Grow it make it and show it.

There’s magic in a horticultural show. We, Haynes Horticulture, will be proud sponsors of Barnack Horticultural Show this year on the 27th June at noon. Consider this your official invite.
The History

Barnack’s horticultural show as it was known, dates back to around 1892. Most likely a few trestle tables, a handful of growers, and a shared sense of pride in soil and toil.
This was late Victorian Britain an air of improvement, order, and quiet competition. A village show was a spectacle, to raise standards, share knowledge, connect and if we’re honest exercise some good natured rivalry over who could grow and show the straightest carrot.

Barnack was known for stone. For centuries, the village centred around limestone quarries, producing the distinctive ‘Barnack rag’ used in some of Peterborough Cathedral.
Different times. Quarrying, farming, and a simpler practical relationship with the earth and community. You worked with what was beneath your feet.
The quarries eventually quietened and our soil remained. That transition from digging stone to cultivating land gave us today’s show.
Barnack earned its connection to the land through labour, and later, through prime real estate and its access to Peterborough train station. I jest, the show is simply an opportunity to give a stable home to the ugliest potato and the best dressed Corsage.

Across the UK, there are thousands of village horticultural and flower shows running each year, from the smallest parish halls to the grander county piles.

Organisations like the Royal Horticultural Society support a national appetite that sees millions of people gardening annually, with over 30 million UK adults engaging in gardening in some form. And yet, it’s the small shows, the Barnacks of the world that foster a real heartbeat for all ages.

What began as rows of onions and explosive proportioned marrows quickly became something far deeper. Over the last 100 years, the horticultural show has evolved into a kind of living snapshot of village life. Yes, the vegetables are still there (almost as we are out of season a little). With Victoria sponges, the jewel-like jams, and the children’s craft entries that rarely follow any known rule book 🙂
There’s a quiet democracy to it all. The best grower in the village stands shoulder to shoulder with someone entering for the first time. There are no titles, no hierarchy just what’s on show.
A well decorated ginger bread man or flowers in a jar will always speak for itself, though it’s widely accepted that at least one leek per show has been nudged along with soils bordering on alchemy.
The stories.

The person who wins longest runner bean three years in a row and no one is quite sure how? The judge who disqualifies a near perfect rose for the slightest mark.
The child who enters a wonky carrot and walks away with a prize, setting them off on a lifelong path in the garden. (Not mentioning any names 🙂
Statistically, it’s also said quietly, and never officially recorded that ale & scone consumption, not in that order; increase by 300% on show day.

The prizes themselves are not the focal point. A small cash award, a rosette, perhaps a slightly battered silver cup that’s been doing the rounds since before the war. What matters is what it represents. Stoic credibility. A sense that you know your craft, your soil, your timing & your execution.

Through the decades, the show has shifted. During the war years, it leaned into ‘Dig for Victory’ practical purposeful & necessary. Post-war, there was more colour, more abundance, a bit of optimism creeping back in. By the late 20th century, the categories loosened more fun, more accessibility, more reasons for people to have a go at Lego and duplo model of a space ship.
Today, you’ll find everything from pollinator-friendly planting to ugliest vegetable, often the most competitive category of all.
The Why
The show adapts as do you the entrants. Having been fortunate to judge a few years past the ingenuity and commitments displayed are something to behold.
At its core, the show is about community. In a world that’s increasingly digital, fast, and slightly detached, horticultural and craft practices allow people to be present, more patient which can only be a good thing for our children.
You can’t fake it. You either grew it, or you didn’t. You either baked it, stitched it, arranged it or you had a good go and came back to win with more decorum and vigour the next year.
The Future
Looking ahead, to the next 100 years. Who knows what the show will hold. There’ll be more technology people growing with sensors, hydroponics, perhaps even AI nudging them on when to water or feed. Maybe, Soil health, biodiversity, working with nature rather than against it.

But strip all that back, and the essence won’t change. It will still be about turning up with something you have made, grown cared for and want to share. Placing it on a table.
Because deep down, the appeal is simple. It’s not really about winning. (So they say) It’s about belonging to something that grows slowly, steadily. So why not give it a go, get the kids involved carve out time to show us what you got… take on the mantle.

See you in tent, at the bar or on racetrack.
Anon

Ed, Alwyn, Ali, Zack and Helen www.Hayneshorticulture.co.uk
Its always good to talk // 01780 740 035