RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2024

RHS show garden woodland planting and oak bench in front of cabin

We were delighted to design an RHS Malvern show garden in aid of The Grand Appeal - the charity for the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.

The Garden

The Grand Appeal Garden was designed as a place for childlike exploration and adventure. A cabin nestled in woodland-inspired planting was included as an escape from the world for the whole family. Established paths are coupled with clearings running through the planting, encouraging people to travel off the beaten path. Simple hard landscaping was used in the garden, guiding visitors’ attention towards the shade-loving planting, with ferns and soft blue and white flowers creating a lush and calming space.

The Charity

The Grand Appeal is the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children’s charity. It provides equipment and support for patients, families and staff at the children’s hospital in Bristol, including offering places for families to stay when their child is in hospital. It’s this idea of giving families the chance to be together that inspired the design of the garden, with the cabin space particularly providing shelter when weather, and life, are storming outside.

Plant List

Betula utilis subsp. jacquemontii (West Himalayan birch)

Betula utilis ‘Snow Queen’ (Himalayan birch)

Asplenium scolopendrium (hart's tongue fern)

Dryopteris affinis 'Cristata' (scaly male fern 'Cristata')

Matteuccia struthiopteris (shuttlecock fern)

Polystichum setiferum (soft shield fern)

Polystichum setiferum ‘Plumosum Densum’ (soft shield fern)

Lamprocapnos spectabilis 'Alba' (white bleeding heart/dicentra)

Vinca minor f. alba (white lesser periwinkle)

Trachelospermum jasminoidies (star jasmine)