A Gateway To Grow!

A crowning town of houses brown, renowned for spas and evening gowns, Harrogate in Yorkshire is a traditional-yet-exciting place to be any time of year! Small wonder that in 1893 it was a Harrogate doctor by the name of George Oliver who became the first person to observe the effect of adrenaline on the circulation. The prospect of a visit certainly never fails to set our pulses racing, especially in springtime.

That’s the time of year when Harrogate opens it’s figurative ‘gate’ to the Spring Flower Show – the curtain raiser to the U.K. gardening events calendar. Brimming with motivation for the coming growing season, the Spring Show includes Garden Inspiration, where ‘talented landscapers and professional gardeners create inspirational pocket plots and stunning installations.’

There’s the Grand Floral Hall full of amazing displays and a great opportunity to pick up ideas from the ever-present growers, nurseries, and expert societies. And then there’s the Garden Shopping Hall. Wherein one could find yours truly.

There’s only one way to do a jamboree such as the Spring Show justice and that’s to try and top your previous year’s presence on an annual basis. With an even wider range of growing options and a greater living exhibit than ever before we at AutoPot certainly gave it a good go this April.

Live demo displays for 2024 featured AQUAbox, 4Pot, easy2grow, easy2GO, and Tray2Grow, each given full rein to show off their individual strengths. The plants therein had been lovingly cultivated in our R&D grow room and looked quite spiffing in situ. Having them there to physically demonstrate the systems certainly drew plenty of attention from the waves of visitors surging through the show.

As with many of our show appearances, we got compliments aplenty about the concept of the systems. But the really interesting thing about Harrogate is that we get a real, on-the-day measure of their appeal. Systems are available to buy on our stand and, as was the case on 2023, we did a roaring trade. Exhibiting primarily to ‘end users’, the actual gardeners themselves, is always a sweet thrill. Easily enough to sustain our team through relentless portering!

Although puffed out from carrying ‘an awful lot of systems to a lot of visitors vehicles’, Laurence Ritchie, our International Sales Manager, just about managed to wheeze out a report, over the sound of tiny violins. By his account trade was very brisk if somewhat sporadic, perhaps as a result of the ever-popular Live Theatres and their start/finish times.

If the show was something of a ‘busman’s holiday’ for our crew of keen growers it was equally the case for visitors. Numerous garden centre staff stopped by to enquire, insisting that they were not there on business, and were supposed to be having a day off, but couldn’t resist. And we got some pleasing proof that growers of all ages can be converted to AutoPot in the shape of a 90 year-old couple who snapped up an easy2grow Kit plus an easy2grow Extension Kit. Still growing, but not growing old it seems.

An absolute deluge on the Sunday washed the crowds indoors and onto the AutoPot stand. There we were more than happy to show people just how pleasant our more controlled forms irrigation can be. Directing the tide yet more in our favour were the NVS who regularly sent people over to our booth. Big thanks to them, having their endorsement is a real boon!

It would be ludicrous to conclude without also offering fulsome thanks to longtime compadres Budbox whose turf we were very much upon in Harrogate. Their MD Jonathan Edwards treated our lads to a splendid night out. Seal of approval from Dozzini on the pasta – enough said! For aspiring indoor growers who are looking for an enclosed spot in which to garden Budbox’s range of tents really should be your first port of call. Their industry-standard kit which is a byword for quality can be glimpsed on our trade stands at a number of upcoming continental shows! As for our Spring Show friends – see you later Harrogators!