Interview: The man preparing to welcome 50,000 gardeners to HarrogateBest garden at Harrogate Flower Show revealed

Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s garden has been crowned best in show at the Harrogate Flower Show 2024.

The charity’s Reflection and Remembrance Garden encompasses the service that the organisation provides, while providing tranquil space for those who have been affected by the work of the air ambulance to remember and reflect.

Designed by Kate Smithson, a York-based horticulturist, in collaboration with landscaper Nick Fryer and his team, the garden was awarded the prestigious accolade because judges felt it was ‘well scaled and in proportion… an excellent garden that followed the brief closely’.

Tessa Klemz, regional fundraising manager for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, said:

“The garden has far exceeded our expectations and it’s been wonderful to have so much lovely feedback from the show visitors too who all love it as much as we do.

“Kate’s design captures exactly what we were looking for — to create a place of memories, tranquillity and peacefulness and we cannot thank her enough for the time and effort she’s put into the garden over many months.

“And also, to our landscaper Nick Fryer and his team who have taken Kate’s concept and built it to make it a reality – their craftsmanship on the project is outstanding.”

(Image: YAA)

The main feature of the garden is a yellow pergola, representing the blades and colour of the air ambulance helicopters, with the planting and central water feature celebrating the varied landscapes of Yorkshire.

Kate Smithson added:

“I am absolutely thrilled to have not only been awarded a premier gold award, but also to be given the accolade of best in show.

“It has been a real honour and privilege to have designed this garden for Yorkshire Air Ambulance and to work with such a talented landscaper in Nick Fryer and his team.”

The garden will now move to its permanent home in Roundhay Park, near Leeds, where it is expected to be officially unveiled this year.

Designer Kate Smithson (Image: YAA)

Yorkshire Air Ambulance plans to utilise the garden for future fundraising and awareness too, allowing the public to leave lasting dedications to loved ones or as individuals who have used the service.

The garden was funded through charitable donations and sponsorship from organisations that include Redmayne Bentley, The North of England Horticultural Society, Woods of Harrogate, The Arnold Burton Charitable Trust, RB Gray Charitable Trust, Ilkley Charitable Trust, and The Peacock (Leeds) Trust.

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Business Q&A: Victoria Clark, French Soaps

This is the latest in a regular series of Business Q&A features published weekly.  

This week, we spoke to Victoria Clark, owner of French Soaps in Harrogate.

Tell us in fewer than 30 words what your firm does. 

We’re the largest importer of French soap in the UK. Our products are all natural, traditional soaps made in the Provence and Marseilles region of France.

What does it require to be successful in business? 

For me there are two things. Firstly, people. You’ve got to have the right people around and you have to look after them, and that starts from the top. ‘People’ also includes customers. People should always come first.

Secondly, having a focus: knowing what you’re good at and sticking with it. Own your space. Know it, love it, and be brilliant at it.

What drives you to do what you do every day? 

The customers and the product. I love my products and I love surprising people, delighting people, and having happy customers.

What has been the toughest issue your company has had to deal with over the last 12 months? 

Supplies. We work with some big savonneries in France and also with some small, family savonneries. Last summer, it was particularly hot and a lot of our products are handmade, and there were a lot of problems in terms of being able to make product in sufficient quantity when it was cool enough.

Which other local firms do you most admire and why? 

To have a successful business, you need to have a focus, stick at it and be brilliant at it, so for me, that has to be Bettys. They do what they do really well, and they haven’t tried to go out of area or do anything that they can’t manage and control.

Who are the most inspiring local leaders? 

Any business needs to evolve, and the best often do that through a constant series of small changes and tweaks that keep things fresh and alive.

For me, the people that do that really well are the Mackanesses at Rudding Park. They’re always looking at what they’re doing and moving it on.

What could be done locally to boost business? 

Improve parking to make it easier for people to use the facilities in the town. We need 10-15 minutes of free parking in the centre of town, not big pedestrian zones or hour-long car-parking charges everywhere.

If you live in an outlying area like I do, you just want to go in, do what you need to do, and leave. I don’t want to be parking and getting a bus – I’m not there for a day-trip, I’m there to use the facilities.

Best and worst things about running a business from Harrogate? 

I love working in Harrogate and running a business here. Our customers love the fact we’re in Harrogate, and there’s a perception that it’s a good brand fit: a nice product in a nice location.

The worst thing is that prime retail locations are so expensive! My company needs a prime retail location because that’s what the brand needs, and I’d need the footfall to make it viable, but the cost of doing that doesn’t work for me with the size of business I have at the moment.

Photo of packets of French soap flakes on a shelf at Harrogate business French Soaps.

What are your business plans for the future? 

We’re going to start doing some shows, so this year you’ll find us at the Harrogate Flower Show in April.

We’re also working with some other brands and there are various new launches coming along, although I can’t say too much about that at the moment. We’ve always got something happening

What do you like to do on your time off? 

I play golf, love pilates and yoga, and enjoy dog agility and scent work – so I’m busy most of the time.

Best place to eat and drink locally?

In Harrogate, Konak Meze, the Turkish restaurant on Mount Parade.

Slightly out of town, our favourite place is Harewood: Muddy Boots Café and The Hovels. But I’m always open to trying new places.

