Sue Kent Opens the New Horticulture Village at the Royal Welsh Show

Sue Kent Opens the New Horticulture Village at the Royal Welsh Show

This morning (Monday 22^nd July) saw the official opening of the brand-new Horticulture Village at the Royal Welsh Show. The vibrant area led by RWAS Assistant Honorary Director Horticulture, Adam Jones, who is better known as S4C’s ‘Adam yn yr Ardd’, is a celebration of all aspects of horticulture in Wales.

The new Horticulture Village showcases community to commercial growing, competitive showing and displays, alongside promoting the health and social benefits of gardening, education and the building of a resilient supply chain of sustainable Welsh produce.

In his opening speech, Mr Jones declared to the audience in the ‘Dysgubor’ area, that it was a “Great day at the Show!”. He spoke of how on visiting the show as a child, he remembered being inspired by the horticultural section and how it fed his desire to become a gardener. His vision for the village was to “inspire, educate and collaborate” and he hoped that his own young daughter would feel the same sense of awe and enjoyment as he had as a child. He also declared that Floral Art entries were up 40% on the numbers before last year’s hiatus.

With a variety of areas dedicated to every aspect of horticulture, Mr Jones hopes that people from all aspects of the industry will come together to share knowledge and learn from each other, whether they have a small garden or farm on a large scale.

Mr Richard Price, Hon. Show Director said that the intention was to make the Horticulture Village the biggest talking point of the 2024 Royal Welsh Show and that the Society were keen to embrace the sector. He thanked all the sponsors who had made the Village possible.

Award winning presenter on BBC2’s ‘Gardener’s World’ RHS Ambassador for Disability and RHS and ‘Gardener’s World Live’ medal winner, Sue Kent, who lives in Swansea, officially opened the Village, stating how she was delighted to be at the show and spending the day celebrating the best Wales has to offer in horticulture, “It’s wonderful to bring all this talent and enthusiasm together”. She said that she was looking forward to visiting all the floral art and horticultural competitions and how she hopes to take inspiration to attempt to compete at her local show. She told the audience “I think we are all going to have a day full of sharing and learning which is what the Royal Welsh Show is all about”, before declaring the Village open. She then held a book signing session for her new book ‘Garden Notes’, followed by a Q&A session later in the day, hosted by Richard Bramley, of Farmyard Nurseries, Llandysul.

Visitors are able to enjoy the traditional elements of the horticultural competitions, along with displays in the ‘Eisteddflodau’ and the ‘Garddle’ areas. ‘Dysgubor’ hosts informative talks, discussions, workshops and learning opportunities across all aspects of the horticultural sector and ‘Y Farchnad’ provides an area for commercial growers and producers to engage with visitors. There is also a sensory garden, mini show-gardens and an entertainment area.

Adam Jones emphasised the desire to create an area that would bring the community together, “The most important element of the show, is the people. The village gives us an international stage to promote Welsh Horticulture and to trial concepts, to discuss ideas and to celebrate our successes. We are keen for visitors to come along and to share their experiences and ideas in order to further develop the village in the future”.