Showgirls and Giants...

This weekend the gardeners of Yorkahsire gathered en mass at the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show to celebrate the great and the gargantuan of garden produce. It was my first time visiting the show and after hearing tales of the the giant veg competitions I was looking forward to some treats, but nothing could have prepared me for the displays in the exhibitors tent...

Dahlias to die for..

Chrysanthemums the size of footballs...

And the Roses were just about as good as it gets...

the blooms were definitely the showgirls of the day, with every colour imaginable on display, puffed up, blousy and demanding attention. We loved it! and wandering from tent to tent in a Pimms induced state of bliss, we had no idea what the produce tent had in store for us as we quite literally went from the sublime to the ridiculous!

I quite literally have 'never seen anything like it in my life'! Row after row of trestle tables groaning under the weight of veg so gigantic you have to wonder how they got it there!

You've got to really like cabbage to grow these - lets face it you're going to be eating it for weeks!

I didnt know whether to gasp or giggle at these marrows - they were HUGE! We agreed they wouldn't look out of place with a dinosaur chomping on them!

And the onions! The onions were - staggering! This was the record breaker

Yep - thats right 17lb 15.5 oz That's definitely going to make someones eyes water!

All in all the show is a testament to peoples passion for growing things, everything from Delphiniums to Dragons Egg Cucumbers ( I bought some seeds so I'll be showing you them soon!). I loved seeing the individual growers by their stands, guarding their produce and glowing with pride, that feeling that we all have the first time we grow something that makes it to the table - its just that these guys have turned it into an art form! And striving for excellence is something we all share as gardeners whether we achieve it or not - I know I won't be alone in ending the growing season already planning for what i want to do differently and better next year. Im certainly planning a trip to the Spring next year to get me off to a head start...