Get your tickets for the greatest show in Earth at an RHS garden near you.

Where nature puts on an unforgettable performance of colour and fragrance to delight your senses.

Inspire your gardening adventures and entertain your own little stars.

Race you, let's go.

Catch Springs finest scenes while you can add an RHS garden near you.

Book tickets online for discounts, plus under fives go free and under 16s of five pounds. To be able to study something that's both a plant and the parasite is really cool.

And living here in the UK, I can see it on the way to work every day.

And it just absolutely blows my mind, even after studying it for a few years,

that this plant is up there, it's living its life

and doing all these weird and wonderful wacky things. And it's also so impactful to our

ecosystems and our communities. I've never found a species before which is just so weird and so cool and at the same time

everyone knows what it is but also we don't really know all it has to offer yet and so to be part of

understanding more about it is actually quite an honour.

That's the voice of Oliver Spacey, a PhD student in environmental research at the University of Oxford.

Did you guess which seasonal parasite he might be talking about?

It is of course mistletoe, and we'll be hearing more from Olly later in the show as he shares

his insights into how this iconic Christmas greenery grows in the UK and the intriguing world of

parasitic plants. But did you know that our fascination with mistletoe and the urge to bring it into

our homes dates back to the ancient druids, who believed that it would ward off evil spirits

and bring good luck. The association with romance is thought to come from Norse mythology,

and the festive peck on the cheek goes back to the 18th century. Today the traditions are still strong,

and many of us purchase a sprig or two to hang in the doorway for Christmas Day. The annual

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