Celebrating a century of showcasing the very best in horticulture, the Harrogate Flower Shows are set to offer something truly BIG this autumn for gardening enthusiasts across the country.

The Harrogate Flower Show is widely regarded as Europe’s biggest and most prestigious autumn gardening event. It is run by the North of England Horticultural Society, a leading gardening charity set up 100 years ago this year to promote horticulture in the north.

This year’s autumn show highlights:

New for the 2011 centenary autumn show is a series of classes for giant vegetables adding mammoth marrows, tremendous tomatoes and colossal cucumbers to the traditional displays of hundreds of top class fruit and vegetable exhibits.

National Onion Championship, including the world record weigh-in for the heaviest onion.

Inspiration for the 2012 growing year with a new competition for show garden borders. Entries cover a diverse range of themes, including the therapeutic benefits of horticulture in a drug addict’s journey to recovery, a tribute to the punk rock era with a riot of clashing colours, and the calming tranquillity of the water-loving bog garden.

The UK’s biggest specialist societies marquee offering dozens of gardening-related organisations an opportunity to showcase their work. A breath-taking, floral feast featuring everything from Bonsai to bees, including:

a staggering array of more than 3,500 dahlias, including over 100 giant blooms measuring up to a whopping 30 cms in diameter!

nearly 1000 chrysanthemums, including a number of historic varieties under threat of extinction

over 1000 carnations

more than 200 gladioli

bigger than ever fuchsia show

the biggest exhibition of Bonsai outside Japan

one of the country’s most valuable honey shows, including hundreds of beeswax products and a live honeybee hive.

More than 100 of the country’s leading plant nurseries for everything from airplants to alpines and roses to rhododendrons offering advice, inspiration and planting ideas.

Daily demonstrations in the Cookery Theatre with 17 top-class chefs from across the region presenting their ideas for making the most of the autumn cornucopia. New this year is a daily ready, steady cook-style challenge for up-and-coming trainee chefs from local catering colleges in Leeds and Harrogate.

140 different gardening and special interest stands where visitors can purchase the latest gardening gadgets and products

An early opportunity for Christmas shopping with nearly 70 handmade craft and gift stands

And, if all that shopping makes you hungry, the food marquee offers a mouth-watering selection of tempting treats. Regional delicacies can also be found in the area dedicated to deliciouslyorkshire

The Harrogate Flower Shows are organised and run by the North of England Horticultural Society (NEHS), a leading gardening charity set up 100 years ago (January 1911) to support horticulture in the north by providing a top class showcase for exhibits grown in colder northern climates.

The NEHS, which supports over 50 horticultural charities and organisations, is proud to have HRH The Prince of Wales as its Patron and this year welcomed the Duchess of Northumberland as its new President.

The spring and autumn shows are spread across 22 acres of the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate, attracting nearly 100,000 visitors each year. They are among the oldest and most prestigious events in the gardening calendar – pre-dating even the Chelsea Flower Show.

All profits from the shows are returned to the charity and used to promote and support horticulture in the region.

Joe Walker, holding the certificate and cup, and delighted to be representing the all-amateurs team of the National Vegetable Society West Yorkshire District Association

under-16s free.