The RHS Comes to Badminton: Britain's Most Anticipated New Garden Show Opens This Week
Maheshwari Vickyraj
7 Jul 2026
The first-ever RHS Badminton Flower Show opens 8 July 2026 at the historic Badminton Estate in Gloucestershire. Here is what to expect, who is showing, and how to get tickets.
This morning, the Royal Horticultural Society opens the gates to the first ever RHS Badminton Flower Show. Set within the historic grounds of Badminton Estate in South Gloucestershire, the show runs today through Sunday 12 July, marking the RHS's debut in Gloucestershire and the second of its new series of touring shows that represent the biggest change to the RHS Flower Show calendar in decades.
RHS members have access today from 10am on the preview day. Public tickets open on Thursday 9 July, with the show open daily from 10am to 6pm through Saturday, and 10am to 5.30pm on Sunday. A Great Plant Sell Off closes proceedings on Sunday afternoon from 4.30pm.
The show arrives at Badminton Estate with a programme built around the theme of restorative spaces for people and planet. Among the most anticipated gardens is Tom Stuart-Smith's The Julia Rausing Garden, described by the RHS as the largest Show Garden ever presented at any RHS show. Jo Thompson has designed The Archers 75th Anniversary Garden for BBC Radio 4, bringing the fictional Bridge Farm to life with orchard fruit trees growing in a wildflower meadow, a cheese-making area, and a potting bench surrounded by branded vegetable boxes. Several other gardens explore themes of grief, mental wellbeing, biodiversity, and the healing power of nature.
The Floral Marquee features over 70 specialist growers and nurseries. On the Talks Stage, garden presenters including Adam Frost, Arit Anderson, and Rachel de Thame are scheduled across the five days. The Artisan Gardens and Studios celebrate heritage crafts with live demonstrations throughout. Live music runs daily at the Live at the Lake stage, and food ranges from worldwide street food to the Lakeside Restaurant, the Roebuck Estates sparkling wine bar, and Fortnum and Mason picnic hampers.
When the show was first announced, Their Graces the Duke and Duchess of Beaufort, who host the event on the Badminton Estate, said they were "delighted to be chosen as one of the new locations for the RHS Flower Shows" and looked forward to "sharing Badminton's rich gardening heritage" with visitors from across the country.
Tickets start from £35.36 for adults. Children under 16 enter free. Student tickets from £10. Well-behaved dogs are welcome on a lead. All tickets and details at rhs.org.uk.