Southport Flower Show

IT was Gardening Girl’s first visit to Southport Flower Show.

The show, held over four days boasted everything from spectacular blooms to fruit and veg displays, artwork, crafts and family entertainment.

The site is huge and it took me several hours walking around capturing the floral splendor.

Keith Partington (pictured) was drawing in the customers with his magnificent tower of sunflowers.

The Amateur Gardeners Tent boasted amazing flower, fruit and vegetable displays.

Over in the Grand Marquee I snapped gladioli, scented oriental lilies and begonias.

In the Floral Art tent were inventive displays. Unsurprisingly this particular display caught my eye.

This representation of sushi also impressed me. Incidentally my photo homes in on the sushi part for artistic reasons. The actual display was much bigger.

These gorgeous hardy perennials and grasses demonstrating late summer flowering was created by Sue Beesley of Bluebell Cottage Gardens Nursery in Cheshire.

I also checked out these bonsai trees.

All this photo taking is hungry work. I decided to stop for a hog roast roll. Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea and there seemed to be only one stall selling them.

The show is not just confined to flower displays. I was very tempted by the novelty wooden solar-powered paperweight/calculator at the wood turners tent.

And over in the crafts marquee I was talked into buying some crystal goblets, made and hand painted in Jerusalem by a handsome Palestinian man.

The crowd was entertained with a thrilling jousting match between the black knight and the good guy Thatcher.

“You guys are getting bloodthirsty,” the compere remarked as the crowd urged Thatcher to chop off the black knight’s head.

Intelligent dogs and clowns on tricycles provided other entertainment in the arena.

I picked up some miniature daffodil bulbs for the garden before leaving.