2012 is a big year for Britain and Britain’s biggest marquee of floral art will be celebrating great events, past and present, with a fascinating feast of flowers.
The Harrogate Spring Flower Show (26-29 April), which hosts the largest flower arranging and floristry display of its kind in the UK, will feature a stunning array of more than 160 painstakingly prepared works of art, together with spectacular large scale displays from clubs and colleges across the country.
The Yorkshire Flower Club will journey From Olympia to London, while four area teams from NAFAS (National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies) celebrate famous aspects of London Life, with large scale displays depicting the city’s West End, galleries & museums, parks & gardens and shopping.
Floristry students from Shipley College in West Yorkshire will bring the past into the present with a display featuring The Queen’s Coronation, inspired by Her Majesty’s forthcoming Diamond Jubilee.
Other historic events to be featured in flowers include the sinking of the Titanic (East Durham College), the bloody War of the Roses (Craven College, Skipton), the legendary tale of Elizabeth 1 and Sir Walter Raleigh (Wigan & Leigh College), the gruesome Black Death backdrop to the traditional children’s nursery rhyme ‘Ring o Ring o Roses’ (Doncaster College) and the fall of the Berlin Wall (Askham Bryan College).
Those with a flair for international floral art will enjoy a large display of Ikebana, Japanese flower arranging that creates calm through closeness with nature, while the exotic title Arabian Nights is among some 18 different themed challenges set for club and individual competitors this year.
The annual spring and autumn Harrogate Flower Shows, run by the North of England Horticultural Society, are the UK’s biggest independent gardening events, attracting a total of around 100,000 visitors and 1,000 exhibitors each year.
Show Director Martin Fish said:
Flowers have also played a major role in celebrating and commemorating our great public events and family occasions. Hundreds of stunning works of art are being carefully planned and created for the 2012 Spring Flower Show. It will be the biggest display of its kind and, together with the daily demonstrations, we hope will provide inspiration for our visitors, perhaps as they plan their own celebrations this year.
Staged at the Great Yorkshire Showground, the Harrogate Spring Flower Show will also feature beautiful new show gardens (sponsored by Abbots Green Luxury Lodge Living), over 100 leading plant nurseries, Have a Go interactive landscaping, and expert advice from the Garden Roadshow and Kitchen Garden Live teams. Daily demonstrations featuring seasonal produce will take place in the Cookery Theatre, including a special appearance by TV chef Rosemary Shrager.
Tickets: Thurs/Fri/Sat:£13.50 when booked before noon on 17 April 2012; £16 on the gate. Sun: £11.50 in advance; £14 on the gate. Call 01423 546157 or visit www.flowershow.org.uk for details.
