Harrogate Spring Flower Show

Apr 24 2009 by Susie White

EACH year the Harrogate Spring Flower Show attracts people from all over the North-East, eager to see the latest gardening ideas and to enjoy the fabulous range of plants.

This famous show is open this weekend and it is a true assault on the senses. The flower colours seem all the more vivid for coming after the winter and there are the heady scents of massed blooms: hyacinths, daffodils, jasmine and exotic lilies.

Now in its 82nd year, it covers a massive 22 acres of the Great Yorkshire Showground, and is organised on behalf of the North of England Horticultural Society whose President is Marian Foster of BBC Radio Newcastle.

There are stunning indoor exhibits from nurseries and horticultural societies, vegetable growers and seed specialists, as well as gardens designed by northern colleges, floristry displays plus daffodil and tulip shows. Outside are numerous stalls selling everything from sculpture to summerhouses, tools to topiary.

There’s a festive atmosphere as visitors stream in through the entrance gates to be greeted by a jazz band, and as others leave carrying armfuls of plants and the occasional tree!

Gardening talks are arranged throughout the day and there is plenty of information to be had by talking to the stallholders who have grown the plants on sale.

Many nurseries sell the plants that can be seen, grown to their full size, in their displays making it a great place to get ideas for your own garden. It’s a marvel how these plants are transported without damage: six-foot giant angelicas, fragile poppies, prickly cacti, delicate woodland plants, huge tree ferns.

Nurseries go to great lengths to make their displays stand out, all hoping to win that coveted Gold Medal. Unusual props at Harrogate include a bicycle, part of a narrowboat, a pair of candelabra and even a grand piano!

Twenty-four nurseries responded to the theme of ‘Wish you where here’, an Innovative Display category with the exhibit’s design reflecting a holiday destination.

A sumptuous display of oriental vegetables from Grow with Joe of Leeds evokes the richness of colour and spices from India. The gorgeous colours of chillies, peppers, tomatoes and aubergines are set out against Indian fabrics.

Cornwall is interpreted by Barnsdale Gardens as a mix of two environments, half sandy seashore, half woodland. It’s a reminder of the many individual gardens that make up Geoff Hamilton’s garden which was seen for many years on Gardeners’ World and is now run by Geoff’s son, Nick and his wife, Sue.

Alpines are always a strong feature of the Harrogate Spring Flower Show and a specialist that consistently wins medals is Hartside Nursery Garden from Alston. This year they have won a Gold Medal for their beautiful display of alpines and woodland plants.

Another nursery from our region that has done well is Harperley Hall Farm who have won a Silver Gilt Medal in their first year of exhibiting at Harrogate. The judges praised their well-labelled, nicely grouped plants and colourful display and their stall is certainly busy with people buying young plants.

Every year certain trends emerge and this show is strong on edible plants. This is not surprising since sales of seeds have shot up with more and more people wanting to grow their own vegetables.

One of the busiest stalls is from seed company Thompson and Morgan, with seed packets going so fast that there is hardly time to re-stock. Their enticing display has luscious looking, colourful vegetables arranged in baskets.

For the first time, there is a display of fruit bushes from Rogers of Pickering, a response to the ‘crazy’ sales of all types of fruit bushes. Using Yorkshire flowerpots that are guaranteed frostproof, there are local and historical varieties of rhubarb along with blackcurrants, fig, quince, grapevines, all amazingly popular at the moment.

The other obvious trend stands out amongst the blowsy colours of fuchsias, pelargoniums, orchids, carnations and chrysanthemums, and that is for greenery of all sorts: green flowers, ferns, grasses, euphorbias, hostas and mosses, often set off by old tree stumps and twisted wood.

Green flowers in particular are ‘in’ and there are some really choice rarities to be seen at the show. But if there is one plant that really sums up this year’s Spring Flower Show, it has to a white flowered clematis, Clematis cartmanii ‘Joe’. Every tenth person seems to be carrying one of these beauties, smothered in starry white flowers, a perfect celebration of spring.

Facts about the show 

Harrogate Spring Flower Show runs from 23-26 April at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

Opening times: 9.30 – 17.30 (16.30 on Sunday)

Ticket prices:

:: Saturday 25 April: £14
:: Sunday 26 April: £12 (£6 entry after 14.00hrs, Sunday only)
:: Don’t miss the plant sell-off on Sunday!: 16.15
:: Show catalogues: £1.50
:: Under 16s: free of charge, if accompanied by an adult
:: Students: £6 on production of valid student card

Wheelchair users and visually impaired visitors may bring in one companion free of charge.

Website: www.flowershow.org.uk