From the glamour and excitement of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show to the laid-back charm of the Great Comp Summer Show, our round up of this year’s best flower shows, festivals and events.
We'll be updating this article through the year so be sure to check back for what's new. Bookmark it for quick and easy re-finding!
So, let's make some plans and make the most of what's going on. Here's what you've got to look forward to in 2025...
For more fascinating garden festivals this year, see: 11 cool, alternative garden festivals and events to enjoy this summer
Gardens Illustrated events and show guide 2025
On now
Until 25 January 2026: Garden Futures: Designing with Nature, Dundee
In this colourful new V&A exhibition showcasing more than 400 artefacts using light, sound, texture and garden scents, visitors walk through an immersive hedge maze, wooden greenhouse and woven floral wall among other nature-inspired spaces. Expect to see everything from the earliest international examples of design to contemporary creations by icons like Piet Oudolf; dresses made with wheatgrass roots to William Morris artwork and contemporary videogames.
The area surrounding the waterfront museum has also been revitalised with colourful and biodiverse planting.
Open 10am - 5pm
Tickets £7.50 – £16
Location V&A Dundee, 1 Riverside Esplanade, Dundee DD1 4EZ
Web vam.ac.uk
Coming up
16-25 October: Society of Wildlife Artists’ exhibition, London
This year's Society of Wildlife Artists' (SWLA) exhibition will display the artworks created during a year-long project capturing the rewilding of Massingham Heath, a previously intensively farmed site in West Norfolk. This collection is part of the wider exhibition of over 300 paintings, prints and sculptures by British wildlife artists inspired by the natural world.
Most artworks are available to buy in person or online, so it's worth having a browse.
Timings 10am-5pm daily
Tickets £6
Location Mall Galleries, The Mall, London SW1
Web mallgalleries.org.uk
NOVEMBER 2025
Friday 14 November: The Power of Trees: From Climate Resilience to their Role in Garden Design, Hertfordshire
This is The Serge Hill Project's first one-day symposium, celebrating the power of trees. Aimed at gardeners, designers and tree lovers, it will be a deep dive into a range of topics, including the ecological relationship between trees in a landscape, climate-resilient species and using, sourcing and caring for them in garden design.
Contributors include Arit Anderson and Tom Stuart-Smith.
Timings 10am-4pm
Tickets From £45
Location The Apple House, Sergehill Lane, Bedmond WD5 0RZ
Web sergehillproject.co.uk
Saturday 15 November: Kitchen Garden Workshop: Gardening with Wildlife in the Winter, Oxfordshire
Join gardener Tim Mitchell in Asthall Manor's kitchen garden to learn about the benefits of gardening with wildlife while growing food for people. Discover the roles of different creatures and what they need in return, and take part in fun, hands-on activities to increase the diversity and vitality of the wildlife.
Timings 10am-4pm
Tickets From £35
Location Asthall Manor, Burford, Oxfordshire OX18 4HW
Web asthallmanor.com
Sunday 16 November: Clematis talk, Cambridge
Calling all clematis lovers: Plant Heritage is set to welcome renowned clematis grower and breeder Raymond Evison for this year's Max Walters Memorial Lecture in Cambridge. Raymond will talk about the introduction of clematis from 16th century Europe, their origin in China, breeding across the 19th and 20th centuries, and the use of this beautiful plant in our gardens today, and into the future.
Timings Doors open 2pm, lecture starts at 2:30pm prompt
Tickets Selling fast! Must buy in advance, Plant Heritage members and students £12; visitors £15
Location The William Collyn Centre, Wellbrook Way, Girton, Cambridge CB3 0GP
Web cambridgelivetickets.co.uk
Saturday 22 November: Coppicing at Elterwater, Cumbria
Help the rangers and learn an ancient woodland management technique in this free workshop from the National Trust.
Timings 9:45-3pm
Tickets Free
Location The Langdales, Great Langdale, near Ambleside, Cumbria LA22 9JU
Web nationaltrust.org.uk
Saturday 22 November: Introduction to Natural Inks, Birmingham
Create inks from kitchen waste, wild plants and other natural materials gathered in the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. You'll leave with a bottle of ink, colour swatch, experimental drawings and an instruction manual.
