AS trailer-loads of fluffy green hops and shiny red apples in stout wooden boxes wend their way down the leafy country lanes of Worcestershire, a nip in the dawn air and mist across the fields at sunrise tells you summer is coming to an end.

Autumn, the season of mellow fruitfulness is with us, and so is the annual Malvern Autumn Garden and Country Show on the Three Counties Showground.

The last of the year's three major events at the venue, it has grown steadily since being introduced a decade ago.

This year's show will run over Saturday and Sunday next weekend (September 24-25) and is expected to draw around 60,000 visitors.

"The Autumn Show has always had a reputation for being a real family event," said show manager Carol Ritchie. "Partly because of the wide range of attractions it offers, but also because it is an excellent shopping opportunity.

"It is one of the last outdoor shows of the year and stallholders traditionally come up with lots of bargain offers as they look to reduce stock before the winter. In fact, it's an ideal place to do your Christmas shopping."

There is also the Royal Horticultural Society Flower Show, an Open Gardening Competition and the Midlands Vegetable Society Championships.

One of the great attractions is the giant vegetable section with simply enormous pumpkins, cabbages, carrots, parsnips and all the rest. They all have to be genuinely grown, yet the secrets to their size are jealously guarded.

Staying in the garden, the Children's Garden, which was launched at the Spring Gardening Show in May, will be the venue for a whole host of educational activities, including Art in the Garden and a Jungle Workshop with Steve Jacobs.

Some of the produce from the garden will be cooked in the Cookery Theatre and Trish Tucker of Passion 4 Juice, will be holding a seasonal fruit juicing demonstration using the children's home grown veggies.

Back by popular demand is Jon Williams from Eastnor Pottery, who will be running his workshops in the Severn Hall.

Talking about the Cookery Theatre, one of the 'experts' this year will be television presenter and gardener Chris Beardshaw, formerly of Pershore Horticultural College. Although Chris grows his own fruit and vegetables at home, this will be his first real foray into the world of live cookery demonstrations.

However, he will be performing under the watchful eye of Les Brown - a chef and lecturer at Herefordshire College of Technology - together with the children of Malvern's Northleigh Primary School, who designed the showground's Children's Garden, of which he is patron.

Chris will be appearing in the Malvern Cookery Theatre on Saturday, September 24 at noon, and will be taking questions from the audience following his stint as a chef.

The theatre is being run in association with Heart of England fine foods and BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester, and will be hosted by former BBC presenter Mike George.

The programme will have five sessions on each day to include Christmas tips from Judy Goodman of Goodman's Geese, cooking seasonal vegetables with Mike Hamilton of Flights Orchard Organics, and wine tasting with Patrick Shave of The Hop Pocket Wine Company.

The Autumn Show coincides with the start of British Food Fortnight - a Defra-funded campaign to promote quality British food and drink.

The Three Counties Agricultural Society is committed to supporting local and regional food producers and will be promoting British Food Fortnight at the event.

The wide range of attractions at the show is demonstrated by a display of Morgan sports cars.

Of course, Malvern is the home of this famous marque with the factory in Malvern Link and members of the Morgan Sports Car Club will be mounting a display of vehicles, some of which are more than 65 years old.

Also on the nostalgic kick will be the Casablanca Steps, a four piece group presenting tunes from the rip-roaring 20s and 30s.

Cheery music from the bandstand is always one of the highlights of the Autumn Show, and the Steps will be turning back the clock to when the Charleston was king and centre partings were de rigueur.

It could be just the time for the carrot to join the parsnip in a stirring rendition of the Black Bottom.

l Malvern Autumn Garden and Country Show is on the Three Counties Showground, Malvern on Saturday and Sunday, September 24-25 from 9am-6pm daily.