With apparently perfect timing – the weather having finally decided to warm up and bless us keen gardeners with a little sunshine – this week’s Harrogate Spring Flower Show promises to be even bigger and better than ever.

For as well as more than 100 expert plant-growers and nurseries attending from all over the country to display their spectacular plants and flowers, and hand out their invaluable advice, there are set to be double the number of show gardens offering inspiration for you to create the perfect outdoor space, no matter what the size of your plot.

A recent innovation, the show gardens have been a popular addition and always attract large crowds.

Among those gunning for gold awards – or even best in show – next week will be Wood Landscapes from Idle with The Green Room, designed for those who like to use their garden as an extension of the home.

Meanwhile, students from Craven College in Skipton are designing two gardens – Chill In Out, a relaxing border garden suitable for all ages, and Chiaroscuro, using contrasting light and dark in an outdoor space designed for a retired couple.

While the show gardens are well worth spending time strolling around, for many people – myself included – the undoubted star of the show is the huge floral hall with its dizzying array of superbly-presented flowers and plants in a spectacular range of colours.

There truly is something for everyone, whether you are bonkers about bonsai, dotty over daffodils or go wild for orchids.

The North of England Horticultural Society’s 2013 Harrogate Spring Flower Show runs at the Great Yorkshire Showground from next Thursday, April 25, to Sunday, April 28, and makes for a great day out for the whole family. Every year we have been, we see both young and old enjoying taking in the sights, sounds and wonderful scents of the show.

There’s the floral art marquee – the biggest in the country – with more than 150 flower arrangements and floristry exhibits, larger displays by colleges and flower clubs, and what promises to be a superb floral tribute marking 50 years since the release of the first album by The Beatles.

Visitors can also roll up their sleeves and Have A Go, either helping to build a truly ‘green’ greenhouse from recycled plastic drinks bottles or finding out how to build a dry stone wall. There’s lots for younger members of the family to do, including learning how to create a bee-friendly basket, bird boxes, bug hotels (the mind boggles!) and a willow weaving dragon sculpture.

For the more serious gardeners, there are talks and advice from the experts with Kitchen Garden Live, where you can find out all there is to know about growing fruit and vegetables, including tips from veteran local radio broadcaster Joe Maiden.

There’s also the Dig It Garden Theatre, with lively talks and advice on all kinds of gardening matters, from attracting more pollinators into your garden to propagating pelargoniums, and the Plot To Pot Cookery Theatre, where you can find out how to turn seasonal produce into tasty dishes.

The show is a great place to pick up a garden-related product for yourself or a friend, along with handmade crafts such as jewellery, fashions or walking sticks, and delicious specialist regional foods, including cheeses, honeys, beers and sweet treats.

If the sun shines – and surely the weather cannot be as bad as last year, when heavy rain forced an early closure on the final day of the show – you can also sit back with a drink or ice-cream and watch the crowds go by, or listen to the strains of jazz, brass or even a pipe band on the bandstand at the heart of the show area.

You’ll probably want some kind of refreshment during your day – the show can be an exhausting, but rewarding, experience – and there is plenty to tempt you, from ice-cream kiosks to cafes and plenty of choice in the food marquee.

There are plenty of free parking spaces around the showground, which is signposted from the centre of Harrogate and also routes into the town, and with courtesy buses running from the car parks throughout the day, the show is accessible to all.

Many people prefer to save their visit to the final day of the show, Sunday, when crowds of green-fingered visitors leave with their arms full of prize-winning plants and flowers they have managed to buy from stands in the traditional big sell-off. The only concern then can be how on earth you pack everything into the car, or onto the bus, to get back home again!

Factfile:

  • Harrogate Spring Flower Show runs from Thursday to Sunday. Open 9.30am to 5.30pm (Sunday until 4.30pm).
     
  • Entrance fee: £16.50 Thursday to Saturday; £14.50 Sunday; free for under-16s accompanied by an adult.
     
  • Further information: flowershow.org.uk, or call (01423) 546157.