For those with no horticultural know-how to speak of, there is the chance to gape in awe at perfectly precise petals and stunning craft and floral art displays — and, of course, the chance to do a bit of celebrity spotting.

This year, former pop singer turned gardening expert Kim Wilde will be at the show tomorrow morning to unveil her own garden design.

Chef Gordon Ramsay will turn up the heat in the festival kitchens on Sunday when he demonstrates some mouth-watering dishes.

The festival will also feature on BBC Scotland, thanks to a visit from Frieda Morrison, Jim McColl, David Mitchell and Carole Baxter — better known as the Beechgrove Potting Shed Team — who were recording an edition of their radio programme from the showground this afternoon.

There will be a series of international cuisine and healthy eating displays over the weekend, as well as demonstrations by Indian and Japanese dancers, performances of traditional and folk rock music, a knight encampment, a fashion show, a Coca-Cola football display and a real ale tent.

Among the first visitors to the festival was a group of environmental and horticultural specialists from Dubai, on a fact-finding trip to Dundee.

Assistant Director General for Environment and Public Health Affairs Mr Abdullah Rafia, Director of Horticulture Mr Ahmed Abdul Kareem, and Head of Promotions and Recreational Programmes Mr Mohammed Al Fardan also visited glasshouses at the Scottish Crop Research Institute and discussed the opportunities for licensing varieties of potatoes and soft fruit for cultivation in the United Arab Emirates.

Dundee City Council’s administration leader Jill Shimi, meeting the group at the SCRI, said, “This visit is further evidence of the expanding links between Dundee and Dubai.”

— Australian vineyard owner Syd Littleford came home to Dundee today for the launch of his first-ever range of fine wines. Born in Dundee, Mr Littleford (55) left the city 24 years ago to work in the oil industry. His career took him to Australia where the opportunity arose to start afresh an try to make a lifelong interest in wines into a livelihood.

He bought a 50-acre vineyard on the south-west coast of South Australia, and three years ago he fermented his first harvest.

Over the next two years, he built up a museum (as it’s called) of whites and reds, and when he looked for an event to launch them, word of a suitable platform back home reched him — that was the Dundee Flower and Food Festival, and at the City of Discovery Business lunch today he uncorked his produce to an appreciative audience.

Syd brought 800 bottles of Shiraz, Reisling and Chardonnay with him from Western Australia, and he will be marketing his produce through a local agent. Bottles bearing the name of the Littleford Vineyard will soon be appearing on the shelves.

The business lunch was attended by over 100 guests, and all profits were donated to the Institute for Cardiovascular Research in Dundee. The institute has raised over £2.5 million and aims to raise £3.5 million to establish an institute in the city to help cure cardiovascular disease.