More than 540 entries were submitted to a popular horticultural show.

Crowds gathered for the Broadwindsor show, which was dubbed one of the biggest and best for some years, with the total number of entries up substantially from last year.

The photographic section led the way with more than 120 exhibits, however, there was still a good display of vegetables with 109 entries, and 99 entries of flowers, despite the weather making it yet another difficult growing season.

There was also a good number of entries in the other five sections: flower arrangement, homecraft, handicraft, art, and the classes for younger people. 

The show received a total of 542 entries from 68 people compared to the 417 received last year from 65 people. 

Organisers said that the quality of the entries was very high and it was particularly pleasing to see entries from people who had never entered the show before.  Visitor numbers were up slightly at 160 compared to 135 in 2023.

The winner of the Comrades Hall Cup for the highest total of points in the show was Brian Stone.  The People’s Choice trophy for the best exhibit was won by Margaret Wing.

In the Fruit and Vegetables section, the winner was Tim Beer, who also won the WI Giles cup for the Top Tray. Second place went to Brian Stone. 

The Bennett Cup for the best onions was won by Roy Gunning.  In the Flowers section, the overall winner was Jo Love, who received the Jim Crabb Trophy.  She also won the Reg Hansford Trophy, for her vase of mixed flowers.

The Ian Jones Dahlia Cup was won by Mark Porterfield.  The Doug Creed Trophy for the best perfumed rose was won by Linda Matthews. The Bob Wills Hydrangea Cup was won by Avis Miller. The Garden Cup for the best hanging basket was won by Tim Sprague. The Banksian medal, for the best exhibit in the Horticultural sections went to Tim Beer.  

Flower arrangement at the Broadwindsor showFlower arrangement at the Broadwindsor show (Image: The Broadwindsor show)

In the Flower Arrangement section, the Floral Challenge Cup was won by Megan Jones and the Leonard Studley Cup for the best buttonhole was won by Jo Love.

In the Photographic section both the Jubilee Photographic Cup for the best photo and the Photographic Trophy for the most points in the section were won by Kate Penney. 

In the Homecraft section, the WI Challenge Cup was won by Karen Farley, with Julia Borland winning the Richard Thornburgh Chutney Challenge Trophy.

The Maurice Yarham Cordial Trophy had joint winners with the judge being unable to separate the entries from Kathryn Starr and Karen Farley. In The Handicraft section, Stefan Nikolov won the Handicraft Cup. Brian Young won the Art Trophy.

In the Young People’s section Eden Nikolov won the Children’s Cup for the most points, while the Community Shop Cup for the best exhibit went to Petra Kostetsky.