Blenheim Palace Flower Show
From the finest nurseries offering a top selection of plants to the chance to meet Alan Titchmarsh - it’s all at Blenheim!
THE fifth Blenheim Palace Flower Show is being held next week (Friday 23 to Sunday 25 June) and it will celebrate the best of gardening, home and lifestyle, with plenty of inspiration.
It will be opened on the Friday by Alan Titchmarsh. He said: “I’m delighted to be opening the show. It has established itself as a highly popular event in the garden show season. It’s not only about flowers, but it has lots of great ideas for equipment and new gadgets to help you and it is staged in the most amazing location – one of my all-time favourite landscapes.”
Blenheim Palace is home to the 12th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough; is the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, and is a World Heritage Site. Situated in Woodstock, just eight miles from Oxford, it is surrounded by 2,000 acres (809ha) of ‘Capability’ Brown landscaped parkland. Show tickets also allow access to the gardens and park.
Grand floral pavilion
The centre of the show is the grand floral pavilion and this year’s will be the largest so far. With more than 40 specialist growers, nurseries and societies, all of whom excel in their chosen field, it promises to be a riot of colour and fragrance.
Plants featured include fuchsias, cacti and succulents, roses, orchids, Japanese gardens, clematis, hostas and bonsai.
The Dahlia Society will be in attendance, along with other hardy and cottage plant nurseries. Sunday visitors will have the opportunity to purchase
Gardening celebs
A series of gardening talks from celebrities, as well as garden and home experts, will be held in the Talk Theatre. Alan Titchmarsh will lead two talks on Friday and you’ll get the chance to ask him questions at the end of each talk.
Nick Bailey, head gardener at London’s Chelsea Physic Garden since 2010, and regular contributor to BBC2’s Gardeners’
World, will be taking centre stage on the Saturday to give visitors a fascinating insight into his role at the garden.
Meanwhile Jim Buttress, a multi-award winning gardener and celebrity judge on BBC2’s The Big Allotment Challenge, will be judging at the show on the Friday. He will also be entertaining visitors in the Talk Theatre that day.
Other attractions:
Plant Village – the best place to pick up summer plants. Main Arcade – tools, sundries and pots as well as garden ornaments Home & Country Living – gift ideas, handmade crafts and artwork, kitchenware, health and beauty products, and more. Festival of Food & Drink – taste your way around the world with top billed food and drink companies offering delicious sausages, oils, cheeses and more.
The park and formal gardens
Your ticket will also allow you to see Blenheim Palace’s beautiful formal gardens which, in 2008, received the Historic Houses Association/Christies Garden of the Year Award.
They include water terraces, ornate Italian gardens, the rose garden, the cascade and the arboretum. Meanwhile the pleasure gardens are the perfect place for families to let off steam: hop on the miniature train, visit the giant Marlborough hedge maze, adventure play area and the butterfly house.