Mary rose to the task!

Mary Berry, RHS Ambassador, added the final rose to a three-tiered floral cake display made by floral decorator to the Royals and celebrities Simon Lycett, to celebrate the opening of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Wisley Flower Show. The show runs from 2nd to 7th September and is free with normal garden entry.

The show is set to be a colourful one, with the National Dahlia Society showing gorgeous blooms from a variety of exhibitors and the NAFAS (the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies) putting on displays of newspaper-inspired floral art. Over 400,000 visitors are expected.

If you can’t make the main Flower Show, you can make up for it by going to one of the RSH Secret Garden Sundays at Lindley Hall, SW1 – a mini-show, with something new to look at, quality produce to buy and lots of experts on hand to give informal advice. The last regular mini-show of the year is on Sunday, 7th September and there will be a Christmas themed show on 2nd November. The Royal Horticultural Society

Tickets to one of next year’s Secret Sundays or to an RHS Garden would be an excellent Christmas present – or go the whole hog and sign your loved one up for RHS membership. The RHS is the UK’s leading gardening charity dedicated to advancing horticulture and promoting good gardening. Anyone with an interest in gardening can enjoy the benefits of RHS Membership and help the charity to secure a healthy future for gardening.

•For more information about RHS events and its many other activities, go to www.rhs.org.uk.