Sometimes, you really feel like treating yourself to something.    And if you’re wanting to do more garden activities – or connect to a garden membership – you could take a look at the RHS.  As a national gardening charity, it helps people and plants to grow and aims to make the UK a greener place.

The RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) was founded back in 1804, and it has lots for everyone!  

There are five beautiful RHS gardens to explore, such as Hyde Hall in Essex
and 230 partner gardens!

The RHS membership is really good value, with…

• Unlimited entry to the five RHS gardens (Hyde Hall, Rosemoor, Harlow Carr, Wisley and Birdgwater) for the member and a family guest or two children (4 children if you’re taking out a joint membership)
• Free entry to over 230 Partner gardens for the member (or the main member in a joint membership at selected times
• Reduced tickets to the RHS Flower Shows, gardening workshops, family friendly events – there’s lots to do and see all year!
• The Garden magazine, which is a monthly, full of advice and news and worth £81 (available digitally or as a paper version)
• Gardening advice from the RHS experts
• RHSTheGarden app with easy access to tips and advice, the member handbook and the monthly magazine
  
  

RHS Glow is back at the end of the year!

So you get a lot for your membership throughout the year.

But there’s more!   The nice thing about the RHS is that they run quite a few campaigns such as National Gardening Week, Wild About Gardens and School Gardens (their campaign has lots of free teaching resources and online training course and awards).  They also have a Planet-Friendly Gardening campaign which has 10 ways for us all to be more sustainable in our gardens. 

And of course, the RHS brings gardening to the neighbourhood, with Britain in Bloom, the RHS It’s Your Neighbourhood and affiliated societies. 

The RHS has over 600,000 members, and membership contributions help to support the work the RHS does, be it undertaking horticultural science or supporting community gardening groups.

Find out about the RHS Grow, the gardening app
The app gives you access to 200 years of knowledge
from botanists, scientists, fruit and veg experts and RHS specialist advisors!

Reap the Rewards of an RHS Membership and Get 12 Months for the Price Of 9! 

Go on - treat yourself and join today!  

Enjoy a year of days out & gardening inspiration with the RHS!   

Images ©RHS

Here's a shout-out for Heritage Open Days!

It's England's largest community-led festival of history and culture, and thousands of local volunteers and organisations are involved.  

The festival celebrates heritage, culture and history - so there are stories to hear, traditions to explore and histories brought to life!  And it's all FREE!

Amongst the events, there are walks and tours, exhibitions, workshops and talks.  They cover all sorts of categories:  local history, faith, outdoors and nature, living history and re-enactment, traditional skills, sport and leisure, eco/green living and geneaology, to name a few.  Many need you to pre-book.

Organisations taking part (not at every venue they look after, by the way), include the National Trust, the Churches Conservation Trust and English Heritage.

There's a search facility so that you can find out what's on in your area, which makes life easier - or perhaps next year, you could think of volunteering yourself!

Find an event near you here.

Volunteering is a great way to meet people and make new friends amongst people who also want to do things for their local community (or further afield!).

In 2025, the Heritage Open Days run from the 12th  to 21st September. 

Find out all about Heritage Open Days here.

RHS Garden Wisley Flower Show

The RHS Wisley Flower Show in Surrey takes place from 2nd to 7th September 2025 and what an opportunity to experience a great floral day out!

Enjoy expert advice, vibrant floral displays and lots of shopping opportunities!  And there's plenty of chances to sit and refresh yourself with refreshments! 

You can join in the National Dahlia Society Show's marquee - there are over 100 competition classes to see!  

And the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies (NAFAS) Show is back, with the theme  ‘Wish you were here’.  The floral art display competition celebrates countries worldwide, with wonderful arrangements - don't miss it!  

Tradestands are aplenty at the show, selling garden and homeware.   The RHS asks that you please bring bags to take your goodies home with you!

There are fantastic displays, specialist nurseries, expert talks and of course the opportunity to do lots of shopping… and eating and drinking…

Browse a fantastic range of tradestands too, selling garden and homeware from pruning tools to garden art and outdoor ovens. Where possible please bring bags to take purchases home. 

Flowers, eating and drinking, and relaxing – what a perfect combination!   Enjoy!

Buy your tickets for the RHS Garden Wisley Show here.

The Royal Geographical Society has a Gift Membership that could be just the thing for keen geographers and travellers in your life!

They are a registered charity in the UK (no 208791) and the UK’s “learned society and professional body for geography”.   

Founded back in 1830 to advance geographical science, it welcomes everyone who loves geography, travel and exploration.  You can connect with like-minded people and there opportunities for lifelong learning.  It’s also a chance to discover more about the world and contribute to the work the Society does – you can help support the next generation of geographers!

Find out more about the Royal Geographical Society

You can go to Monday night lectures or watch them livestream or recordings of them online.  There’s Geographical magazine, and talks, exhibitions and events across the UK.   You can receive regular Society Updates and use the Members' Room and the Foyle Reading Room, as well as the RGS library of maps, books and guides, and have access to the historic Collections

Gift Membership is from £179.00 a year and there are different categories to choose from:  Membership and Student Membership.

Find out more here