Festival Theme

Honour the past. Grow the future.

Summary

A powerful blend of tradition and innovation. Explore how gardening heritage informs cutting-edge solutions for tomorrow’s challenges—from climate-resilient planting to regenerative practices and tech in horticulture.

Overview

‘Roots of the Future’ celebrates the deep, time-honoured traditions of gardening while boldly embracing the innovations shaping horticulture’s next chapter. This theme invites visitors to explore how the wisdom of the past—seasonal rhythms, native planting, soil stewardship—intertwines with the most exciting ideas of today and tomorrow, including climate-resilient design, smart tech, regenerative techniques, and urban greening.

At its core, this is a story of legacy and progress: of how gardeners, growers, designers, and communities can honour history while cultivating landscapes equipped for a changing world.

Core Pillars of the Theme

Heritage & Wisdom

Celebrate the timeless beauty of traditional practices:

• Cottage garden revival and heirloom varieties
• Historical gardening techniques from different cultures and regions
• Oral traditions, folk knowledge, and generational gardening stories
• The enduring value of hand tools, craftsmanship, and seed saving

Regenerative & Resilient Futures

Showcase practices that give back to the earth, not just take from it:

• No-dig methods, composting, and soil-first design
• Drought-tolerant and flood-resilient planting
• Adapting to climate extremes with smart plant selection

People

Connect gardening with broader societal and ecological goals:

• Community growing
• Youth in horticulture and intergenerational gardening
• Gardens that promote wellbeing, mental health, and inclusion

Theatre & Talks ideas

• Climate-smart design case studies
• Indigenous wisdom in modern horticulture
• Bridging generations through gardening

Giant Welly

The 2026 Giant Welly will be designed by Anna Best from Chalk It Up.

Keep an eye out for more updates soon.

About the Artist

Anna Best lives in Worcester with her husband and children and has spent almost three years building up her business as a muralist and typography artist, after deciding to move on from her role as an art teacher. She loves to experiment with colours and fonts to produce unique pieces for her clients, whether it be a hand lettered business sign or a large-scale residential mural. She has contributed towards local art installations such as the Worcester BID Christmas window project, and her work can be seen popping up around Worcestershire. Chalk It Up was born from Anna’s love of lettering and her desire to create artwork that celebrates each client’s unique vision and personality.

Anna has previously worked up beautiful designs for RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2024 and Malvern Autumn Show 2024.