The Haywoods Flower and Vegetable Show has become a cherished village tradition for Colwich, Great Haywood, and Little Haywood, taking place annually on the first Sunday of September. However, don’t be mistaken into thinking we only feature categories for vegetables and flower arrangements! We offer a wide array of sections to showcase various skills and interests, including crafts, art, and photography. There is also a dedicated section for children.
Our Schedule outlines all the classes available for entry, and we refresh it each year to ensure variety and reflect current trends. Be sure to check out the newly updated Schedule for 2026! It costs just 20p to enter each class, so why not share your talents and showcase something of your own? Visit our “Rules,” “Schedule,” “How to Enter,” and “Helpful Hints” pages for more information on how to participate and display your entry. Give it a try – it’s great fun!
If you'd prefer to simply enjoy browsing or to scout us out for next year, feel free to visit the show in the afternoon. We just ask for a small entry donation to help cover our costs. Refreshments will be available, along with a small raffle. The Haywoods Flower and Vegetable Show promises to be a delightful day out for the entire family. We look forward to welcoming you from 2:30 PM. If you're interested in joining the team that organizes the show and helping keep this tradition alive, we’d love to hear from you! Please email haywoodsflowerandvegshow@outlook.com or speak with us at the show.
Collect a schedule from one of the supportive local shops or print a copy from the Schedule tab. Circle the numbers of the classes you'd like to enter, complete your details, and calculate your entry fees—it's 20p per entry. Please note that you can submit only one exhibit per class. However, the more classes you enter in a section, the greater your chances of winning a trophy!
Entry forms are accepted until 12 midday on Saturday, 5th September. Late entries will NOT be accepted on Sunday morning before the show.
Please send your entry form along with fees to:
4 Nursery Way, Great Haywood; or
7 Harland Close, Little Haywood.
Entry Fee: 20p per exhibit.
Bring your exhibits to the Village Hall on Sunday morning. Staging of exhibits starts at 9am and must be completed by 11am sharp. Please do not leave your bags and packing in the hall, as we cannot guarantee their safety. Exhibits should not be removed until after the trophy presentation, but please remember to collect them at the end!
Judging will commence at 11:30am with the show opening to the public at 2:30pm. Entry to the show from 2:30pm is £1 per adult; children and exhibitors are free.
The trophy presentation and raffle draw will take place at 3:30pm. Raffle tickets will be available at the show for £1 each.
Surplus Table – Request for Donations
If you have any spare produce please consider donating it for our surplus table. We have a donation bucket on the table and this helps us raise vital funds to help cover the costs of staging the Show. Please bring along spare fruit, veg, plants or preserves etc on Show Day and spread the joy of home produce! Thank you ever so much.
Potatoes: select medium sized spuds with a clean skin. Wash them carefully using a sponge not a brush.
Onions: don't over-skin and look for a thin mature neck.
Leeks: when cleaning try not to let the water run between the leaves, try not to have a bulb at the base and don't over strip them. Lay them flat on the table with the clean roots to the front.
Beetroot: take care when washing as marks will show up later, small side shoots may be removed.
Carrots: if you soak the ground before lifting, it will reduce damage to the root. Try not to have discolouring around the top.
Beans: keep a bit of the stalk on and bring a couple of spares. Try to get them all the same size and length without seed showing through the skin.
Tomatoes: show with the stalk end upwards.
Shallots: display neatly tied and best shown on a plate of sand or something similar.
Fruit: don’t polish, especially plums.
Macro photography: defined as photography of a small subject where the size of the subject on the image is life size or greater.
Preserves: Label with preserve name and full date ie. dd/mm/yy Chutney must have a coated metal twist top lid or be in a glass Kilner style jar with a new rubber seal, and made at least 2 months before the Show to allow flavours to develop.
Fruit and veg: bring a few spares just in case something gets damaged on the way to the show. Good Luck!
To give you some ideas for what to plant in your garden to enter Class 10 “A vase of 3 or more varieties of bee friendly flowers”, here is a list of plants that may be in flower in time for the Show
There may of course be others not listed, but as a general guide, bees favour blue/purple coloured flowers, and trumpet or single flowers where it is easier for them to get to the nectar, as opposed to complex double flowers.
Allium Red Hot Poker
Angelica Rose (single flowers)
Buddleia Salvia
Cornflower Scabious
Dahlia (single flowers) Sedum
Echinacea Snapdragon
Echinops (Globe thistle) Verbena bonariensis
Eryngium Foxglove
Fuschia Heather Hebe Honeysuckle
Ivy Japanese anemone
Lavender Penstemon
Perennial Wallflower (Erysimum Bowles Mauve)
Coming soon.
1.The Committee reserves the right to inspect the gardens and allotments of prospective exhibitors to assess the items intended for competition.
2. All flowers and vegetables must be grown by the exhibitor on their own premises or allotment. Pot plants must have been in the exhibitor’s possession for at least two months prior to the Show. Any exhibitor who violates this rule will forfeit all awards and be disqualified from future participation.
3. Only officials are permitted to be present during the judging process.
4. Generally, points will be awarded as follows:
First = 3 Second = 2 Third = 1
5. Judges reserve the right to withhold awards if an exhibit does not meet sufficient merit requirements. If there are two or fewer entries in a class, the First prize will only be awarded when the exhibit demonstrates exceptional merit.
6. All exhibits must be registered under the name of one individual; collective entries are not permitted.
7. All exhibitors must reside within a four-mile radius of the Haywoods.
8. No exhibitor may submit more than one entry per class.
9. Entry cards should be placed face down with the exhibitor's name hidden.
10. Any objections regarding an entry or exhibitor must be submitted to an official before 11 AM, accompanied by a £5 deposit, which will be forfeited if the objection is deemed frivolous.
11. In the event that two exhibitors achieve the same number of points, each will hold the trophy for a period of six months.
12. The judges’ decisions are final and binding.
13. The trophy winners will retain their trophies for one year, or as specified in rule 11.
14. All trophies must be signed for by the winners, who will be responsible for their safe keeping and return.
15. The Committee will not be liable for any loss or accidents that may occur during the Show.
16. Any matters not addressed in the above rules will be resolved by a majority decision of the Committee.
17. All exhibitors must be amateurs. Individuals who profit from the skills being exhibited are not allowed to enter that class.
18. Entries in the Children’s/Junior Sections must be the original work of the child.
19. Items other than those intended for exhibition must not be left in the Hall, and all exhibits must be collected after the presentation. Any items remaining after the Show will be disposed of.
