ACCENTS from various parts of the country from as far south as Hampshire to as far north as Dundee in Scotland gave an indication of how popular the annual Harrogate Flower Show has become in recent years writes Barrie Pennett.

The show, run in conjunction with the North of England Horticultural Society, is now regarded as the finest show of its kind outside the Chelsea Flower Show.

A great deal of preparation work goes on behind the scenes throughout the year for the two shows- spring and autumn - which cost in the region of £500,000 to stage. In fact now that the autumn show is out of the way, officials have already begun preparing for the Spring Show which is to be held at the Great Yorkshire Showground from April 22-25 1999.

Ever since the North of England Horticultural Society moved from the Exhibition Hall and the Valley Gardens in the centre of Harrogate, the show has increased its popularity.

The displays and various tents are spread out over a large area which means the thousands of visitors can move about more freely. There is more space for the exhibitors and for the many tradespeople and generally everyone is happy. This was

certainly the case last Friday (opening day) when the sun shone and everyone - even the car park attendants - had a smile on their face.

In fact, the horticultural officials have created a wonderful country atmosphere, enjoyed by about 30,000 people.

The new show director, Roger Brownbridge, is certainly happy with the move to the showground, which first took place 18 months ago. "We had between 19,000 and 20,000 visitors when we held the show at the Exhibition Hall but now we are looking at 30,000 visitors if the weather is fine," he said.

"This show is much more glamourous than the shows we held in the Exhibition Hall," he added.

His words ring true. There was something for almost everyone, except children, but then there is no need to cater for children. Gardening is really something adults enjoy and children will be able to enjoy the glory of the Harrogate show when they get older, that is if they are green-finger minded.

For a show of this kind fine days are needed even though a great deal of time is spent in the

various tents.

The day I was there, opening day, the sun shone for most of the time although there was a heavy downpour in mid-afternoon, while I was in the vegetable tent with my tongue hanging out and wondering where I had gone wrong with my vegetables. The vegetables there were quite something - huge onions, one I saw weighed about 13lbs -

magnificent cabbages, red cabbages and cauliflowers and blanche leeks which looked like giant candlesticks. There were pot leeks gleaming white with long green leaves which were much too big for an average pot, potatoes which had been scrubbed and polished to represent nothing like the ones dug up from the allotment and carrots with almost never ending roots.

The vegetable section was one to drool over and the skill and time that had obviously gone into producing the various vegetables made visitors envious.

Probably the biggest attraction of the show was the Flower Hall. For in here there were some of the finest displays of flowers both perennial and annual, to be found in the country. One can quite easily spend a couple of hours there. And this is exactly what people were prepared to do. Almost anything relating to gardening could be bought. Many people were prepared to try something new on the market while others bought more exotic plants.

There were truly some wonderful displays of geraniums, carnations, fuchsias, dahlias, bonsais, clematis, hostas, ornamental grasses, lilies, gladioli, alpines, sweetpeas, roses, chrysanthemums and African violets to mention a few.

There was a display of Victorian garden tools along with

exhibitions by the British Fuchsia Society, North of England Bonsai Association, National Chrysanthemum Society, Harrogate and Ripon Beekeepers' Association and the Royal National Rose Society.

Then there were the the hundreds of trade displays ranging from the sale of bulbs, greenhouses, garden tools, outdoor clothing, garden ornaments, food and drink and even a hand cream for gardeners.

Since the Spring Show quite an amount of work had been carried out in conjunction with the Yorkshire Show committee on a car park drainage scheme which has proved to be a success.

At the press conference, Sam Cryer, show chairman, said he was delighted with the high standard of the exhibits despite the poor summer. "The damp weather has, however, helped with the growth of onions," he said.

Mr Cryer said the change of venue had proved to be a success. "We get a variety of people visiting the show during the three days. On the first day we get people coming who are extremely interested in gardening and then usually on the other days people visit the show for a variety of reasons," he said

"It is important to have a large under-cover area because if it rains then people who had planned to go to the seaside may change their mind and decide to come to the show instead," he said.

"We are one of the most friendly shows in the country and everyone is uppermost in our minds including disabled people who are able to get round the displays with relative ease," he said.

Sir John Ropner, president of the North of England Horticultural Society, commented the show had a reputation for quality.

One thing is certain - if you are a gardener then the Harrogate Show come spring and autumn is the place to be.

Local winners in the flower arrangements section were Jeanne Flynn, of Grove Road, Ilkley, who received the Ladies Challenge Trophy for the best exhibit in the show, for her display in the Safe Haven class.

Jeannie Watson, of Westfield Close, Yeadon, received first prize in the Breaking Point section and first prize in the Home Grown class.

Pauline Lawton of the Flower Shop, Horsforth, gained second prize in the A Bridesmaid's Bouquet category.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.