Timings 12:30pm-3:30pm
Tickets £50
Location Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Westbourne Road, Edgbaston B15 3TR
Web birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk
Wednesday 26 November: Stylish Festive Containers, London
Petersham Nurseries are running a series of Christmas workshops this season, including wreath-making sessions, and this is another one to consider. Learn how to use seasonal plants to create a beautiful festive container to keep in a favourite outdoor spot or gift to a loved one.
Timings 10:30am-12pm
Tickets £65
Location Petersham Nurseries, Church Lane, Off Petersham Rd, Richmond TW10 7AB
Web petershamnurseries.com
Saturday 29 November: Planning and Planting a Small Orchard, Brighton
Anyone who wants to learn more about the basics of choosing, planting and caring for fruit trees will enjoy this hands-on, one-day event. It'll cover design tips and planting techniques for gardens and small orchards, and involve presentations with Q&A, a practical planting session and a guided walk looking at newly planted trees.
This is suitable for beginners with no prior knowledge necessary.
Timings 9:30am-4pm
Tickets From £56
Location One Garden Brighton Stanmer Park, Lewes Road, Brighton BN1 9SE
Web onegardenbrighton.com
DECEMBER 2025
Tuesday 2 December: Can nature friendly gardens be beautiful?
This talk brings together five professional gardeners who are adapting the way they garden as a result of the climate and biodiversity crises - at work and in their own small gardens. Hear from The Royal Parks' head of horticulture Matthew Pottage; garden writer and broadcaster Kate Bradbury; London's Inner Temple Gardens head gardener Sean Harkin; and the National Trust's specialist for environmental horticulture Rebecca Bevan and head of gardens Sheila Das.
Timings 7-8pm
Tickets Livestream £10 / Standard £25
Location Garden Museum, Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB
Web gardenmuseum.org.uk
Sunday 7 December: Beautiful & Useful Christmas Fair
Beautiful & Useful is heading back to London's Garden Museum for its eighth annual Christmas fair. Browse curated treasures including mechanical toys, velvet toadstool decorations, Claverton Cloches, wooden garden tools, ceramic vases and other beautiful homewares.
There's also the chance to take part in workshops making straw or tin decorations, and enjoy a seasonal lunch and freshly baked snacks from the garden café.
Timings 10am-4pm
Tickets £5
Location Garden Museum, Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB
Web beautiful-useful.co.uk
JANUARY 2026
Thursday 15-Friday 16 January: Wilding Gardens, Manchester
Aimed at anyone interested in learning more about how our gardens are crucial for rewilding and biodiversity, this two-day conference of ideas brings together inspiring voices in horticulture and environmental science to show how we can garden to save wildlife and resources, and tackle climate change.
The event comes from Isabella Tree of the renowned West Sussex rewilding project Knepp, along with iconic garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith, and will feature leading figures including Professor James Hitchmough, Great Dixter's Fergus Garrett and ecological grower Poppy Okotcha, among many others.
Timings Thursday 10am - 6pm / Friday 9am - 4pm
Tickets From £100
Location University of Manchester, 176 Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL
Web wildinggardens.co.uk
MAY 2026
9 May - 27 September: Henry Moore’s art at Kew Gardens and Wakehurst
Kew and Wakehurst will host the largest ever showcase of art from the internationally recognised 20th century artist Henry Moore. The exhibition will feature 30 artworks across Kew's landscape and inside the Temperate House - the world's biggest Victorian glasshouse - as well as 90 works in Kew's Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, which will encompass bronzes, stone and wood carvings, prints and drawings, exploring Moore’s unique process of ‘thinking through nature’.
From 5 June, Wakehurst (Kew's wild botanic garden in Sussex) will open a parallel exhibition of four additional Moore sculptures, alongside new commissioned pieces from contemporary artists.
Dates 9 May-27 Sep 2026 (Kew) / 5 June-27 Sep (Wakehurst)
Tickets Included in ticket to Kew/Wakehurst / Universal Credit £1 / 16–29-year-olds £10
Location Kew, Richmond, London TW9 3AE / Wakehurst, Ardingly, Haywards Heath, Sussex RH17 6TN
Web kew.org / kew.org/wakehurst
Dates and prices correct at time of publication. Please check details for each show prior to travelling.