The RHS Flower Show Tatton Park will return later this month, transforming the historic estate into a paradise for gardeners, horticulturalists and people who enjoy a great summer’s day out.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the show will include unique gardens where you can get heaps of inspiration, flowers galore, talks and tips from experts, activities for children, great boutique shopping, an array of street food and loads more.
Already one of the most beautiful locations in the North West, Tatton Park will be bursting with colour and life for the RHS Flower Show.
Perfect for already-keen gardeners, people who are just getting started on their horticultural journey, or those who just want one of the most stunning summer days out in the region, there’ll be loads happening between 17 and 21 July.
Visitors can partake in activities like flower arranging workshops, as well as enjoying live entertainment, great food, and loads more.
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Special gardens this year will include My Name’5 Doddie, designed by Pip Probert, which will honour the late Doddie Weir and raise viral awareness for MND.
The garden will incorporate the colours of the player’s own private tartan, sculptures representing players in a line out, rugby goal posts and a water feature based on the tartan flower brooch used by the charity.
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New for this year will be the RHS Career Changer of the Year, a category at the flower show that will celebrate those who’ve found a new path in horticulture.
The RHS Flower Show Tatton Park is back for 2024
Last year’s Best Show Garden winners Carolyn Hardern and Jon Jarvis will be back this summer with The 1804 Garden, continuing their campaign to support construction workers, this time focusing on how a garden can be designed to mitigate against the risks of melanoma caused by excessive sun exposure.
There’ll be a little taste of the Andes via the Peak District at RHS Tatton Park too, as Tom Saunders showcases The Orchid Garden in the Terrace Gardens, inspired by his travels to South America.
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Sophie Godber’s Big Picture Garden highlights conscious consumerism, using objects sourced from a 19th century farmstead to demonstrate how building a new garden doesn’t need to cost the earth.
Meanwhile Hilary Newhall’s The Secret Garden: For Us, By Us raises awareness of autistic adults and the challenges they encounter.
The beautiful Long Borders will return, offering smaller spaces for designers and gardeners of any experience to show off their talents.
One such garden will be Barbie Says, ‘Women Can Be Anything They Want.’ (On the Shoulders of Giants), which will build on themes of women being given the right to vote and is filled with flowers that share girls’ names.
A couple celebrate their anniversary relaxing by the Woodland Stage band stand at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2019.Visitors shopping on trade stands at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2022.Visitors pose for photos with the floral RHS letters at RHS Tatton Park Flower Show 2021.Visitors look at the Young Designer ‘On Tropic’ Garden with fans in the hot weather at RHS Tatton Park Flower Show. Young Designer Garden, 361.
Other themes touched upon include the Cheshire rail network, LGBTQ+ rights, the Manchester skyline and an edible family garden.
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Sarah Poll, RHS Head of Shows Development, said: “What a fantastic line-up for the 25th anniversary of the wonderful RHS Flower Show Tatton Park.
“From gardens addressing illnesses such as MND to sustainability, arts and crafts, orchids and even Barbie – we’re delighted to showcase the best of cutting-edge design and thought provoking gardens.
“We’ve also got a superb range of food and drinks, live entertainment and shopping opportunities so everyone, young or old, families or individuals can come and enjoy a great day out.”
The next time that RHS Flower Show Tatton Park will be on the site will be in 2027, as part of a roster of changes to the show’s schedule announced by the RHS earlier this year – so you really don’t want to miss this one.
The RHS Flower Show Tatton Park is taking place between 17 and 21 July 2024. You can book your tickets here.
Take a look inside the new Operation Ouch! interactive exhibition opening in Manchester tomorrow
Emily Sergeant
Fancy plunging headfirst into the incredible world of our senses?
Well now you can, as back by popular demand after a successful run over these past two years, but with a fresh new adventure lined up for 2025, Operation Ouch! has landed in Manchester once again, and this time around, you can journey through an ear canal covered in gooey wax, squeeze past sticky snot, and delve deeper into how our brains interpret the world.
The major new exhibition for children and families, which is titled Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You, is officially opening down at the Science and Industry Museum from tomorrow.
Visitors are being told to prepare themselves for an “epic exploration of the senses”.
Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies, and You is opening in Manchester tomorrow / Credit: Science Museum Group
Mini Manc medics can explore their brilliant brains by banging on an eardrum, venturing into a massive eyeball, and even taking a whiff of a ‘smell library’ during what sounds like a properly playful and lively interactive adventure at the museum.
You’ll get to enter Dr Chris’ brain headquarters through his giant ear, making sure to dodge the earwax, before venturing through the five senses of touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste with loads of hands-on science experiences, as well as discovering some of the secret senses that help us with our balance, know when it’s time to sleep, and even when to go for a wee.
Educational as well as entertaining, you’ll even get to find out about how our sensory experiences can vary from children who are living with disabilities.
Video appearances from Dr Chris, Dr Xand, and Dr Ronx from the hit BBC children’s TV series, Operation Ouch!, will pop up throughout the exhibition to help visitors understand more about the science behind the fun.
Ahead of the opening of the exhibition, Steven Leech, who is the Curator of Exhibitions at the Science and Industry Museum, commented: “From sight and sound, to some lesser-known senses, our bodies are truly sense-sational.
Visitors can plunge head-first into the incredible world of our senses / Credit: Science Museum Group
“Our brains rely on our senses to help us understand and explore the world around us, and in this exhibition, you will take part in an epic experiment that is bursting with brilliant brain science.
“Just like our previous Operation Ouch! exhibition, Brains, Bogies and You will offer a playful experience that builds confidence in young people who want to explore science, so get ready for the trip of a lifetime and come and get stuck into the science inside all of us.”
Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You opens at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester city centre tomorrow (14 February 2025) and will run right up until 4 January 2026 – with tickets priced at £10 each and now on sale.
A massive power ballads club night is heading to Manchester
Daisy Jackson
A club night dedicated to the majesty of power ballads is heading to Manchester this spring.
Power Up – the Ultimate Power Ballad Night will encourage punters to belt out some of the biggest songs in history well into the night.
Tune up your air guitars, round up your mates, squeeze those eyes tight shut and scream your heart out to classic power ballads from the likes of Meat Loaf, Queen, Whitney Houston and loads more.
This beloved power ballads night out will be at the O2 Ritz Manchester over Easter weekend, with an early club night that will kick off at 9pm and wrap up at 1am.
You’ll be able to put the venue’s iconic sprung dance floor through its paces as you bound around to some of the world’s biggest anthems.
The playlist will include artists like Journey, Bon Jovi, Bonnie Tyler, Phil Collins, Belinda Carlisle, and many more.
If you’ve not been to a Power Up night out before, you can expect DJs throwing blow-up guitars and microphones into the crowd, non-stop fist-clenching anthems, and a setlist that’ll leave you hoarse from belting the next morning,
This next installment will be taking place at the O2 Ritz Manchester on Saturday 19 April, between 9pm and 1am.
This is a strictly 18+ event. Tickets cost £10 in advance – you can find out more and grab your tickets HERE.