The UK's most sustainable flower festival returns to Strawberry Hill House & Garden this September, running for four days for the first time.

From Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 September 2026, more than 30 floral designers will transform Horace Walpole's extraordinary Gothic villa and gardens with immersive installations created using British-grown flowers and sustainable techniques.

The expansion from three to four days, together with the Festival Marquee, has been made possible thanks to a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Strawberry Hill House & Garden said the support will allow more visitors to experience the festival and a wider programme of free talks and demonstrations, all included with general admission.

Flowers at the House are the creative team behind the festival.

Led by founder Leigh Chappell, with Lilian Highmoor and Charlotte Johnston, they curate and produce the programme each year, bringing together leading designers, growers and makers to celebrate flowers within Strawberry Hill's unique historic setting.

For 2026, Flowers at the House are joined by guest curators Flowers on the Edge.

Founded by florists Cissy Bullock of Wildstems and Olivia Wilson of Wetherly, the creative floristry platform champions floral design at the cutting edge.

The creative thread running through this year's festival is 'Gloomth/Riant', borrowing two of Walpole's own words.

Writing to Thomas Mann, Walpole contrasted the 'gloomth of abbeys and cathedrals' with a garden that should be 'nothing but riant [cheerful] and the gaiety of nature'.

Participating designers have been invited to explore that contrast through locally grown flowers, seasonal materials and sustainable mechanics, placing contemporary floristry in deliberate dialogue with the theatrical interiors and sunlit gardens of Strawberry Hill.

Olivia Wilson, Flowers on the Edge, said: "At a time when everything feels artificially and digitally generated, we want this event to be a celebration of something real.

"A real experience in real time, with real flowers connected to the seasons and the real people who are creating with them."

Returning exhibitors include Joanna Game, who will create an installation in the Blue Bedchamber; Layla Robinson in the Library; Fiona Pickles in the Tribune; Pearl Watt of Millefleur on the main stairway; and Bex Partridge of Botanical Tales in the Green Closet.

Their work will appear alongside installations by more than 30 designers throughout the house and gardens, offering a wide-ranging view of contemporary British floristry within one of the country's most distinctive historic settings.

A four-day programme of talks, demonstrations and conversations will give visitors the opportunity to hear directly from floral designers, growers, artists and photographers and are included with general admission.

Thursday 10 September: Joanna Game presents From Dartmoor to Yunnan; Fiona Pickles presents Working with the Wild; and Stacey Keay of We are Woven explores botanical printing in a live talk and demonstration.

Friday 11 September: Stacey Keay presents a second botanical printing talk and demonstration; author and broadcaster Arthur Parkinson explores the flowers, wildlife and landscape that shape his work; followed by Seasonal Flower Drawing with Leigh Chappell and Hannah Bryce of Minnow & Wolf.

Saturday 12 September: Pearl Watt presents Curated Nature; Leigh Chappell and Janne Ford explore floral arrangement and photography; and Ikuyo Morrison, Mariusz Ćwik and Leigh Chappell present a Sogetsu Ikebana demonstration.

Sunday 13 September: Guest curators Cissy Bullock and Olivia Wilson take part in the Flowers on the Edge panel discussion, followed by a dried-flower talk and demonstration from Bex Partridge of Botanical Tales.

Visitors can browse a new Retail Village featuring flower growers and artisan makers, or pre-order a seasonal Flower Festival picnic from Roots & Berries to enjoy in the gardens.

On Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September, Strawberry Hill After Dark offers after-hours access to the installations, candlelit interiors and a complimentary glass of fizz in the Gallery.

The festival runs for only four days and ticket numbers are limited to protect the Grade I listed house.

To find out more visit Strawberry Hill House & Garden's website here.

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