PETAL TO THE METTLE

60,000 expected to visit four-day festival of flowers at showground

Flower judge James Akers examines the daffodils at the Harrogate Spring Flower Show. More than 60,000 people are set to flock to the popular event over its four-day run to catch a glimpse of the colourful floral exhibitions on display.

ONE OF the country’s biggest horticultural events got under way in Yorkshire yesterday, as thousands of visitors headed to the Harrogate Spring Flower Show.

More than 60,000 are set to flock to the popular event over its four-day run to catch a glimpse of the colourful floral exhibitions on display.

This year’s spring show, held at the Great Yorkshire Showground, boasts a varied array of events, ranging from gardens to secret sheds and floral art.

And about 100 plant nursery displays, featuring growers from across the country, are providing a blaze of colour.

Speaking on the first day, Harrogate Flower Show spokeswoman Camilla Harrison said: “It has gone very well; we have been really busy and there has been a great atmosphere around the showground. Despite the weather being a bit chilly, the rain has actually held off for most of the day. It’s worth remembering that around 75 per cent of the show is actually undercover which means that, no matter what the weather is like, there is always a lot to do and see.” Top honours for this year’s show garden has gone to Thirsk-based designers Colour Your Garden. The Garden of Translucence won a Premier Gold Award and Best in Show with a contemporary design “reminding visitors that urban architecture can still be light and translucent”.

There were six Gold Awards, including Eden by Yorkshire Garden Designs, Garden of Life by Saint Michael’s Hospice, and All Characters Great and Small by Horticap. All three Designed to Last gardens, created to showcase solutions for problem growing conditions, also won Gold.

Northcliffe Environmental Enterprises received first prize for the new show attraction Secret Sheds, with a display featuring a typical day on the allotment.

PICTURE: SIMON HULME.

PETAL POWER: Clockwise from top, 19-year-old Jasmine Tierney admires the Yorkshire Flower Club floral art stand; manager Graham Gunn with Scottish nursery Kevock Garden Plants’ trophy for Best in Show; Richard Reah from North of Bonsai waters his trees.