If you’re in need of a nature-filled pick-me-up, this list of the UK’s best flower shows is just the ticket. There are few things more joyful in life than a garden in full bloom. And whether you’re a green-fingered goddess or simply someone who derives pleasure from innovative garden design, these shows are guaranteed to stir a keen appreciation for nature’s bounty. Let the breath-taking beauty of the UK’s best flower shows spark your imagination and soothe your soul.
The UK’s Best Flower Shows
Chelsea Flower Show
22 – 27 May
When it comes to the finest flower shows, the grand dame of them all is Chelsea. A must in the social calendar, designers at this year’s show are set to be in a reflective mood, as they mark the first Flower Show since the Queen’s death (Her Majesty was a regular at the show throughout her reign). There are set to be numerous floral tributes to the late monarch dotted around the show, as well as some to mark the recent Coronation of King Charles III. The undisputed highlight is the Show Gardens – keep an eye out for Horatio’s Garden, which will be the show’s first wheelchair accessible garden. Â
Blenheim Palace Flower Show
23 – 25 June
There are few settings in the UK that are more spectacular than Blenheim Palace, and that’s doubly true when the historic Oxfordshire venue happens to be hosting its annual flower show. Peruse the Grand Floral Pavilion, where you’ll find beautiful displays from nurseries up and down the country, and take a stroll down Floral Street to admire the incredible array of blooms for sale. New for this year is the Insect Trail, where florists, flower arrangers and artists have designed a series of large-scale insects made from natural materials and flowers.Â
RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival
4 – 9 July
While the Chelsea Flower Show may be the most famous of them all, the Hampton Court Garden Festival is actually the world’s largest flower show, set against the backdrop of one of London’s most spectacular royal palaces. In the Floral Marquee you’ll find plants and flowers grown by over 90 nurseries, as well as the Potting Bench, where you can watch demos from top growers. Meanwhile, the Festival of Roses celebrates this beautiful bloom in all its varieties and forms, while the RHS Allotment is the place to go to learn all about growing your own.Â
RHS Flower Show Tatton Park
19 - 23 July
With 50 acres of glorious parkland and landscaped gardens galore (from a walled kitchen plot to a 100-year-old Japanese garden), Tatton Park is the perfect backdrop for a floral showcase. A stroll through Tatton Gardens is a visual feast for the senses, showcasing the best of horticulture and garden design. In the Plant Village and Floral Marquee, meanwhile, you can pick up top tips from the park’s expert growers and sign up for the immersive Flower School, where you’ll learn how to create your own fantastical displays.Â
Chorley Flower Show
28 – 30 July
The award-wining Chorley Flower Show quickly made a name for itself when it set up home at Astley Hall in 2015. The Lancashire event is a great day out for all the family, with a dedicated children’s Design a Garden competition that kids will love. Visitors can enjoy talks and demos from a plethora of top gardeners at their gardening theatre, and there’ll be plenty of live entertainment over the weekend, with a range of live music and walkabout acts keeping spirits high throughout the park.Â
RHS Wisley Flower Show
5 - 10 September
If dahlias are the thing that make your heart sing, the Flower Show at RHS Wisley is for you. Home to an annual spectacle hosted on behalf of the National Dahlia Society – which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year – blooms cultivated by exhibitors vie for attention against the bombs of colour homegrown by visitors. Elsewhere, expect to find top-quality plants from big-name nurseries and experts ready to dish out top tips via an array of demos and talks. And, of course, there’s Wisley itself. Alongside the impressive rock garden and cathedral-like glasshouse, the RHS Hilltop, a centre dedicated to horticultural excellence, is sure to delight.Â
Harrogate Autumn Flower Show
15 - 17 September
Relocated to the stunning environs of Newby Hall & Gardens a few years ago, this showcase of autumnal blooms is right at home among the estate’s herbaceous borders (which are some of the longest in Europe). Aside from providing the perfect opportunity to pick out a perennial or two for your garden, one of the quirkier features of this show is the array of gargantuan vegetables vying for the top spot in the North of England Horticultural Society’s hotly contested competition. But with indoor floral displays inspired by the interiors of the Hall to admire, there is much to satisfy the eye.Â
