This year's Falmouth Spring Flower Show is set for March 27 and 28, and organisers are hoping it will be fully supported.

Schedules were made available this week and there are classes to suit all age groups and all talents.

The show has seen a reduction in entries in recent years and it was rumoured it would not go ahead this year. However, with the backing of the Princess Pavilion, where the show is held, and the flower show's committee, it has been saved. The event , one of the major flower shows in West Cornwall, is not only open to those living in the area but also to green-fingered people from far and wide.

Falmouth Spring Flower Show was founded early in the 1900s, and was a main event in the town's diary, and to some extent it still is. The event was suspended during the Second World War but was restored soon afterwards.

"We have now an unbroken run of 60 years," said vice-chairman and daffodil expert Ron Scamp. "At one time the show attracted a great many of the larger estates, growers and plant breeders. At the close, the main exhibits were packed and shipped to Manchester and Birmingham where they were re-assembled to promote Falmouth and tourism for this region."

The show was for many years reported in the Royal Horticultural Society journals as a main event for horticulture and is still often featured in the national yearbooks.

For a time, the show came under the auspices of Falmouth Chamber of Commerce but this ceased almost 30 years ago, said Mr Scamp.

"Since then we have stood alone. We are a small group of people who form a small committee only. There are no subscriptions or general members. We have, in the past, made a modest profit to fund the purchase of equipment and to promote the following year's show.

"Sadly costs have risen and, despite budgeting our expenses and keeping entrance fees to an attractive level, we have for several years experienced a small loss. That is until this year which has severely depleted our reserves."

Today, the show continues to attract more than 100 exhibitors, both commercial and amateur, who bring their exhibits from all over Cornwall and elsewhere.