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Autumn Harrogate Flower Show starts tomorrow at Newby Hall

Floral designers have created a Cinderella-themed display for the Autumn Harrogate Flower Show, which starts tomorrow.

The three-day event takes place at Newby Hall, between Boroughbridge and Ripon.

Harrogate Flower Shows are staged twice a year, in April and September, by the North of England Horticultural Society.

The society announced the relocation of its autumn event to Newby Hall at the end of 2019.

The spring flower, which remains at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate, will next be staged on April 20-23.

The show at Newby will feature plant nurseries, a giant vegetable competition, live theatre and Britain’s biggest display of autumn blooms.

Visitors will also see arrangements from celebrity floral designer Jonathan Moseley and hear the story of Newby Hall’s rock garden.

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Tickets cost £23.50 for adults and £8 for children aged five to 15. Under fives enter for free. Admission includes access to Newby’s gardens and children’s adventure park.

Show director Nick Smith said:

“Last year we held the autumn show at Newby Hall for the first time, we were delighted that it was such a huge success.

“This autumn, with so many fantastic exhibitors and an enticing programme of events lined up, we are incredibly excited to welcome our visitors and exhibitors back for what promises to be a bigger, brighter and even better autumn show.”

Stray Kitchen: freezing flower show, but the chefs keep cooking

Stray Kitchen is our column all about food written by renowned local produce expert, food writer and chef, Stephanie Moon. Stephanie is a champion of food produced in the UK and particularly in Yorkshire and the Harrogate district. 

The Harrogate Flower Show had bad weather this year, but in spite of the rain, it was a blooming marvellous success! Those of us who were cooking at the event were just so happy to (finally) be let out..

The plants took a battering in the rain but even the soggy ground seemed not to mind. My role this year was to cook alongside expert gardener Martin Walker, former Head Gardener at York Gate Garden and his partner Sue. We ran the cookery theatre and did 40 demonstrations in four days. Every cookery demo was coupled with expert gardening tips from Martin and his encyclopaedic knowledge of gardening.

Our gardening tips and cookery demonstrations took inspiration from salads, asparagus, courgettes, beetroots and some seasonal sweet treats. I found the tips on growing fascinating and it gave me more confidence to have a go in the garden. My potatoes now are looking great, along with a piece of guttering which Martin and Sue filled with “Cut and Come Again Lettuce”. It’s had three close shaves so far, and is still going strong…

My cookery demos where showcasing the Yorkshire produce available to buy on the day at the show. Tasked with what to do with a glut of courgettes, we demoed a courgette, beer and cheese soup – using Isaac Poad‘s sell out beer and Coverdale Cheese.

‘Feast over the Fence’ garden was great fun and Martin and Sue won the President’s Choice Award

All agreed the garden Martin and Sue so expertly made up was a beautiful thing to behold and it really had it all… raised beds full of cabbage and brassicas, pots of rhubarb and beetroots, a wheelbarrow spilling over with vegetables and fruits, a garden shed and guttering filled with salads and herbs- really the finest stage I have ever had the pleasure to cook on and with such a marvellous fun and humble couple we had a great time.

Now that events are back, I cannot wait for the Great Yorkshire Show and Harrogate Food Festival.

See you there and hopefully if the weather is better than it was for the Flower Show, we will have some fun in the sun!

Steph x

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Harrogate spring flower show set to go ahead in 2021

The organisers of the Harrogate Flower Shows have said the spring event will go ahead in April but with visitor numbers reduced by two thirds.

The spring show usually attracts 60,000 visitors over four days and provides a major boost to the district’s hotels, bars and restaurants.

However, numbers will be limited to 5,000 people a day over the four days, which means the event will only attract about a third of its usual footfall.

The North of England Horticultural Society usually stages spring and autumn flower shows at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate but this year’s autumn event was cancelled.

But it has introduced measures that it says will adapt the spring show to covid-safe guidelines.

This means visitor numbers have been limited and all tickets have to be bought online in advance.

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A spokesperson for the North of England Horticultural Society, said the many acres of space at the showground meant the event could be adapted to meet covid requirements. The spokesperson added:

“If the situation improves in the New Year, as many top advisers have indicated they expect, then we can adapt again to take advantage of any improvements.”

Visitors will be allowed to attend in two timed sessions each day.

The event is due to take place from April 22 to April 25.

The society said it was aware government policies may change, forcing the event to be cancelled, and that it would work with partners to adapt to any changes.

The pring event — called Spring Essentials — will showcase gardens and nurseries and include live theatre.

Harrogate Autumn Flower Show cancelled

The North of England Horticultural Society has cancelled this years Harrogate Autumn Flower Show, set to take place from 18-20 September at Newby Hall.

The decision has been taken due to the ongoing uncertainty as to when the government will allow large public gatherings. It comes after the Harrogate Spring Flower Show at the Yorkshire Show Ground was also cancelled – both events attract up to 100,000 visitors between them.

Nick Smith, the show’s director said:

“Naturally we are very disappointed that 2020 will go down as the year there were no Harrogate Flower Shows to open and close the gardening season, but the safety of our visitors, exhibitors and the wider public must come first.

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This is the first time the autumn flower show has not taken place since during the Second World War.

The organisers have informed those who had tickets for the show that they will receive a full refund by the end of July. For more information visit the Harrogate Flower Show website – https://www.flowershow.org.uk/