Virtual summer show held by Burgess Hill Horticultural Society

Burgess Hill Horticultural Society were due to stage their spring flower and produce show during the coronavirus lockdown.

Instead, it held a virtual show so members of the society could still display their work – and is doing the same this summer.

Society members took pictures of their exhibits at home, which were then displayed on the group’s website in a virtual Cyprus Hall.

Flo Whitaker, spokesman, said: “We are affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), so we sent them information about our unusual spring show.

“They reckoned we were one of the very first groups in the UK to hold a virtual horticultural event, so they added our story and pictures to their archives.

“We feel proud that our event was documented in this way, as the RHS library is probably the greatest archive of gardening social history in the world.

We decided to repeat the idea for what should have been our summer show on Saturday, June 27, and pictures of the exhibits are now posted up on our website for everyone to enjoy.

“It’s sad that we’re unable to hold shows in the conventional way, but there is one advantage of a virtual show - blooms never wilt and vegetables never rot, so the exhibits will remain pristine forever.”

To view the summer show, visit www.burgesshillhorticultural society.com