A FLOWER show is celebrating the power of love by exploring the flora used to create the sweet scent of success with suitors.

The Plants of Pleasure exhibition opens at this year’s Harrogate Autumn Flower Show, staged at the Great Yorkshire Showground from September 14 to 16.

From mandrake root to magnolia blossom the power of love potions has been the stuff of legend for millennia.

Renowned as one of the most beautiful women in the ancient world, Egyptian Queen Cleopatra is said to have overwhelmed her Roman admirers, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, with a heady love elixir made from rose petals.

Show director Nick Smith said: “Most people think of a love potion as something you would slip into your suitor’s food or drink, but perfume is an incredibly powerful influencer, particularly in the ancient world where life was not always very fragrant.

“Indeed, a recent study has scientifically linked a particular jasmine-magnolia perfume with the same pheromone responsible for stirring our senses and emotions.”

The show also features more than 5,000 beautiful autumn blooms in Britain’s biggest exhibition by specialist gardening groups and a world-famous giant vegetable competition. Visit flowershow.org.uk.