This year’s Harrogate Spring Flower Show will shine a spotlight on coastal and marine flora and all things aquatic on its popular Human Gardener theatre stage.
The show is the first of the year’s major gardening events in the UK and returns to Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Events Centre from 24-27 April with a spectacular celebration of the very best in horticulture.
Jointly hosted by Sarah Owen-Hughes, head gardener at Rudding Park Hotel & Spa and Faith Douglas, curator of Thorp Perrow Arboretum, speakers will include experts in rivers and canals, marine and coastal life, and individuals and projects that explore all gardens, nature, the environment and wellbeing.
Topics under discussion will include marine life, the importance of Seagrass meadows, phytoplankton and oxygen, marine gardening and coral reef restoration and the challenges the oceans are currently facing such ocean acidification.
Speakers include Ben Jones, director of husbandry and exhibition at The Deep, Hull and Will Walter, community manager and volunteer crew member at Scarborough Lifeboat Station, who will speak about their first-hand experiences.
Andrea Burnand of Pickle and Brew will talk about coastal foraging for plants, seaweeds, shellfish and crustaceans.
Faith Douglas said:
“We are keen to encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved in the flower shows.
"Our wide range of speakers bring their own unique perspectives to the challenges we face, both in our own gardens and the wider environment.
“The coastal environment is under threat from many different things and this damage has a huge effect on entire planet not to mention us on such a small island.
"We wanted to highlight the plants that grow and the life on both the coastlines and in the sea and showcase the value of the natural world in all our lives.
"Did you know for instance, that much maligned moss and algae trap more carbon than trees and deserve to be protected.”
Also joining the stage on Saturday will be The Cloud Gardener, Jason Williams who shares his recent travels over two continents looking at urban green spaces around the world. Jason gardens on the balcony of his 18th floor flat in Manchester and is passionate about bringing green spaces to all.
Beningbrough Hall’s head gardener Sam Shipman will also join Faith and Sarah on Thursday to talk about the creation of a new Mediterranean Garden designed to be resilient to climate change, with plants selected for their tolerance to extremes in temperature and rainfall from around the world.
A full list of guests for each day will be published online closer to the show.
Organised by the North of England Horticultural Society (NEHS), the Harrogate Spring Flower show attracts over 40,000 visitors each year.
Highlights for 2025 include the spectacular Floral Hall featuring seasonal displays of stunning spring blooms, inspiring Show Gardens and Creative Borders and the biggest exhibition of creative floral art in the UK.
Offering inspiration for everyone, visitors to the show can also be immersed in everything from growing for the non-green fingered to cooking up a storm with homegrown produce in a host of fantastic talks and demonstrations by expert speakers and creators across four exciting live stages.
Tickets are available now at a discounted rate of £23 per person until Tuesday 8th April from https://www.flowershow.org.uk/spring-show/ or £28 after this time.
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