Malvern's Spring Gardening Show just can't stop growing. Zeena Lemon finds out what makes it so blooming good.

As I write this, the very faintest wisp of spring is in the air. The nights are almost imperceptibly lighter and the temperatures are creeping up. How wonderful, then, after such a cold, hard winter, to be able to look forward to the celebration of life, colour and beauty that is the Malvern Spring Gardening Show.

Organised and produced by the Three Counties Agricultural Society and the Royal Horticultural Society, the show -- to be held this year on May 11-14 at the Three Counties Showground -- began life as a small regional flower show.

But as all good gardeners know, if you nurture a seed well, it bears fruit and the show is now fully mature. Celebrating its 21st anniversary this year, it attracts 98,000 national and international visitors and is widely acknowledged to be Britain's leading spring event.

The spacious 70-acre show site boasts a spectacular setting at the foot of Malvern Hills, which itself is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. How apt, then, that the show plays host to some of the most outstanding cultivated beauty, with 17 show gardens confirmed for this year and six permanent, on-site gardens.

It is also renowned for the quality of exhibits and produces high numbers of RHS Gold Medal honours.

The show itself has many aims, one of which is to be a source of inspiration and education with gardens that epitomise grand ideas on a small scale.

Three Counties Agricultural Society spokeswoman Sharon Gilbert says: "If you walk around the show and take in all the sites, smells and colours it proves that you don't need acres of land to transform a tiny plot into a beautiful paradise.

"The collection of gardens is usually very eclectic, with plenty of achievable ideas for visitors to take home."

In addition to the exhibitors in the RHS Floral Marquee, there are lots of smaller pavilions selling quality plants of all varieties.

Communicating with visitors was seen as the way forward last year, when the interactive design theatre was introduced and proved a great success. In a complete reversal of roles, TV gardeners James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift played host to designers, growers and students who were invited to take the spotlight and talk about the trials and tribulations of nurturing plants to exacting standards, and creating medal-winning gardens and displays.

James Alexander-Sinclair says: "The interactive design theatre was a totally new experience guaranteed to give showgoers a deeper insight into the effort, laughter and tears involved in getting all the plants and gardens looking perfect for the judges.

"We are very much looking forward to working with the designers and growers again this year and hope that visitors will go away knowing more about garden design, choosing and using different materials and how to grow happy plants!"

Alan Titchmarsh will return again this year as a special guest on Friday, May 12.

Its not just about educating adult gardeners -- nurturing little green fingers is also an integral part of the shows ethos. Ms Gilbert says: "We see it as an important part of our role as a high-profile show that we inspire the next generation of gardeners. We work with schools and in conjunction with RHS Education, we run a professional development placement day for teachers. This year we are running an exciting competition to design a children's gardening magazine or website."

The Malvern show is also recognised as a springboard for up-and-coming designers making their first foray on to the show circuit -- Diarmuid Gavin and Julian Dowle have built show gardens at Malvern in the past.

Malvern gives students, gardening clubs, horticultural societies and individuals the chance to make their mark -- with a share of a £20,000 grant to help them get started.

With a new Garden Life pavilion this year, plus show gardens with titles as diverse as Polish Cottage Garden, The Cosmic Permagarden and Shades of Shade, not to mention children's pottery workshops, Alpine gardening, organic gardening corner, crafts, food and wine, it seems that the Malvern Spring Gardening Show can only carry on growing from strength to strength.

For further information and to book tickets call the ticket office line on 01684 584924. General information and enquiries is available from 01684 584900 or www.rhs.org.uk