Hi Everyone

I had a great day on Saturday, and thoroughly enjoyed the show, despite working hard most of the day, helping to judge the art, and then taking the show photos.  Thanks to everyone who helped make the show such a success, and in particular to Janine Doulton who worked hard on Friday evening and all day Saturday to put up, steward, take down and pack up all the artistic entries.

Narcissus bulbocodium

Janine Doulton didn't just wrangle the art - she found time to enter a few plants in the Intermediate section.  This little perfect pan of Narcissus bulbocodium, raised from seed sown in 2009, reflects her great knowledge of and interest in daffodils.

Fritillaria hermonis

Peter Hardy won the Longfield Trophy for the best plant in the Intermediate Section with this fritillary.

Narcissus minor Douglas Bank

By this point, judging had nearly finished and I was trying to photograph the plants which had been put up for consideration by JRGC before they all disappeared.  This Narcissus was exhibited by Kit Grey-Wilson.

Corydalis Purple Haze

This corydalis was raised and exhibited by Kit Grey-Wilson

Townsendia exscapa

At the same time as capturing the plants going to JRGC, I was also keen to photograph any plant whose flowers were likely to close or collapse as the day drew on.  This was the best plant in the show, exhibited by Eric Jarrett. 

There was a lot of confusion about it, because it was in a 19cm pot class, and was adjudged, after measurement, to be too big and therefore NAS.  I am not sure whether this issue was in part the cause of a Farrer medal being withheld; in theory a Farrer can be awarded to a plant from a non-competitive display, so the fact that the plant did not win its class would appear not to be relevant, but no doubt those involved in the decision had their own justification for it.

Spiloxene species

Still looking for flowers which might not be open all day, I found this wonderful South African bulb, exhibited by George Elder.  It might have only won second in its class, but it was definitely my favourite plant of the day.  In the event, not only did the flower stay open until the close of the show, but the second bloom also opened fully.

Narcissus alpestris

Back to the plants for JRGC.  This lovely form of Narcissus alpestris with lemon yellow trumpets was exhibited by Ian Robertson, and was given an Award of Merit.  There was some debate about naming, which needs to be clarified, and the clone will need to be named.

Tulipa cretica Mt Dikti form

Now a plant I know shuts its blooms as soon as the sun disappears.  This lovely pot of tulips was also exhibited by Ian Robertson.  Although he has exhibited it for several years, this was the first time that I have heard the (apparently sensible) suggestion that it might be a hybrid between T. cretica and another, which might account for the colour and stature of this plant.

Hyacinthoides reverchonii

Another plant queuing for consideration by JRGC.  This bulb (formerly Scilla reverchonii) was exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis and was awarded a PC.  It performs really well in the open garden as well as in pots.

Narcissus obesus Lee Martin

This wonderful pan was staged by Lee Martin himself, with his wife Julie.  The JRGC awarded a First Class Certificate, and a Certificate of Cultural Commendation, but apparently it wasn't considered for the top awards in the show, because noone thought to take it up.  In my eyes, and those of many visitors to the show, this was certainly a potential Farrer plant, so it was sad to see it overlooked.

Iris zaprjagajevii

At last the sense of panic instilled by the rush when I started the photography, after judging the art, was calming and I was starting to settle to the job, and enjoy myself.  This rare little iris was exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis from seed sown in 2004.

Iris iberica ssp. iberica

This iris was also exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis.  We spent most of the day waiting to see if the third flower bud would pop open.  There were several more to come.

Tulipa cretica

This big pan of Tulipa cretica, exhibited by Jim Mcgregor, was given a Certificate of Merit.  It only just made the show - by the end of the day, some of the flowers were looking tired.

iris nusairiensis var. alba

Another iris from Bob and Rannveig Wallis

Romulea requienii

Another plant from Ian Robertson's winning small 6-pan entry, which also featured the Narcissus alpestris and Tulipa cretica Mt Dikti.  This was grown from seed sown in 2007.

Oresitrophe rupifraga

A saxifrage relative exhibited by Alan Newton.  I remember a large pan of it exhibited by Robin White a few years back - a frothy mass of the pink and white flowers.  This smaller pan was perhaps more elegant, but still the key was the delicate beauty of the individual flowers.

