NEW SPEAKERS FOR HUMAN GARDENER STAGE AT HARROGATE SPRING FLOWER SHOW

This year’s Harrogate Spring Flower Show will shine a spotlight on coastal and marine flora and all things aquatic on its popular Human Gardener theatre stage.

The show is the first of the year’s major gardening events in the UK and returns to Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Events Centre from 24-27 April with a spectacular celebration of the very best in horticulture.

Jointly hosted by Sarah Owen-Hughes, head gardener at Rudding Park Hotel & Spa and Faith Douglas, curator of Thorp Perrow Arboretum, speakers will include experts in rivers and canals, marine and coastal life, and individuals and projects that explore all gardens, nature, the environment and wellbeing.

Topics under discussion will include marine life, the importance of Seagrass meadows, phytoplankton and oxygen, marine gardening and coral reef restoration and the challenges the oceans are currently facing such ocean acidification.

Speakers include Ben Jones, director of husbandry and exhibition at The Deep, Hull and Will Walter, community manager and volunteer crew member at Scarborough Lifeboat Station, who will speak about their first-hand experiences. Andrea Burnand of Pickle and Brew will talk about coastal foraging for plants, seaweeds, shellfish and crustaceans.

Faith Douglas said: “We are keen to encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved in the flower shows. Our wide range of speakers bring their own unique perspectives to the challenges we face, both in our own gardens and the wider environment.

“The coastal environment is under threat from many different things and this damage has a huge effect on entire planet not to mention us on such a small island. We wanted to highlight the plants that grow and the life on both the coastlines and in the sea and showcase the value of the natural world in all our lives. Did you know for instance, that much maligned moss and algae trap more carbon than trees and deserve to be protected.”

Also joining the stage on Saturday will be The Cloud Gardener, Jason Williams who shares his recent travels over two continents looking at urban greenspaces around the world. Jason gardens on the balcony of his 18th floor flat in Manchester and is passionate about bringing greenspaces to all.

Beningbrough Hall’s head gardener Sam Shipman will also join Faith and Sarah on Thursday to talk about the creation of a new Mediterranean Garden designed to be resilient to climate change, with plants selected for their tolerance to extremes in temperature and rainfall from around the world.

A full list of guests for each day will be published online closer to the show.

Organised by the North of England Horticultural Society (NEHS), the Harrogate Spring Flower show attracts over 40,000 visitors each year. Highlights for 2025 include the spectacular Floral Hall featuring seasonal displays of stunning spring blooms, inspiring Show Gardens and Creative Borders and the biggest exhibition of creative floral art in the UK., Offering inspiration for everyone, visitors to the show can also be immersed in everything from growing for the non-green fingered to cooking up a storm with homegrown produce in a host of fantastic talks and demonstrations by expert speakers and creators across four exciting live stages.

About the NEHS

Established in 1911, the North of England Horticultural Society (NEHS) is a charity dedicated to promoting and supporting horticulture in the north of England.

The society's Spring show was first staged in 1920 and provided northern growers with their own platform, independent of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). The Autumn Flower Show was launched in the 1970s as the 'Great Autumn Flower Show’. Both shows have since become pivotal events in the national horticultural calendar with the Spring event heralding the start of the gardening season and the Autumn show celebrating the season's successes.

The NEHS hosts the Spring Flower Show and the Autumn Flower Show every year. The Autumn show is held at Newby Hall and Gardens, Ripon. Attracting a combined audience of around 70,000 visitors each year, the Harrogate Spring and Autumn Flower Shows showcase the very best in gardening and horticulture. From spectacular plant nursery displays and stunning floral features to talks and demonstrations plus inspiring garden shopping, the show makes the perfect day out for gardeners.

In 2023 the NEHS provided over £350k of charitable support to horticulture in its delivery of the combined Harrogate Flower Shows, a figure only achievable through ticket admissions. Through this delivery, the charity supports and finances the work of specialist societies and groups, providing a platform for these volunteer organisations to showcase their knowledge and skills, as well as promoting charitable horticultural organisations and a range of educational opportunities across the north.