THERE'S a darker side to the Harrogate Spring Flower Show this weekend.

For among the thousands of bright blooms and plants and flowers is one area with a distinct lack of colour.

Garden designer Jenny Gaunt's display is dominated by one shade - black.

Wander along her miniature border and gaze at the 25 varieties of plants on show and you will not see anything brighter than an occasional silver leaf.

Jenny's company, Dark Star, is based so far off the beaten track near Osmotherley in the wilds of North Yorkshire that she does not sell to the public there. Instead, she sells at farmers' markets in York and Pickering and at events around the county.

It was at one of these, at Lotherton Hall, near Aberford, that the Harrogate show organisers spotted her plants and asked her to display at the prestigious event.

"It was a bit scary me to exhibit at Harrogate, because I've never done anthing on this scale before," said Jenny, 34, who lives near York. "There are bright flowers all around me, so my display looks a bit odd in comparison."

Her obsession with what have become highly fashionable black flowering and foliage plants began many years ago when she was learning her craft as a designer and horticulturalist, and she counts among her customers fans of the Goth culture.

Helping her with the display in one of the flower halls is friend and garden designer Helen Oates. They have put together a collection of herbaceous perennials, and one of the star attractions is a new heuchara called Obsidian, the blackest of its type.

The show, which attracted 60,000 visitors last year, opened today at the Great Yorkshire Showground and continues tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday. The gates open at 9.30am each day.

More than 100 nurseries have exhibits, alongside sundries for the home and garden, regional foods and arts and crafts.

Updated: 10:05 Thursday, April 28, 2005