a proper, old fashioned basket-work one soon. Good to see 'real' things still being made available.

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    Replies
    1. That sounds such a good idea - wicker work always looks so good

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