Mother’s Day Weekend at RHS Gardens and Partner Gardens

RHSWisley

Delight in the joys of spring and treat Mum to an inspiring day out at RHS Gardens and Partner Gardens this Mothering Sunday

Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 March 2018 At the four RHS Gardens and dozens of RHS Partner Gardens around the country, there are plenty of ideas for spending quality time with Mum in beautiful surroundings this Mother’s Day. Seek out cheerful signs of spring around the gardens, take part in inspiring workshops or indulge in the sweet tradition of tea and cake and give Mum a day to remember.

At RHS Garden Rosemoor, mums can enjoy a special Afternoon Tea on Saturday 10 March, including cakes, sandwiches and a traditional Devonshire cream tea, served to a table in the small Garden Room. The Garden Room will also host a demonstration of paper flower-making and everyone can take home a free gift of a beautiful paper peony. Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea is £20 per person and must be booked ahead online. On Sunday 11 March, the award-winning Rosemoor Garden Kitchen will be serving its famed Sunday Carvery menu, packed with the finest locally-sourced and homegrown produce – booking is advised.

Don’t miss one of the biggest celebrations of spring-flowering plants at the Spring Flower Competitions on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 March, with classes including camellias, early magnolias, rhododendrons, daffodils and hyacinths. Enjoy a sensual feast of colour and scent examining some of the finest specimens from growers across the country before taking a stroll around the garden to see Rosemoor’s own camellias, rhododendrons and daffodils bringing the garden to life.

RHS Garden Harlow Carr will be a welcoming sight, awash with beautiful spring colour as many varieties of early-flowering bulbs including daffodils, tulips, muscari, hyacinth and iris burst into flower. Stop by Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms for lunch to enjoy home-cooked dishes with a Swiss influence, or a traditional afternoon tea of sandwiches, cakes and pastries for £19.95 – or for £27.95 add pink Champagne to make it an extra-special treat for Mum.

Over in Essex at RHS Garden Hyde Hall, explore the garden as the spring season bursts into life before rewarding mum with a delightful afternoon tea for £12.95 per person (booking essential) on Sunday 11 March. Alternatively, book Mum onto the ‘What Now? Your Garden in March and April’ workshop on Saturday 10 March and inspire her to get into the garden. RHS experts will guide attendees through staking, planting, lifting and dividing of seasonal plants with practical techniques demonstrated in the garden from 11am to 1pm.

Meanwhile, at RHS Garden Wisley the Terrace Room will open specially for Mother’s Day, with either a two-course lunch or a sumptuous afternoon tea available at £25 per person (book in advance by emailing preferred time and numbers to wisley@companyofcooks.com), including a complimentary gift for Mum. A walk around the garden to see the beauty of early spring blossom and bulbs in flower is the perfect way to work up an appetite.

In addition, Saturday 10March sees the Orchid Society of Great Britain Spring Show in the Glasshouse Gallery at Wisley, where experts and growers will be on hand with advice and quality orchids to buy. A treat for any orchid fans, this show offers an opportunity to learn about more unusual species and see beautiful displays created by OSGB members.

Elsewhere around the country, many RHS Partner Gardens have exciting events planned for the Mother’s Day weekend, and RHS members can visit for free on selected days. On Saturday 10 March at A Weekend for Mum at Penshurst Place in Kent, kids can make special cards for Mum, and adults can learn to make scented gifts on Sunday 11 March. In Norfolk, Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden’s head gardener Ian Guest will take families on a guided tour of the garden after which each mother will receive a primrose.

On the outskirts of London, take a stroll around the grounds in search of spring beauty at Osterley Park before tasting wines, juices, jams and curds in the Brewhouse coffee shop. Meanwhile, at Compton Acres in Dorset both RHS Members and mums can enjoy the gardens for free, and there’s a potted plant gift for every mum who is treated to Sunday lunch.

Other RHS Partner Gardens open for free to RHS Members on Mother’s Day include:
• The Dorothy Clive Garden, Shropshire
• Tatton Park, Cheshire
• Kilver Court Garden, Somerset
• East Ruston Old Vicarage Gardens, Norfolk
• Larch Cottage Nurseries, Cumbria
• Tylney Hall, Hampshire
• Waterperry Gardens, Oxfordshire
• Batsford Arboretum, Gloucestershire
• Godinton House and Gardens, Kent
• Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire
• Scone Palace, Perthshire

For more information about Mothers day and other events at RHS Wisley please visit >>> www.rhs.org.uk
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