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RHS Gardens announce a Baa-rilliant programme of summer events with The Great Garden Adventure with Shaun the Sheep

RHS Gardens are offering plenty of fun with interactive workshops, activities and more with an epic gardening adventure with Shaun the Sheep, in collaboration with multi-award-winning Aardman and Wild in Art.

This summer holiday, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has a fantastic programme of activities for the whole flock across all five RHS Gardens in collaboration with the multi-Academy-Award®-winningstudio, Aardman.

Running between 20 July and 1 September, on selected dates at all five iconic RHS gardens, families can join Shaun on his quest to learn how to grow the best fruit and veg at Mossy Bottom Farm with a range of interactive activities, including a Haybale Maze, O'Lamb'pics games, interactive trails, claystation drop-in sessions, and hands-on garden activities.

Each garden will also feature sculptures from renowned global art producers Wild in Art for garden lovers of all ages to track down three super-sized Shaun the Sheep artworks in each garden.

Dates, times, and activities vary per garden; please see below and check the website for details: www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/articles/summer-holiday-fun 

RHS Garden Bridgewater: 20 July – 1 September
The summer holiday at RHS Garden Bridgewater is packed with exciting activities with Shaun's Great Garden Adventure. To help Shaun in his gardening escapade, little green fingers can get stuck in with planting their own lamb's lettuce to take home and watch grow, join in with the O'Lamb'pics, and get hands-on in creating a Shaun model to take home at one of the claystation sessions. Families can also track down the three Wild in Art Shaun sculptures across the 156-acre garden, and to round off a day of ultimate summer fun, families can explore the Woodland Play Area. Throughout the summer, families can also get stuck in with a Welly Walk, interactive storytelling and fun workshops.

For more information, prices and to book tickets, please visit here: www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/bridgewater/whats-on/summer-holidays

RHS Garden Harlow Carr 20 July – 1 September
Visitors can join RHS Garden Harlow Carr for plenty of baa-rilliant summer fun with Shaun as he explores the world of gardening. Families can get hands-on with making their own Shaun model at claystation drop-in sessions, take part in brilliant animation workshops, and meet Shaun ‘in the fleece’. Little ones can also join Forest School workshops to discover nature and learn all about the fascinating natural world. Families will also have the chance to get moving in the beautiful surroundings with yoga sessions and circus workshops and search the gardens for the three hidden Wild in Art Shaun sculptures.

For more information, prices and to book tickets, please visit here: www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlow-carr/whats-on/summer-holidays

RHS Garden Rosemoor 27 July – 1 September
From farm games, family theatre shows and garden trails, RHS Garden Rosemoor has plenty of fun for the whole family this summer holiday. Families can play a game of “Hide and Sheep”, discover the hidden Wild in Art Shaun statues, and get hands-on making their own Shaun models at the claystation sessions. Rosemoor is also home to two ewe-nique play areas, The Brash and The Copse, and for the perfect day out, visitors can enjoy a picnic on the Arboretum Lawn after helping Shaun to learn about growing vegetables.

For more information, prices and to book tickets, please visit here: www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/rosemoor/whats-on/summer-holidays

RHS Garden Wisley 20 July – 26 August
This summer holiday at RHS Garden Wisley, families can go baa-rmy for plenty of fantastic activities with Shaun and discover how to grow the best fruit and vegetables at Mossy Bottom Farm. The flagship garden has a packed programme and a fantastic family trail featuring three Wild in Art Shaun sculptures hiding in the garden, character meet and greet sessions and Aardman model-making workshops. There will also be drop-in clay stations where the whole flock can learn how to make their very own Shaun clay models . Families can play a game of “Hide and Sheep” in the fantastic hay bale maze, join hands-on nature workshops introducing Gardener’s Best Friends or meet ZooLab and their joyful jumping and crawling critters. Finally, budding gardeners can get their hands muddy in the Grow Lab during the daily crafting and planting sessions.

For more information, prices and to book tickets, please visit here: https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/whats-on/summer-holidays

RHS Garden Hyde Hall 20 July – 1 August
Visitors can join Shaun and RHS gardening experts at RHS Garden Hyde Hall this summer for The Great Garden Adventure; with everything from interactive trails to gardening workshops and family activities for young and young at heart. Children can experience plenty of Mossy Bottom mischief with Shaun the Sheep meet and greets, claystation drop-in sessions and a Wild in Art sculpture hunt to find hidden Shaun sculptures . Children can get hands-on with planting their own lambs lettuce and enjoy plenty of classic holiday fun with face painting, storytelling, and The Giant Bubble Show, a display of huge bubbles for children to chase and pop.