Gladiolus uysiae

This South African gladiolus was grown by George Elder from seed sown in 2002.  Perhaps a little drawn because of the lack of light this spring, it was nevertheless a beautiful thing, showing some variation from seed; I wish now I had taken close-ups of some of the other flowers to illustrate this.

Fritillaria alburyana LST 247

This was a tiny form of this frit, exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis, very different from the larger and more robust plant we usually see at Loughborough, exhibited by Geoff Rollinson.

Fritillaria amana Goksun Gold

A nice open, yellow form of F. amana from Ian Robertson

Berneuxia thibetica

Another unusual (and tiny) woodlander, exhibited by Alan Newton.

Anacamptis papilionacea ssp. heroica

Barry Tattersall had a wide selection of hardy orchids on the benches; this was one of the best.

Orchis ichnusae

Barry Tattersall also produced a lovely 3-pan exhibit of orchids, starting with this tiny orchis, no more than 4 inches high.

Ophrys vernixia

The second plant in Barry Tattersall's 3-pan was this tiny Ophrys.

Serapias carica

The third orchid in this entry by Barry Tattersall was this serapias.  A lovely demonstration of some of the variation within the orchid family.

Asarum maculatum

A similar 3-pan, showing variation within the genus Asarum, was staged by Alan Newton.

Asarum heterotropoides

This was the second asarum in Alan Newton's entry.

Asarum marmoratum

The third and final member of Alan Newton's entry.

Anemone nemorosa

Steve Bratley brought two plants to enter in the Novice section, won two seconds with them, and went home with the Sastre Trophy for the points aggregate for the section, perhaps because of the notable lack of competition.  There's a moral in this somewhere - You never know until you try - or something along the lines of 'You will never win with a plant you leave at home'.  Congratulations Steve.

By the way, and before I forget, many thanks to Doug Joyce for helping out with the show photography, and doing show views, 6-pans and award winning exhibitors and artistic entries; I didn't have time to do it all.

Primula Broadwell Milkmaid

Cliff Walker won the Jean Elliott Trophy for the points aggregate in the Intermediate Section.  This primula was one of several fine plants.

Muscari macbeathianum

Grown from seed sown in 2006 by Bob and Rannveig Wallis.  An awkward one to photograph, but I think I should have done better than this.

Dionysia khuzistanica DZ-00-48-4

Nigel Fuller won the Northdown Trophy for the best plant in a 19cm pot, and the David Wisdom Trophy for the best pan of Primulaceae, for this neat yellow dome, from a species noted to be tricky.

Tulipa cretica

I have shown photos of two pans of Tulipa cretica earlier.  This was the third, nice and fresh, exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis.

Cyclamen pseuderibericum

Lee and Julie Martin won a Certificate of Merit for this cyclamen.  It is pin-sharp, honest; there is something about the colour of the flowers and the lighting which makes it look blurry until you zoom in.

Dionysia Inka Gold

The best dionysia in a big pan was this one from Paul and Gill Ranson, which also won a Certificate of Merit.  A fabulous colour (darker than the usual run of yellow dionysias), and again known to be tricky to cultivate.

Narcissus bulbocodium

Lee and Julie Martin weren't the only exhibitors with a big pan of Narcissus bulbocodium; this one was exhibited by Jim Mcgregor.

Narcissus Sennocke

In the small pans, Mike Chadwick's pan of Narcissus Sennocke was impressive, and a reminder of David Sampson, who used to grow and distribute it.  I don't know where you would go to get a bulb now; I haven't seen it offered for sale for a long time.

Narcissus Angels Whisper

Runner-up to Sennocke was this triandrus hybrid from Bob and Rannveig Wallis, bred by Rob Barwick in Australia.

Narcissus x ubriquense

Also from Bob and Rannveig Wallis; this time a wild hybrid.

Fibigia triquetra

Eric Jarrett exhibited this brassica in a shrub class, again causing debate among the judges.  This time things went his way, and they decided it was a sub-shrub.  I think the question of what is and isn't a shrub is one of the hardest for new exhibitors; certainly whenever I try to enter a shrub I seem to get it wrong, and there are no guidelines out there.  One of the problems is that many genera include both shrubs and non-shrubs, and in something like Potentilla it can be hard to tell the difference.

rhododendron Pintail

Ian Sharpe produced this lovely pink rhododendron.  Possibly not to the judges' taste - it is a popular hybrid rather than a species - but definitely a crowd-pleaser.

