CORNWALL Garden Society says that with the deadline looming for entries to its Spring Flower Show taking place at the start of next month, now is the time to survey your gardens and enter your beautiful Cornish blooms.

Dramatic displays of spring flowers and shrubs will be the centrepiece of the Cornwall Garden Society’s 2022 Spring Flower Show, sponsored by Atkins Ferrie Wealth Management.

The popular event will be staged at The Royal Cornwall Showground, near Wadebridge, on Saturday and Sunday, April 2 and 3, 2022.

The Show’s organisers hope that the people of Cornwall will rise to the challenge of making these displays even more magnificent after two years of COVID-19-related cancellations.

With the deadline for horticultural entries looming on Friday, March 18, now is the time to step out into your glorious gardens and think about which of your fabulous flora will be in peak condition on Thursday, March 31, and Friday, April 1, when all entries need to be delivered to the Showground for staging and judging.

Then, the process is simple, as Entries Secretary, Rebecca Trant, explains: “Once you have decided which spring flowers and shrubs you wish to enter, take a look at the Schedule of Competitive Classes on the CGS website – which can be found at www.cornwallgardensociety.org.uk/spring-flower-show – checked which classes your flowers and shrubs are eligible for, print off and complete the entry form on pages 29/30, and send it to me by the deadline, either by scanned email or post.”

Entry forms for Floral Art and the Children’s Competitive Classes can be found on pages 31 and 33 of the Schedule, respectively, together with all the details of who to send them to.

“We have revamped the Schedule for 2022 and it now includes a separate section for Novice Classes to encourage more first-time exhibitors to take part,” adds Show Chairman, Andrew Leslie. “We hope that we can count on friends, families and neighbours to throw their horticultural hats into the ring alongside seasoned participants to celebrate Cornwall’s glorious gardens in all their spring beauty, wow our esteemed judges and even win one of our 39 trophies.”

Judges of the Competitive Classes will include Tony Kirkham MBE VMH (Former Head of Arboretum, Gardens & Horticulture Services at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew); Jim Gardiner (Executive Vice President of RHS Garden Wisley); Johnny Walkers (Taylors Bulbs’ leading light and multiple RHS Chelsea Gold medal winner); Jackie Petheridge (President of the National Daffodil Society); Cathy Rollinson (Former Chair of the National Hardy Plant Society and current Chair of the RHS Herbaceous Plant Committee); John Fielding (leading plantsman and member of the RHS Herbaceous Plant Committee) and the horticultural hierarchy closer to home such as Alice Boyd VMH; Head Gardener of National Trust Trelissick and Glendurgan, John Lanyon and camellia specialist, Jim Stephens.

Emily Stevenson, from Beach Guardian, will judge the Children’s Competitive Classes together with BBC Radio Cornwall gardening expert, Liam Shoesmith, whilst Chris Brown and Edna Trudgeon will judge the Floral Art entries.

For further information about the Competitive Classes at the Show, which are free to enter, please contact Rebecca Trant via [email protected] or 07766 880873. Hard copies of the Schedule of Competitive Classes are available upon request.

You do not have to be a member of the Cornwall Garden Society to enter. Upon receipt of your entry form, the CGS will provide you with an exhibitors’ number that will provide you with free entry to the Show.

Cornwall Garden Society 2022 Spring Flower Show Tickets

Tickets for the Cornwall Garden Society 2022 Spring Flower Show are £13.50 in advance or £15 on the gate (card payments only).

Admission is free for under 16s and well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome.

Cornwall Garden Society 2022 Spring Flower Show Preview Evening Tickets

100 guests are invited to attend an exclusive Preview Evening in the Exhibition Halls at the Royal Cornwall Showground between 6pm and 8.30pm on Friday, April 1.

The ticket price of £30 per head includes a welcome drink and delicious two-course hot supper prepared by Big Pan Parties; the opportunity to view the beautiful blooms in the Competitive Classes immediately after judging and before the Show opens to the public; access to purchase from 30+ indoor traders, including plant nurseries, artisans and purveyors of horticultural wares; and take-home gifts from Twool, the award-winning manufacturers of garden twine, garments and dog accessories made from British wool, and Whole-istics, the Cornish, family-run natural and ethical home aromas company.

Tickets for this Preview Evening are selling fast and can be purchased from www.cornwallgardensociety.org.uk/preview-evening-tickets