RHS Malvern Spring Festival, a trailblazing four-day horticultural showcase, returning to Three Counties Showground, Malvern from Thursday 8 - Sunday 11 May, has announced a whole host of well-known names for its special guest line-up.   

This year’s Festival Theatre will once again host a packed programme of lively talks, interactive demonstrations and expert advice from some of the most respected names in horticulture. This year’s theatre host is TV presenter, broadcaster and former music publicist, Nicki Chapman. As well as hosting the iconic evening radio show, Mellow Magic, Nicki is well-known for co-hosting BBC’s Escape to the Country and RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Nicki will be joined on the Festival Theatre stage across the four days by some of horticultures most well-known and much-loved personalities, including one of the UK’s favourite gardeners, Alan Titchmarsh CBE, who, as well as being a passionate gardener, is a successful writer and TV presenter, best-known for featuring in BBC’s Ground Force, BBC’s Gardeners’ World and ITV’s Love Your Garden. On Friday 9 May, Alan will join Nicki on stage to share insight into what being a ‘good gardener’ means to him.

From Thursday through to Sunday, Nicki will welcome BBC’s Gardeners’ World presenters, broadcasters and writers, Rachel de Thame, Adam Frost and Frances Tophill to the stage. On Saturday and Sunday, Frances will share tips and advice on how to design your outdoor space to work for you, and Adam will chat about gardening for wellbeing and how plants can help to cultivate positivity. Visitors to the show can book a VIP cream tea with Rachel de Thame on Friday 9 May, or with Adam Frost on Saturday 10 May (both £134 per person) and enjoy the opportunity to chat with these passionate and knowledgeable gardeners in a relaxed, more intimate, setting.

The Kitchen Garden Theatre will make a sizzling return to RHS Malvern Spring Festival this year, offering visitors the chance to relax within an immersive kitchen garden while enjoying live cooking demos from talented chefs and excellent local food producers. Hosting the Kitchen Garden Theatre this year will be RHS Malvern Spring Festival regular and award-winning food and gardening writer, Mark Diacono. Culinary icon, Raymond Blanc MBE, will take to the stage on Thursday 8 May sharing fascinating insights from his decades of experience in food and hospitality, and how he’s crafted a legacy of culinary excellence throughout his career. Raymond is renowned for his exceptional talent, innovation and unwavering dedication to the art of French cuisine, and his restaurant, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, has retained two Michelin stars for 41 years consecutively, and in 2020 received a Michelin Green Star in recognition of its sustainable practices. From Friday to Sunday the hugely talented, self-taught chef and regular face on ITV’s This Morning, Marcus Bean will share tasty tips on celebrating the season through food.

The Potting Shed Theatre, located inside the impressive Floral Marquee, will host a range of green fingered specialists ready to share their gardening knowledge with visitors. Husband and wife team Martin and Jill Fish will host The Potting Shed Theatre this year, bringing to the stage over 45 years of experience working in horticulture and experimenting in the kitchen with home grown ingredients. Martin and Jill will welcome guests including Jon Wheatley (esteemed garden designer and grower who has won numerous RHS gold medals), Chris Collins (Head of Horticulture at Garden Organic and former head gardener of Westminster Abbey), and Jonathan Moseley (one of the UK’s leading floral designers). Visitors can expect to pick up handy tips and useful insights to put into practice at home, including how to get plants for free via successful propagation, growing pot to plate plants, and how to create fun, seasonal floral arrangements.

A brand-new Give it a Grow Theatre will host engaging talks to enhance gardening knowledge for both seasoned gardeners and those dipping their toe into the soil for the first time. Hosted by Leigh Johnstone (aka ‘The Beardy Gardener’ – award-winning garden designer, mental health campaigner, podcaster, writer and broadcasting presenter), the Give it a Grow Theatre will welcome special guests including Adam Alexander (aka Seed Detective – award-winning film and TV producer who lectures widely on his work discovering, conserving and sharing rare and endangered gardening crops), Huw Richards (YouTube content creator and author of four best-selling plot to plate books), Anya Lutenbach (aka Anya The Garden Fairy – bestselling author and digital content creator, who is passionate about encouraging people to garden regardless of their background, budget or garden size), Sarah Gerrard-Jones (aka The Plant Rescuer – author and presenter on ITV’s Alan Titchmarsh’s Gardening Club, and a prominent voice in the world of houseplants) and Helen Cross (author, broadcaster and horticultural educator). This bustling area will act as an educational hub, inspiring visitors to grow more, grow smarter and grow better, celebrating the ethos of this year’s RHS Malvern Spring Festival Theme, ‘Plants & People’.

As well as an outstanding line-up of expert horticulturalists, TV gardening personalities and special guest speakers, this year’s RHS Malvern Spring Festival will also feature the introduction of the first RHS judged Indoor Plant Gardens, which will be scrutinised by a panel of horticultural experts and RHS judges to crown the very first RHS medal-winning Indoor Plant Garden 2025. Additionally, RHS Malvern Spring Festival will also host the first RHS judged outdoor Show Gardens for the year, two exciting and immersive feature gardens, as well as the return of the spectacular Floral Marquee, the Plant Village and Pavilions, the School Gardens plus a whole host of food, drink and shopping opportunities as well as fun family activities for all ages.

Tickets for RHS Malvern Spring Festival, including VIP experiences, dog tickets for Sunday 11 May and taster tickets for Saturday 10 May, are on sale now (starting from £16, and under 16s free) and can be booked via the website.