Iris attica

Yet another iris exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis; this was a quite fantastic colour, and the camera doesn't really do it justice.

Fritillaria yuminensis

This is one of my favourite fritillaries, and I photograph it every year for its elegance and grace.  This year's plant was exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis.

Soldanella Sudden Spring

Cecilia Coller doesn't normally excel at the early spring shows; she is temporarily eclipsed by those who specialise in spring bulbs, dionysias or primulas.  But by Kent she is starting to come into her own.  She staged a wonderful large 6-pan, with six fabulous plants.  She also grows Soldanellas really well in pots, and we always start to see them about this time.

Soldanella alpina alba

Another pan of soldanella from Cecilia Coller.

Fritillaria tortifolia citrina

This fritillary is another favourite of mine, and one I have struggled to get a good picture of.  Cecilia Coller seems to be the only person who exhibits it these days.

Fritillaria michaelovskyi

Jim Mcgregor exhibited this little pan of a fritillary which at one time was widely available in garden centres; much less so these days.

Fritillaria hermonis

Rather less gaudy, but nevertheless charming, was this neat pan of F. hermonis from Bob and Rannveig Wallis.

Primula Crusader

There were not many high quality primulas on display at Kent.  One of the exceptions was this pan of P. Crusader from Eric Jarrett.

Tulipa kurdica

I tried to photograph all the tulips at the beginning of the day, but I missed this one, exhibited by Ian Robertson.  To be honest, I think it looks better with the flowers closed like this, rather than open a crack, so I was quite pleased with the result.

Ophrys tenthredinifera

While I was photographing this Ophrys exhibited by Barry Tattersall, they closed the show slightly early.  I had had plans to take some of the large primulas, and the myriad of small perfect dionysias exhibited by Paul and Gill Ranson, but the clock, and the late start, beat me.  In the circumstances, I am pleased with the pictures I got; it took quite a while for me to settle down and start 'seeing' the pictures, and there were several plants where I didn't get everything right.  Under time pressure I do less experimentation, and that means that I don't always find the right angle for every plant.  My apologies to everyone whose plants I didn't get to, and my thanks to everyone who helped organise the show.

A definition of an alpine is one thing, often involving plants which grow above the tree line, but a definition of what AGS members enjoy and grow, and exhibit at shows is another.  Members grow and show almost any small perennial plants.  One can cite the definition of what is eligible at shows from the show rules, but there are aspects of this which need interpretation.  This is just a (junior) exhibitor's point of view; not that of a judge.

The first question is stature; judges frown on plants which are too big, so the larger peonies, irises and lilies won't do well at shows, though we often see huge pots at the late spring and summer shows, of trilliums or campanulas for example, which seem to be acceptable.  Similarly climbing plants will never do well; tropaeolums are shown most successfully by winding them around a cane structure so they form a dome of flowers, despite the rules calling for plants to be grown in character, which in this case is normally growing up through a bush (or pea sticks!).

The second issue is frost hardiness.  Plants which need to be kept under glass to avoid winter wet are fine.  Plants which will be killed by a slight frost are not.  Although some South African bulbs will not tolerate frost at all, many will survive temperatures below zero providing the pots don't freeze through (it helps if the pots are not watered when frost is expected).  This puts them on a similar basis to many of the Mediterranean bulbs and cyclamen which we accept without question.  Most growers of all of these have heaters set to come on if the temperature drops to freezing.  The one time I have lost a lot of South African bulbs to frost was when my heater failed in the middle of a week of -10C temperatures (which are not normal in my part of the UK); unsuspecting, I had watered only 2 days before the freeze started.  But it wasn't only South African bulbs; I lost the vast majority of the Mediterannean bulbs in the greenhouse as well (Romulea, Narcissus etc).  On the show bench, judgements about hardiness depend largely on the opinions of the individual judges, and who they consult.

So essentially, anything goes, except those highly bred things like show auriculas, provided that the plant doesn't grow over about 2ft tall, and you can make a reasonable justification on frost hardiness.  But judges will always tend to prefer entries which are more 'alpine' over those which stretch the boundaries a little.

For those of you who have read this report, have you read Tim Ingram's account of the show in his Kent diary, where he looks in much more detail at individual plants, and some of the artwork ?  Tim posts very regularly to his diary, sometimes several times a week, and posts some fascinating material to stir our imaginations and little grey cells.