The recent spell of good weather has put visitors in the mood for gardening, and tickets for The Bishop’s Palace English Country Garden Festival have been selling fast!
This will be the second Garden Festival held at the Palace and the event is due to be opened on Friday 12th June by top gardener Roy Lancaster, of Gardener’s World and Gardener’s Question Time fame. Other speakers will include Mark Diacono, Tom Hart-Dyke, Jane Moore and Claire Greenslade and all talks are included in the price of the entrance ticket.
The Wells and District Floral Arts Society will be working on a very special arrangement of a Floral Birthday Cake to commemorate the Queen’s 90th birthday and this unusual two-tiered design, including a royal crown, will be unveiled on Friday 10th and will remain on display in the Entrance Hall of the Palace throughout the Festival.
There will be live music throughout the event with acts such as ‘The Somerset Levellers’, Tom Toomey and The Soul Tones entertaining the crowds. Visitors will be able to browse over 40 different stalls around the 14 acres of gardens with offerings such as garden nurseries, local cheese, willow sculptures, garden obelisks, picnic blankets, stoneware, ceramics and much more.
Visitors will be able to try their hand a have-a-go croquet, take advantage of the drop-in Gardeners’ S.O.S point, join a free garden tour or watch demonstrations on willow weaving, stained glass, wood staining and more!
On Sunday 12th June from 12pm there will be a Grand Picnic on the lawn to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday, in association with Mogers Drewett. Everyone is invited to join in and celebrate in style and there will be lots of family entertainment with face painting, storytelling, a royal craft session, family games and music. Visitors can bring their own picnic, or pre-order one of the Palace Luxury Picnics, featuring royal delights such as Coronation Chicken, Eton Mess and a bottle of bubbly, in advance.
The festival is sponsored by Griffin Glasshouses who made the large glasshouse in the Community Garden of The Bishop’s Palace.
Tickets are available online www.bishopspalace.org.uk by phone 01749 988 111 or from the Palace Shop.