Summer is a great opportunity to get out in the warm weather and explore beautiful gardens at their best, and over the coming weeks, there are lots of fantastic horticultural events taking place, from garden festivals offering the chance to gain inspiration and learn from gardening icons, to fascinating exhibitions and plant fairs showcasing new and unusual blooms.
We've rounded up all the most exciting events to attend. Forget Glastonbury - these are the dates in our diaries this summer.
See our full list of garden events and shows happening this year for more inspiration. We update it regularly, so it's worth bookmarking it and checking back for new events.
Garden events you won't want to miss this summer
Composted: A Festival of Biodegradable Ideas, Fife
This unique 'compost festival' is running for six weeks and lifts the lid of the compost bin to reveal the fascinating science inside. It's aimed at gardeners, scientists, environmentalists and anyone interested in learning from the festival's biodegradable ideas, and runs until 26 July.
Some events have already passed, but there's still the chance to take part in a daily 'dead but alive' trail of the site's dead hedges, standing dead wood sculptures and habitat piles, and explore the compost studio area. Every Sunday, there are stay-and-play campfire sessions for kids to get involved. Then, take home your own Cambo compost 'mother' to develop your own compost at home.
Dates Until 26 July
Location Cambo Gardens, Kingsbarns, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8QD
Charleston Festival of the Garden, East Sussex
The modernist home of painters Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and a gathering point for the Bloomsbury group's 20th-century artists, writers and intellectuals, Charleston is a fascinating place to visit. But this July, it's running its Festival of the Garden, with indoor and outdoor talks, performances, walks and workshops, delivered by some of the industry's biggest names, including award-winning garden designer Jo Thompson, RHS Chelsea gold medal winner Jamie Butterworth and ecological grower and community gardener Poppy Okotcha.
Browse the plant and makers market, visit the pop-up bookshop and see the walled garden in full bloom while you're there. Don't forget to pack a picnic to enjoy in the grounds...
Dates 17–20 July
Location Charleston, Firle, East Sussex BN8 6LL
Read more:
- 12 great free gardens to visit this summer
- 25 gardens to visit with public transport
- The 19 best new gardens to visit in 2025
- Gardens to visit in Yorkshire
William Robinson Festival at Gravetye Manor, Sussex
The Elizabethan Gravetye Manor hotel and gardens aren't usually open to the public, so this annual event is a wonderful opportunity to explore the grounds while they're in full bloom.
To celebrate the pioneering Victorian gardener William Robinson, who bought the manor in 1884, Gravetye will host garden talks and demonstrations, including one from RHS award-winning landscape design studio Harris Bugg, as well as plant sales, a local cheese showcase, wine tasting, morris dancing and more. All ticket proceeds go to Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice.
Date 20 July
Location Gravetye Manor, Vowels Lane, West Hoathly, Sussex RH19 4LJ
Cecil Beaton's Garden Party, London
Fashion photographer, artist and costume and set designer, Cecil Beaton had a range of artistic talents - but he described his garden as the greatest joy of his life, after his friends. This exhibition explores how gardens and flowers influenced him at his homes, Ashcombe House and Reddish House in Wiltshire, through fascinating photos, paintings, drawings and diary entries.
Dates Until 21 September
Location Garden Museum, 5 Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB
The Great Comp Summer Show, Kent
Great Comp's annual Summer Show is one event many look forward to. The seven-acre garden is hosting a vibrant mix of talented artists and craftspeople showcasing their work in the marquee, and visitors can browse and buy plants from award-winning sellers like The No Name Nursery and Pelham Plants, both of which have won RHS Chelsea gold medals.
This year, Great Comp is unveiling a collection of new world salvias inherited from a collector in Portsmouth, which many visitors won’t have seen before. Plus, there are live jazz performances throughout the weekend.
Dates 9–10 August
Location Great Comp Garden, Comp Lane, Platt, Nr Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 8QS
Unearthed: The Power of Gardening, London
This fascinating exhibition at the British Library in London explores how gardening has impacted and influenced people, communities and the environment throughout history. You can see exhibits including the first mechanised lawnmower, the first gardening manual from 1564 and the only surviving illustrated collection of herbal remedies from Anglo-Saxon England.
These historical artefacts sit alongside paintings, pamphlets and botanical artworks, as well as short films made for the exhibition.
Dates Until 10 August
Location British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB
Garden Museum Literary Festival, Wiltshire
Britain’s only traveling literary festival, run by the Garden Museum, is back this year for the 11th time. Previously it has been held at a range of prestigious venues like Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, but this time it'll be based in the Grade I-listed gardens of Iford Manor in Wiltshire.
Check the Garden Museum's website for more details as the date approaches.
Dates 12–13 September
Location Iford Manor, nr. Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire BA15 2BA
Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival, Somerset
Brand new this year is the exciting Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival, held in the organic producer’s Somerset gardens. Over three days the festival will demonstrate how greener gardening can be both achievable and fun through a series of expert talks from the likes of Charles Dowding, Alys Fowler and Tom Massey, plus panel discussions, practical workshops and hands-on demonstrations.
You can also browse stalls from traders offering the best in sustainable and artisanal products, including plants and garden tools – and enjoy live music and delicious food and drink.
Ticket prices start at £24 for a single day and Gardens Illustrated members can enjoy a 26% discount on all adult tickets (visit the membership site for details).
Dates 18-20 September
Location Yeo Valley Organic Garden, Holt Farm, Bath Road, Bristol BS40 7SQ
OmVed Gardens, London
OmVed Gardens in North London have kicked off an exciting programme of events encouraging visitors to learn and practice mindfulness through nature. As the two-acre, community-focused urban growing hub celebrates the completion of its new greenhouse, seed library, barn and sky garden this summer, it is opening its gates to the public at weekends.
Inside the new spaces, award-winning artist Vivienne Schadinsky’s exhibition Into the Seeds of Time uses films, sculptures and Japanese ink paintings to track the journey beans take from seed to plate. Throughout the summer, visitors can create ink from black beans in natural dye painting workshops, forage medicinal herbs in a home herbalism session and join a guided walk to discover the fascinating connection between ecology and queer theory.
There’s also the chance to join OmVed courses, covering permaculture, fermentation, zero-waste practices and the connection between food, the environment and community.
Dates Throughout summer
Location 1 Townsend Yard, Highgate, London N6 5JF
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 video games.
The area surrounding the waterfront museum has also been revitalised with colourful and biodiverse planting.
Dates Until 25 January 2026
Location V&A Dundee, 1 Riverside Esplanade, Dundee, DD1 4EZ