Garden design and landscape consultancy Warnes McGarr & Co has announced it will be designing and project managing The Poisonous Garden for RHS Tatton 2018.

The immersive exhibit will entertain and educate visitors about the gruesome and deadly side of plants, showing the dark side of horticulture, not frequently seen at flower shows.

Garden and landscape design duo Michael John McGarr and Robert Warnes, who have a studio in Wigan, have designed and built show gardens at RHS Tatton for the last three years.

In 2017, they won a gold award, Best Future Spaces Garden and Best Construction for their show-stopping futuristic garden, showcasing stunning cacti, which was called ‘2101’.

Michael said: “We are really honoured to be asked back to RHS Tatton again to design and manage this show-stopping exhibit on the 20th anniversary of the show.

“As soon as we heard about the concept around The Poisonous Garden, we were onboard and instantly thinking about what this would look, feel and sound like for visitors. There is so much scope to create a truly jaw-dropping experience to delight visitors over the weekend in July.”

RHS show manager Isobel Coulter said: “I knew Warnes McGarr & Co would be the perfect company to work with on this project. From their Cactus Direct Garden ‘2101’ in 2017, I could tell that our ideas and ambitions matched and that they’d be able to take on the challenge of this interesting and immersive feature at RHS Tatton 2018. I’m really excited to see it all come to fruition!”

Visitors can surround themselves with downright dangerous plants as they walk through the reused shipping containers, with talks, tours and demonstrations to educate visitors – both young and old – about these plants. This is a brilliant opportunity for horticulture lovers to experience plants not commonly seen anywhere in the UK.

Toxic plants will include the innocent-looking cottage garden favourite foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia), Monkshood (Aconitum) and the huge red Ricinus, from which the poison ricin is derived from.

There will also be a display of carnivorous plants, which feast upon the living, such as the Pitcher plant (Sarracenia), which has a huge appetite for flying insects.

RHS Tatton takes place from July 18 – 22 at Tatton Park’s 1000 acre deer park in Knutsford, Cheshire.