This smaller show is easier on the feet, September 16-19
The Harrogate Autumn Show 2022 at Newby Hall is the second at its new venue and the immediate thing that strikes you is how much smaller it is than the Great Yorkshire Showground (still the home of the Spring Flower Show). Pictures by Gary Welford.
Now, before you think this is a bad thing, hear me out (and I asked plenty of regular show-goers for their opinions). The three-day autumn flower show was always smaller than the spring event, which runs for four days instead of three. However, at the Great Yorkshire Showground, this often led to a very spaced-out show, not great for those for whom mobility is an issue.
Grounds, stately home and show included in entry price
The general consensus was that people preferred the more compact show. As you get free entry into Newby Hall and the gardens with your ticket, what you lose in the size of the spring show, you make up for with a stately home and grounds.
My favourite part of the show are the vegetable competitions, this year going under the title of Incredible and Edible. There were fewer entries than usual in the NEHS Giant Vegetable competition, the Northern Championships for the National Vegetable Society and the North of England Horticultural Society. Whether the drought had affected the growers’ crops or some other factor came into play, no one could decide. However, the veg that was there did not disappoint. Read more about last year’s monster veg here and my review of the show here.
Harrogate Autumn Show 2022 – Floral Pavilion and Grown & Shown
These two areas are in one marquee, with displays and plants for sale from growers, nurseries and plant societies. In Grown & Shown, the stars of the show are dahlias and chrysanthemums.
Harrogate Autumn Show 2022 – Don’t forget the shopping!
The best part of the Harrogate Autumn Show 2022 for me was the bargains. They’re always a feature of the late show, as firms sell off their end-of-season stock but there seemed to be more savings than ever this year. I brought back a Kadai Indian firepit and stand, an Armillary sphere (more rusty ornaments) and some assorted bulbs for bowls.
Compared to last year, the loos and food areas seemed to be better organised, although there does need to be more seating provided.
Live theatres
Don’t miss The Human Gardener in the Floral Pavilion, where horticulturist Sarah Owen-Hughes and landscape curator Faith Douglas speak to the experts behind the plants in interview sessions.
Ticket information
- Harrogate Autumn Flower Show 2022 runs from Friday, September 16 to Sunday, September 18, from 9.30am-5pm.
- Tickets cost £23.50, children aged five-15 £8, under-fives go free when accompanied by a paying adult.
- No dogs allowed, except for assistance dogs.
- General car parking is free.
- For more information, visit www.flowershow.org.uk.
