Visitors to the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show will enjoy a spectacular celebration of the season when the show returns to Newby Hall and Gardens, near Ripon from Friday 19 September until Sunday 21 September 2025.
Organised by the North of England Horticultural Society (NEHS), the show attracts more than 30,000 visitors. Among the seasonal exhibits, vibrant displays of dahlias, pelargoniums and geraniums will dazzle in the Grand Floral Pavilion as gardeners seek inspiration for their own gardens.
The National Dahlia Society has exhibited at the show for many decades, last year winning Best Society in Show. Visitors in September will be treated to a magnificent display of the showy flowers from 78 growers across the country, and there are 98 competitive classes as part of the society’s National Northern Show Championships.
Designed by award-winning dahlia grower Tracey Parkinson, the society’s stand has been nine months in the planning. Dahlia blooms are contributed by individual growers and collected a few days ahead of the show.
Sunderland based Ian Ledger is secretary to the northern committee of the National Dahlia Society. His enthusiasm for dahlias began when he started growing them with his son on his allotment more than 15 years ago.
Ian said:
Dahlias come into their own over six short weeks in the autumn, so this is a great time to see them in their full pomp. Growing them is addictive. My personal favourites are the giant variety, but there are so many different shapes and colours to enjoy – from peony and pompom to anemone and waterlily, and new ones awaiting formal recognition.
Dahlias will grow in most soils but prefer a free-draining soil. They are forgiving of mistakes and will come back fairly easily, but my top tip for success is to start with good stock from one of our reputable growers at the show.
In the weeks before the show, Ian will be disbudding his plants to delay flowering and produce perfect blooms, supporting the stems from the wind and feeding with a high potash feed in August, as well as spraying to protect against aphids and earwigs.
Ian said:
Of course, the one thing we can’t control is the weather. We just have to hope for no frost the night before the show when all of the blooms are tucked up in the floral pavilion.
The award-winning Yorkshire Pelargonium and Geranium Society is also returning to the Harrogate Autumn Flower show.
Formed 20 years ago, the society is run by volunteers and exhibits its plants at shows across the region and beyond.
In keeping with its Newby Hall setting, the society’s show feature was inspired by the kitchen garden at Burton Agnes Hall. The display depicts a Victorian walled garden complete with greenhouse, wildflower area and vegetable garden, set against a walled backdrop with an arched vista through to a larger garden.
Malton-based volunteer Roger Burnett said:
Preparations began shortly after the Harrogate Spring Show, with vegetables being sown and props being built. Pelargoniums were at the height of their popularity in Victorian times and many of the old varieties that the society specialises in will feature in the display. Members’ glasshouses are packed with over two thousand varieties, many dating from the period in what is probably the largest collection in the country.
The society has teamed up with Thixendale-based Richard Gibson of Wold Wire Sculptures who is producing wire sculptures of a gardener hoeing in the plot, as well as the obligatory rabbit feeding off the greens, while a barn owl is seen hunting amongst the wildflowers. The walled backdrop is printed by Don French signs of Seamer, making this a massive team effort culminating in what should be a very exciting and interesting exhibit for visitors to enjoy.
One of the biggest challenges is getting everything to perfection for the show, Roger, who has more than 50 years’ experience in horticulture says: “Growing pelargoniums for a normal display is relatively easy compared with growing veg. Everything is under mesh to keep out pests, however we have moved some varieties into the open so they can be pollinated. Timing is everything with some veg taking longer than others to mature, so it may be down to what is good on the day as to what goes to the show.”
If the feature proves popular, the team is already planning a similar display for the 2026 Harrogate Spring Flower show.
Brian Boyes from Seamer, a key member of the show team and an avid veg grower, added:
Our feature garden will bring a new dimension to the Grand Floral Pavilion at Newby and what better setting than one of Yorkshire’s leading country houses.
With a family focus, this year’s show is set to inspire the next generation of growers with an engaging raft of new children’s hands-on activities, as well as its trademark spectacular floral displays, awe-inspiring fruit and vegetable competitions, expert talks and live demonstrations.
Show highlights include the magnificent floral displays in the Grand Floral Pavilion where visitors can enjoy seasonal displays from the UK’s best growers, nurseries and specialist plant societies, including the National Chrysanthemum Northern Championships.
The Incredible Edible Pavilion will showcase the pick of this year’s harvest, from the popular NEHS Giant Veg competition and the National Onion Championship to the National Vegetable Society’s Northern Championships and classes for seasonal produce.
The show will see the return of the popular live stages where gardening experts share their passion, gardening advice and inspiring floristry demonstrations. New for 2025 is the Makers Table stage with experts demonstrating how to make the most of the seasonal harvest, alongside the secrets to drying flowers and even homemade homecare hacks.
Show visitors can also enjoy ‘The Country House Weekend’ with stunning floral arrangements installed throughout Newby Hall’s magnificent Adam interiors. Designed by internationally celebrated floral designer Jonathan Moseley, the feature takes inspiration from Newby’s great history and its award-winning gardens, which this year won a coveted gold medal at Chelsea Flower Show.
The Harrogate Autumn Flower Show is one of two flower shows hosted annually by the NEHS with the Spring Flower Show taking place in Harrogate in April. Last year’s Autumn Flower Show attracted 30,000 visitors, with the profits used to support and promote the work of specialist societies and groups, and charitable horticultural organisations.
Tickets are £23 per person available online from https://www.flowershow.org.uk/ until 2 September or £28 on the door. Admission includes access to Newby’s gardens which feature some of Europe’s biggest herbaceous flower borders, 15 stunning garden ‘rooms’ and family adventure garden.
