After a wet start to the year, the sunshine and warmer temperatures over the past weeks have brought a real flush of spring colour to the carefully curated gardens south of Great Torrington, marking the start of a year of special horticultural events which will delight gardeners across the Southwest.

The season begins with the wonderful Spring Flower Showcase on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March where you can admire stunning displays of daffodils, rhododendrons, camellias and magnolias and then see them in situ in the garden to decide your favourites. To narrow your field of choice, you can discover the remarkable diversity of colour, size and shape of Rhododendrons (60 classes in total) at the RHS National Rhododendron Show on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 April – be sure to admire their blooms in the Upper Woodlands before you leave.

For the plant hunters among you, you will be sure to find a unique addition for your garden from Devon nurseries specialising in rare and unusual plants at the Plant Heritage Spring Plant Fair on Sunday 10 May, where you’ll find a wide variety of interesting trees, shrubs and perennials from local nurseries available for purchase in the Garden Room. A must for all keen gardeners, this event returns with seasonal specialities in Autumn on Sunday 6 September.

As summer builds, visit the gardens to enjoy the sight and scent of thousands of roses in flower for RHS Rosemoor’s four-week long Festival of Roses, Saturday 13 June - Sunday 12 July - a breathtaking showcase of the beauty and diversity of this popular bloom. Boasting the largest collection of roses in the Southwest, Rosemoor is home to two dedicated gardens with more than 200 different varieties and more than 2,000 roses. From cottage garden climbers, to bright and beautiful container roses, there is a rose to inspire everyone and suit all gardens and the well-stocked Garden Centre means you will be able to take one home with you.  If you can, time your visit to coincide with the Rose Weekend* Friday 20 – Sunday 22 June when you can also enjoy garden tours, live music and a floral-themed craft and food fair in the Garden Room.

RHS Rosemoor holds a national collection of scented-leaved and variegated zonal pelargoniums, making it the prefect venue for the Pelargonium & Geranium Show on Saturday 20 June – learn more about these unique plants from specialist growers and add some to your collection.

This year, Rosemoor’s annual Flower Show has been reimagined as the RHS Rosemoor Garden Festival* to encourage people of all ages to learn about and get involved with gardening. Taking place on Friday 21 - Sunday 23 August this year, the rich and varied talks and demonstration tent will enthuse even the least ambitious growers, whilst the gorgeous garden setting, set to the backdrop of live music, makes for the perfect summer’s day out.

Save the date for the weekend of Saturday 3 - Sunday 4 Oct when we celebrate autumn with seasonal tastes and plenty of ‘grow your own’ inspiration, along with great family entertainment. On the same dates, the prestigious Europom event will be hosted in the Garden Room where there will be fruit displays from all five RHS gardens and UK fruit collections as well as 10 international delegations presenting their typical fruit species and varieties, organisations and activities.

And, of course, gardeners of all experience levels can learn new skills and improve their techniques through the extensive range of regular courses and workshops scheduled throughout the year. Topics range from soil health and composting to pruning, propagation and design skills, and include creative options such as willow weaving or botanical watercolours.

Admission to the gardens (and un-ticketed events) is free for all members so gardeners who want to grow will certainly get their money’s worth signing up to join the RHS this year.

*Sponsored by Atkins Ferrie Wealth Management.