This year saw the biggest Thaxted Gardening & Craft Show ever with 735 exhibits and over 250 people entered!

The Show was teeming with visitors and bursting with colour and exhibits of all shapes and sizes, all grown and sewn within 10 miles of the town – what a range of interests and talents there are in this small area!

Ranging from enormous pumpkins to tiny cherry tomatoes, from giant dahlias to miniature flower arrangements, from stained glass and tapestry to magnificent millinery, from photographs to paintings, the diversity of exhibits was astounding.

*Let them eat cake! Temptations galore at this year's Show.

2013 saw a surge of interest in baking with the all-new Great Thaxted Bake Off competition, doubling the number of exhibits from last year to almost a hundred! There was a fabulous array of decorated cupcakes, Bakewell tarts, pies, biscuits, jams, bread and sponge cakes – the delicious aroma drawing in the crowds.

More and more people each year are entering their fruit and vegetables which, along with the garden flowers, provided a stunning display despite the challenging growing conditions we have been given this season.

Thaxted Primary School is hugely involved in the Show and the children’s creative work could be seen hanging from ribbons strung all around the building. Every child who enters receives a packet of seeds to grow for next year, and this year there were several entries from the 2012 competitors.

The Show attracted hundreds of visitors from the local area and was full of people for most of the weekend – chatting and learning from each other and the tea and cake served by the younger members of the United Reformed Church where the Show was held.

So arm yourself with some seeds (H. Lowe & Co in Thaxted will sort you out!), fire up your creative side and get planning for the Show that grows, 2014!

SEE PHOTOS