Top Yorkshire flower show calls for entries to its Show Gardens

The Harrogate Spring Flower Show is calling for entries to its renowned show gardens and creative borders showcase as the application deadline approaches on Monday December 2.

This “must-see” feature draws many of the annual 40,000 visitors who flock to the show, which will take place this year from 24-27 April at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

The show gardens and creative borders provide an exceptional platform for designers, horticultural professionals and students, as well as charities, community projects and businesses to collaborate and create standout displays.

Harrogate based charity Horticap is a regular show gardens exhibitor. Last year, the charity - which provides adults with learning disabilities training in horticulture, allied crafts and rural skills - created a garden to celebrate its 40th anniversary which won a Premier Gold award.

Horticap operations manager Phil Airey said: “The Spring Flower Show is a great opportunity for us to showcase what we do and especially the work of our students who are very proud to take part in the show.

“Our students like to show off what they can achieve and the Spring Flower Show is a perfect platform for them to do that while gaining valuable people skills through their interaction with visitors to the show.”

Taking part for the first time at this year’s show was the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) with a tribute to the many CWGC casualties buried far from their families. Its ‘11,000 miles from home’ garden won a Gold award.

Harrogate’s Stonefall Cemetery has more than 1,000 Commonwealth war graves, tended by a team of gardeners. Elizabeth Smith, CWGC public engagement coordinator for the North East, said: “This year’s Spring Flower Show was an amazing event for us. We are a big horticultural organisation with 850 gardeners employed across the world so the show was a perfect fit for us.

“We were able to showcase our work through the show garden and by talking to 1,500 members of the public over the four days of the show, demonstrating our volunteer programme.”

As well as seasoned gardeners, the organisers of Harrogate Spring Flower Show encourage the next generation of horticulturists to take part and exhibit their talent.

This year’s creative borders area featured a display by students from Shipley College which won a Silver gilt award. They designed and built three creative borders including a ‘yarden’ based on Saltaire’s rich textile heritage, strong sense of community and where the college is based.

Garden Design tutor Kate Paterson said: “Our students really enjoyed taking part in the project which involved them designing and sourcing materials to constructing on site and talking with visitors at the show.”

The Harrogate Spring Flower Show is one of two flower shows hosted annually by the North of England Horticultural Society (NEHS) with the Autumn Flower Show taking place in Harrogate in September.

Show director Nick Smith said: “Our show gardens and creative borders are part of the NEHS’s commitment to supporting horticulture and offer a unique platform for designers, horticulturists, growers, colleges and charities to share their work and knowledge with a wide audience.”

Show garden and creative border entries can be made here: https://www.flowershow.org.uk/spring-show/take-part/garden-design/show-gardens
Funding support is available to cover the material costs of garden and border entries.