Set just below the picturesque town of Great Malvern, in the shadow of the Malvern Hills on the Herefordshire and Worcestershire border, one would be pushed to come up with a more natural arena to host a gardening show than the Three Counties Showground.

The Malvern Spring Gardening Show, this year held from May 10-13, is the traditional curtain raiser for the outdoor gardening show calendar. To exhibitors, it is often used as a "dry run" before the more prestigious Chelsea Flower Show, which takes place May 22-26.

With natural settings, however, come natural elements - and the first day of the show was not so much of a dry run than an exceedingly soggy one. Last year's record temperatures were a distant memory as the squalls descended on the verdant pastureland.

Undeterred, Nick Vincent, chief executive of the Three Counties Agricultural Society, said he was expecting in the region of 90,000 visitors to the show, which he described as "agriculture meets horticulture". There was no finer example of this than Chris Beardshaw's show garden, which won a Royal Horticultural Society Gold medal and Best In Show.

Bob Sweet, head of shows' development at the Royal Horticultural Society, was also upbeat as he praised the upward trend in the standard of the floral displays and show gardens. "We are very clear within the judging panels that the standard here has to equate with that of Chelsea. Two gold medals in the show gardens and 38 golds awarded to stands in the floral marquee is testament to the improving standard and the work put in by exhibitors.

"With plants being some three to four weeks in advance of their normal growth cycles, there could well be some worried exhibitors at Chelsea this year," he added.

The Three Counties Show Garden, designed by Chris Beardshaw in association with the Adcote School for Girls, was inspired by the natural beauty of the countryside he enjoyed as a child. Among the more horticultural elements of this unusual garden are a Victorian-style bothy garden with cider apple orchard, an ornamental cutting garden and a cottage-style herbery.

The agricultural touches are provided by a pig sty with rare breed pigs, a small pond area with chickens, ducks and geese and a pasture area with Ryeland sheep grazing. The whole lot is surrounded by a dry stone wall and native hedgerow.

The other show garden to win gold was A Reassuring Place, designed by Stuart Gibbs. The inspiration behind this garden was Maggie's Centres, the drop-in centres for cancer patients. The garden is split into two parts - one designed as a place to be sociable and the other designed for privacy.

The flowing architectural lines of both areas are complemented by bamboos and grasses that seek to link the sunken wooded retreat (the private area) with the more contemporary stone and steel communal area.

Explore Gardens

• Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

• Chelsea Flower Show

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