A highlight of the horticultural year will be held at the Royal Cornwall Showground near Wadebridge on the weekend of April 6-7.

The Cornwall Garden Society 2024 Spring Flower Show promises to be bigger and better than ever.

Vibrant new features will include an immersive Cornish Garden that showcases sustainable practices, a Grow Your Own space for all the family and Tipi Talks by national names and local luminaries, alongside an array of springtime surprises that will be announced in the coming weeks. 

The show’s organisers hope that people from across the county will rise to the challenge of creating a memorable celebration of Cornwall’s early spring by competing for its spectacular silverware. 

“With 41 trophies for the taking, we encourage green-fingered gardeners, horticultural hotshots and nervous newbies alike to try their luck by entering their best blooms in the competitive classes, and dazzling showgoers with their exceptional quality and extraordinary variety,” said show director, Mark Holman, who has taken over the reins this year. 

“With the deadline for horticultural entries on the horizon on Friday, March 22, now is the time to step out into your glorious Cornish gardens and consider which of your fabulous flora will be in peak condition on Thursday, April 4 and Friday, April 5 when all entries need to be delivered to the showground for staging and judging by the UK’s leading experts.

CGS chairman Martin Petherick added: “With 149 classes for ornamental trees and shrubs, magnolias, camellias, rhododendrons, daffodils, herbaceous, rhizomatous and other bulbous plants, pot plants and alpines, including 14 classes in the novice section, and nine floral art classes, why not take your chance and experience the thrill of winning one of our coveted trophies?”  

Judges of the horticultural classes will include Tony Kirkham MBE VMH; Jim Gardiner; Gwynne Davies; Barry Stagg; Rupert Eley; Jon Wheatley VMH; camellia specialists, Jim Stephens and Jeremy Wilson, and award-winning Cornish garden designer, Kim Parish.

Michael Bowyer MBE and Maggi Murray will judge the floral art classes.

For further information about the horticultural Classes, please contact Jessanda Farrant on [email protected] or 07769 818691.  

For further information about the floral art classes, please contact Pat Knight on [email protected] on 07496 542584. 

You do not have to be a member of the Cornwall Garden Society to take part and all classes are free to enter.