Sheffield Flower Festival 2026
What a day. 🌸
On Sunday 23rd August, 1,200 people joined us for the very first Sheffield Flower Festival, and we’re still feeling the glow from such a brilliant celebration of flowers, creativity and community.
We want to start by saying a huge THANK YOU to every single person who came along, bought a ticket, joined a workshop, listened to a talk, bought flowers, had a drink, chatted to a grower, discovered something new or simply spent the day enjoying being surrounded by flowers.
The festival was created because we wanted to bring people together around our shared love of flowers – and seeing The Victoria and The Mowbray full of people doing exactly that was incredibly special.
Flowers, flowers everywhere
One of the biggest highlights of the day was our Yorkshire-grown flower market at The Mowbray – and it completely sold out!
The market brought together an amazing group of local flower growers, showcasing the incredible variety of flowers that can be grown right here in Yorkshire. From unusual varieties to beautiful seasonal favourites, visitors had the chance to meet the people who grew the flowers, hear their stories and take home a bunch of their own.
We’re passionate about supporting British-grown flowers at Bloom, and it was wonderful to see so many people discovering just how beautiful, varied and exciting locally grown flowers can be.
Alongside the flowers, we also had some brilliant independent makers, with ceramics, candles, botanical art, houseplants and plenty more to discover.
Inspiring talks and demonstrations
Over at The Victoria, our programme of talks and demonstrations brought together some really brilliant people from across the world of gardening, growing, floristry and flowers.
We were joined by Katy Merrington, Cultural Gardener at The Hepworth Wakefield, who shared her knowledge on creating a garden full of flowers throughout the seasons. Katy had a full house of 100 people to start the day off.
Rekha Mistry from Gardeners’ World inspired visitors with her practical advice on growing flowers in small spaces and allotments – proving that you don't need a huge garden to grow beautiful blooms.
We also welcomed Issy Spoerry from Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, who explored the benefits of wildflowers and how we can attract more pollinators into our gardens, as well as Junko Popham, who gave a fascinating demonstration of the Japanese art of Ikebana.
The Chapel was packed for many of the talks, and it was so lovely to see people coming together to learn, ask questions and share their own experiences.
Our workshops were a huge success
We were thrilled with the response to our programme of flower-filled workshops.
From making mini vase arrangements with flowers grown in Bloom Sheffield's own community gardens, to creating everlasting bouquets, botanical drawing and flower-inspired cocktails, there were lots of opportunities to get creative and learn something new.
The workshops were full of people getting stuck in, trying new skills and – most importantly – having fun with flowers.
For us, this is a huge part of what Bloom is about. We believe flowers aren't just something beautiful to look at. They can be a way to learn, connect, create and spend time together.
It was fantastic to see so many people leave with something they'd made themselves.
Two venues, one big celebration
A huge thank you also goes to The Victoria and The Mowbray for helping us bring the festival to life.
The Mowbray was the perfect home for our flower and makers market, while The Victoria gave us beautiful spaces for our talks, workshops and demonstrations, as well as the sunny courtyard where people could stop for food, drinks and a bit of festival relaxation.
Having two venues just a short walk apart meant visitors could wander between the market, talks, workshops, food and flowers throughout the day – creating a real sense of discovery.
We’re incredibly grateful to both venues and all their teams for welcoming us and helping make the day what it was.
Thank you to our flower community
The festival also wouldn't have happened without the incredible growers, florists, makers, speakers, workshop leaders, volunteers, photographers and everyone else who gave their time, energy and creativity to the day.
There was such a lovely feeling of community over competition throughout the festival. People were generous with their knowledge, excited to share what they do and genuinely happy to celebrate one another.
And that's exactly what we hoped the Sheffield Flower Festival could be.
Most of all, thank you to the 1,200 people who came through our doors.
Thank you for supporting local growers and makers. Thank you for filling our workshops. Thank you for listening, learning, asking questions and buying flowers. Thank you for bringing your friends and family and helping us create such a warm and joyful atmosphere.
We started the festival because we wanted to celebrate Sheffield's amazing flower and creative community – and after seeing the response, we feel incredibly lucky to be part of it.
Thank you for making our first Sheffield Flower Festival so special. 🌸
Here's to many more flower-filled days to come.