EVEN though the weather was dismal for the entire weekend, the colour and quality of the flowers and exhibits shone through at the 102nd annual spring flower show of The Cornwall Garden Society in the grounds of Boconnoc House.

Thousands of people donned wellies and wet weather gear to see the best of Cornwall's horticultural heritage on display – and they were not disappointed.

The show was opened on Saturday by well-known TV gardener Chris Beardshaw, whose new series British Gardens in Time started this week on BBC Four.

He also helped to judge many of the entries and took part in a gardener's questiontime. On Sunday Devon's Toby Buckland, formerly of the BBC's Gardeners' World, handed out gardening advice.

Director Martin Pallett said the show was very successful, despite the weather.

'Even though there was mist and drizzle for most of Saturday there were queues at the gate and it was as busy as usual – some traders said they were busier than last year, he said.

'Sunday was a far worse day and it did affect the numbers quite dramatically, but over the weekend we still had thousands of people in attendance and visitors said they enjoyed the extra family entertainment provided this year.'

'Gardeners are brave souls,' he added.