For more information, prices and to book tickets, please visit here: www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/hyde-hall/whats-on/summer-holidays

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Notes to editors

For further information and images, contact Cate Pykett on [email protected] 

About the RHS

Since our formation in 1804, the RHS has grown into the UK’s leading gardening charity, touching the lives of millions of people. Perhaps the secret to our longevity is that we’ve never stood still. In the last decade alone we’ve taken on the largest hands-on project the RHS has ever tackled by opening the new RHS Garden Bridgewater in Salford, Greater Manchester, and invested in the science that underpins all our work by building RHS Hilltop – The Home of Gardening Science.

We have committed to being net positive for nature and people by 2030. We are also committed to being truly inclusive and to reflect all the communities of the UK.

Across our five RHS gardens we welcome more than three million visitors each year to enjoy over 34,000 different cultivated plants. Events such as the world famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show, other national shows, our schools and community work, and partnerships such as Britain in Bloom, all spread the shared joy of gardening to wide-reaching audiences.

Throughout it all we’ve held true to our charitable core – to encourage and improve the science, art, and practice of horticulture – to share the love of gardening and the positive benefits it brings.

For more information visit www.rhs.org.uk

RHS Registered Charity No. 222879/SC038262

About Aardman

Aardman is an employee-owned company, based in Bristol (UK) and co-founded in 1976 by Peter Lord and David Sproxton. An independent, multi-Academy Award® and BAFTA® award winning studio, it produces feature films, series, advertising, games and interactive entertainment. Current animated productions include a brand-new Wallace & Gromit film which is set for release in 2024, the studio’s first in-house game Chicken Run: Eggstraction, series 7 of Shaun the Sheep and a third series of The Very Small Creatures.

Its productions are global in appeal, novel, entertaining, brilliantly characterised and full of charm reflecting the unique talent, energy and personal commitment of the Aardman team.

The studio’s work – which includes the creation of much-loved characters including Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Timmy Time and Morph – is often imitated, and yet the company continues to lead the field producing a rare brand of visually stunning content for cinema, broadcasters, digital platforms and live experiences around the world. Recent celebrated projects include the BAFTA® nominated feature film Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, Academy Award® nominated short film Robin Robin, International Emmy® award winning Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas, BAFTA® nominated preschool series The Very Small Creatures and the recent CGI comedy series for kids Lloyd of the Flies.

The studio runs the Aardman Academy which has a commitment to nurturing talent by delivering excellence in film and animation training and mentoring. The Aardman Academy offers a variety of courses from intensive one-day workshops teaching production skills and storyboarding, to comprehensive twelve-week courses for professionals in craft-based subjects from model making to animation.

In November 2018 it became an Employee-Owned Organisation, to ensure Aardman remains independent and to secure the creative legacy and culture of the company for many decades to come. www.aardman.com

About Shaun the Sheep

Shaun the Sheep, Aardman’s family favourite TV series, is recognised the world over for its slapstick humour, distinctive look and strong, quirky characters and enjoyed across multiple media platforms. First appearing in Nick Park’s 1995 Academy Award® winning Wallace & Gromit ‘A Close Shave’, Shaun then went on to star in his own series, created by Richard Starzak which launched on BBC One in 2007. Shaun the Sheep is currently broadcast in 170 territories around the world and is an internationally celebrated icon with over 5.6 million fans on Facebook. In 2015 the first Shaun the Sheep Movie with feature film partner Studiocanal was released around the world to critical acclaim and the first half hour TV special aired as part of many broadcaster’s festive season., The feature film sequel Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon was released in October 2019 and nominated for an Academy Award® and was closely followed by a sixth season of the series in 2020. A new festive special Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas was released in December 2021.

About Wild in Art

Wild in Art is the leading producer of spectacular public art events that entertain, enrich, inform and leave a lasting legacy. It brings together businesses and creative sectors with schools and local communities through the creation of uniquely painted sculptures.

Since 2008 Wild in Art has animated cities across the world including Sydney, Auckland, Cape Town and São Paulo, and created trails for the London 2012 Olympics, the 2014 and 2022 Commonwealth Games, Historic Royal Palaces, award-winning animation studio Aardman and Penguin Random House.

Wild in Art events have:

· Enabled over £26.3m to be raised for charitable causes

· Injected £4.3m into local creative communities

· Engaged over 1.2 million young people in learning programmes

· Helped millions of people of all ages to experience art in non-traditional settings

The Wild in Art apps are available to download from the App Store and Google Play.

wildinart.co.uk | @wildinart | #wildinart

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.