Harrogate Autumn Flower Show: Blooming Despite a Mixed Summer

Many garden centres have reported slow sales this summer after the cold, wet spring, but there was no sign of slowing down at the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show at Newby Hall this weekend. Blue skies greeted early visitors, who seemed more than keen to scoop up the excellent plants and garden sundries on offer.

A 500-foot-long Floral Pavilion houses entries to the National Dahlia and National Chrysanthemum Northern Championships and visitors could be inspired by the astonishing display of fruit, vegetables and flowers submitted by amateur growers in the many competition categories as well as the chance to talk to the growers to ask questions.

A show like this offers a great chance for nurseries and growers alike to show off a wide range of plants that are in flower during late summer and autumn or bulbs for a superb spring display. There’s no-one better to ask about a plant than someone who grows them for a living, such as the award-winning duo Vicky and Richard Fox of Plantagogo Nursery in Cheshire.

For those less interested in their garden, the food tent was bursting with delicious cheeses, pastries, cakes, preserves and alcoholic treats. Outside, the many stalls selling sweet and savoury goodies, art, crafts and clothes were definitely tempting people to indulge. From summerhouses to socks and candies to cardigans, there was something for everyone.

Many traditional flower shows have found they need to diversify to attract a wider audience with everything from birds of prey to acrobats. This particular show has a different approach without losing touch with its horticultural roots. The entry ticket gives access to the ground floor of Newby Hall itself, where big, dramatic floral displays fill the rooms, and also the sweeping gardens leading down to the river Ure.

As the William and Mary house, originally built in the late 1600s, can boast the most beautiful Robert Adams decoration and Thomas Chippendale furniture, it is a feast for historians and lovers of historic buildings. It was the original setting for Downton Abbey, by writer Julian Fellowes, until filming was switched to Highclere Castle.

The 25 acres of formal gardens include the longest double herbaceous border in the country, created using only truly herbaceous plants that die down to the ground every year. There is a rose garden, Rhododendron walk and the National Collection of Cornus, along with a historic rock garden, rose pergola and Laburnum arch.

If this isn’t enough, there is a miniature railway, where visitors can enjoy a ride through the lower end of the gardens or perhaps try a boat trip along the river Ure for a different perspective on the house and gardens.

For younger visitors, as well as the extensive grounds and woodland, there is a big play area with a zip wire, where they can expend all the pent-up energy that went unused in the flower marquees.

As a flower show, this is one of the greats and as a really good day out, it’s excellent!