With half-term just around the corner, budding gardeners can get hands-on with the RHS Family Garden Festival from 25 May to 2 June. The festival, in collaboration with Burgon & Ball to celebrate its new ‘Growing Gardeners’ family gardening range of children’s tools and accessories, looks to get families involved in gardening together with a host of fantastic activities in all five gardens.
Gardeners of all ages can participate in interactive planting activities, creative crafts, inspirational storytelling, shows and fun garden trails to explore. Almost all activities are free and included with ticket prices with free entry for under-5s and RHS members; some tickets need to be booked.
Dates, times, and activities vary per garden; please see below and check the website for details:
RHS Garden Bridgewater, Salford: 25 May – 2 June
Visitors can join RHS Garden Bridgewater for plenty of fun with a family trail, hands-on planting sessions, seasonal crafts and interactive story sessions across over 150 acres of beautiful garden a stone’s throw away from central Manchester. For plenty of horticultural inspiration, families can travel throughout the seasons to explore a year in gardening with the Family Trail, and growing gardeners can get stuck in with seed planting workshops.
Whether joining the RHS Sweet Pea Society or experts at the Northwest Counties Chrysanthemum Society, budding horticulturalists can take home their own seeds to watch them bloom into beautiful plants.
The Middle Wood Event Space will also be hosting plenty of fun crafting activities where little ones can make their own sunflower seed packets, and there will be a host of interactive storytelling sessions to get stuck into. Little gardeners ages 3-6 can also participate in an exciting garden adventure where they will discover all of the garden’s best secrets with an RHS expert.
For more information, prices and to book tickets, please visit here
RHS Garden Wisley, Surrey: 25 May – 2 June
Half-term at RHS Garden Wisley is packed with exciting hands-on activities, with 240 beautiful acres of gardens to discover and plenty of activities to keep little horticulturists busy. Families looking to get green-fingered can travel throughout the seasons with a Family Trail to get inspiration for a year of home planting and get stuck in at the Core Learning Centre with lots of hands-on seasonal craft activities.
The garden will also play host to a collection of exciting performances with special appearances from the Skinny Jean Gardener from the hit CBBC Extreme Gardening Show and, for younger children, the Pif Paf Bee Cart, an exciting walkabout theatre experience exploring all things bees and pollination. RHS Garden Wisley will also be running Muddy Hands Green Fingers sessions where children learn vital safety skills and grow their green fingers by raking in the gardens with expert advice.
For more information, and to book tickets, please visit here
RHS Garden Harlow Carr, North Yorkshire: 25 May – 2 June
This half-term, families can enjoy a range of interactive activities, crafts, and green-fingered activities at RHS Garden Harlow Carr. Along with an exciting family trail for gardeners of all ages to explore a year in horticulture and learn all about the home gardening calendar, there will be family story yoga and hands-on tomato planting workshops where little ones can choose an RHS-grown plug plant to take home for delicious fruit all summer long.
Those looking to get their hands dirty can also take part in a propagation workshop where they will learn the best techniques to take cuttings from trendy succulents and share with friends and family, as well as plenty of crafting, including making paper plant pots for sunflower seeds to take home and grow. There will also be the chance for budding gardeners to join the RHS Garden detectives for “Gardening Tales” to learn about all the exciting jobs they do in the garden.
For more information, prices and to book tickets, please visit here
RHS Garden Hyde Hall, Essex: 25 May – 2 June
From sunflower seeds to special story times, RHS Garden Hyde Hall has plenty for the whole family this half-term, with a packed schedule of activities for all ages. As well as an exciting family trail for families to explore and learn about gardening at home, little ones can get stuck in and help the expert gardeners plant giant sunflower seeds before making their own creative sunflower pots and planting their own seeds to take home and watch grow.
The Hilltop Lodge will also be hosting plenty of fun, seasonal craft activities throughout the week, and those who want to explore can join an interactive storytelling walk around the garden.
For more information, prices and to book tickets, please visit here
RHS Garden Rosemoor, North Devon: 25 May – 2 June
For plenty of half-term fun, families can enjoy the 65 acres of beautiful RHS Garden Rosemoor with performances, crafts and gardening activities. Guests can embark on a special Vegetable Hunter Family Trail to discover all the edibles growing throughout the gardens and get stuck in with gardening-themed crafts, including making beautiful bee and butterfly dishes from air-drying clay for wildlife in your garden.
Visitors can also enjoy stunning performances by Flying with Strings, an interactive string puppet show inspired by British birdlife, where the audience will meet the graceful swallow, charismatic hoopoe, and colourful bee-eater.
Throughout the week, head gardener Lily will be hosting interactive story times, and for those wanting to get their hands dirty, there will be Paper Pots and Tomato plant sessions for little ones to plant their own seeds to take home and watch grow.
For more information, prices and to book tickets, please visit here
About the RHS
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) was founded in 1804 and is the UK’s largest gardening charity.
The RHS vision is to enrich everyone’s life through plants and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place via its inspirational gardens and shows, science research and advisory, extensive library collections and far-reaching education and community programmes. With over 600,000 members, the RHS also shares its horticultural knowledge and expertise with millions of people every year through its website and publications.
In 2021, the RHS launched its Sustainability Strategy, committing to be net positive for nature and people by 2030. The supporting RHS Planet-Friendly Gardening Campaign will continue to harness the power of the UK’s 30 million gardeners to help tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis.
