ORCHARD fruit growers will be flying the flag for Shropshire and Worcestershire when they showcase their crops at the Malvern Autumn Show.

Growers will be entering their finest produce into the commercial competition in the Orchard Pavilion on the Three Counties Show-ground.

Competition steward Jonathan Blackman said it’s a chance to show visitors what local fruit growers can do.

“Lots of people come to the Autumn Show,” he said. “It’s a good chance to put in front of them what the fruit growing industry can do in terms of quality of fruit.”

Jonathan, a horticulture and technical manager at H L Hutchinson Ltd, added: “Everyone thinks of Kent as the place where apples and pears are grown for supermarkets but there are lots of growers in our part of the world.

“It’s a good show and a chance to wave the flag and show people the quality of fruit grown locally.”

He is expecting about 40 entries into the commercial fruit contest. Trays of fruit will be packed to commercial standards and the fruit will be judged on its size, shape and appearance.

Classes of the showcased fruit will then be judged by Robert Oliver of the Marden Fruit Show Society, organisers of the National Fruit Show in Kent.

Showgoers will be able to find out more about orchard fruit by talking to experts on fruit growing, cider and perry making.

A highlight of the Orchard pavilion will be the perry festival and apple auction.

Elsewhere at the show visitors will enjoy the Goodlife Pavilion, this year featuring the Queen of baking, Mary Berry, of BBC2’s The Great British Bake Off .

She will be sharing top tips for family cooking at the show on Saturday, September 28, and Sunday, September 29, and will appear alongside BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Joe Swift.

The Good Life Pavilion is also where five edible gardens can be found this year, plus there’s a new plant fair with unusual species grown by small specialist nurseries.

The heady scent from thousands of nursery blooms on sale will be a delight itself.

There’s also a last chance to view the spectacular RHS Flower Show.

The Harvest Pavilion, with its displays of vegetables and cut flowers, and expert advice from national plant societies, will also be a draw, complete with the spectacle of the UK National Giant Vegetables Champion-ship which is heading north from its Somerset home to take up residence at Malvern.

In the cookery theatre, the Wot’s Cooking Roadshow chefs will show visitors how to rustle up dishes using ingredients from the average home garden or allotment.

There’s also an artisan market. The vintage area will feature a Second World War village hall, complete with Land Girls, vintage cars, caravans and machinery, a tea room, and free dancing lessons for anyone wanting to step back in time to the 1940s.

There’s more entertainment with an aerobatic plane display, a Children’s Discovery Zone with pumpkin carving workshops and Mushrooms for the Masses, the National Trug Championships, animals big and small, stalls, crafts, dog agility and country pursuits.

For more information and tickets, visit threecounties.co.uk/malvernautumn or call 01684 584924.