MALVERN Spring Gardening Show opened its silver anniversary card today in the spectacular setting of the Three Counties Showground at the foot of the famous outline of hills.

What began as a small local garden show 25 years ago has grown to become the UK’s first major horticultural event of 2010 and its special celebrations will be marked tomorrow by a visit of the Princess Royal.

The four-day event – with the gates closing at 6pm on Sunday – is expected to draw crowds of more than 90,000 from all parts of the country. Now co-organised by the Royal Horticultural Society, the show will once again feature in a BBC2 Gardeners’ World TV programme tomorrow at 8.30pm.

“To have a Royal guest really is the icing on the cake for our 25th birthday party,” said show press and PR manager Sharon Gilbert.

“We know weather conditions this spring have been particularly difficult for exhibitors, but once again they have come up trumps and the displays are truly amazing.” During her visit, the Princess Royal will be introduced to some of the exhibitors who have been with the event since the very beginning.

Her itinerary will take in some of the birthday celebrations and features planned for Malvern’s special year, including a celebration- themed centrepiece by some of Britain’s top nurseries in the 1.7-acre Malvern Floral Marquee, a ‘Best of the Best’ signature plant collection and a birthday ‘cake’ worked in sweet peas.

A new garden has been built to capture the appeal of the Spring Gardening Show and it will remain insitu for the Three Counties Show in June.

At 676 sq m, the 25th anniversary garden exceeds, in size, all the largest gardens built for the top gardening events over the years and involves 65 tonnes of landscaping materials, 100 tonnes of top soil and more than 1,000 man hours. “Its rings of grassy mounds and planting ripples evoke Malvern’s natural spring water and the contours of the Herefordshire Beacon at the end of the Malvern Hills range,” said Ms Gilbert.

The 25th anniversary garden is just one of 31 gardens at the show, which also include seven circus-themed gardens built by candidates for the Chris Beardshaw Mentoring Scholarship competition and nine school gardens.

The horticultural extravaganza is a garden lover’s paradise with 30 acres of plants, hundreds of tradestands, gardening gadgets, floral art and design ideas, quality food and drink and exquisite crafts.

New for 2010 is a botanical art exhibition and an arts and food market.

Television gardeners will be talking to growers and designers from the Design For Living Theatre and Garden Stage, and gardenersclick (Digital Media Award Winner 2008) will be hosting Q & A sessions.

Tomorrow: More show news and pictures