School Troughs Competition

I think, for me, the highlight of the AGS display and show at Malvern was a table containing exhibits by local schools.  These had been contacted by the show secretary with instructions and raw materials for making fish box troughs.  The schools had each produced a planted trough with a prize going to the winner, and many had taken this further by doing projects about alpine plants, and producing a display with posters and booklets about the plants (there was another prize for the best overall display). 

It was wonderful to see the results of all this work, and I wish I had been at the show on Friday, when several school groups came in to see the results of their handiwork.  A number of the children involved visited the show on Saturday or Sunday with their parents, and it was great to see the interest they had in all the plants and exhibits.  Congratulations to the new show secretary Ross Barbour for organising this initiative.

Dunnington C of E Primary

Gingham Seedlings Pre-School

Northleigh Primary

The Grove Primary School Gardening Club

Callow End Primary School

Eastnor Primary

Studley C of E Primary / Junior

Leigh and Bransford Primary School

Alcester Academy

Colwall C of E Primary

Polkadot Pre-School

On the Thursday and Friday of the Malvern Festival, and on the Sunday, these school troughs were joined by a wide selection of troughs planted by local groups and exhibitors, including a competition for the most innovative container.  Around the walls were boards with a huge artistic competition, and a wonderful display of needlework by Jean Morris.  My apologies, on the Sunday, when I would have had time and opportunity to do so, I was too tired to photograph these. 

However, on the Saturday, the two largest tables were taken over by the competitive show.

Semiaquilegia ecalcarata

Helen Johnstone, who is taking over from me as artistic secretary for this show, was delighted to win the Hartside Trophy for the Novice Section aggregate.  This semiaquilegia was part of her winning 3-pan exhibit.

Gypsophila Dorothy Teacher

Brian Sulman won the Lingen Trophy for the Intermediate Section with this and many other attractive plants, including a Cypripedium I will show you later.

Rhododendron Wren

We are used to seeing this rhododendron exhibited in the Open Section by Cecilia Coller, but this fine plant was in the Intermediate Section, exhibited by Colin and Kath Billington.

Abies koreana Silberkugel

Colin and Kathleen Billington also exhibited this fine conifer in the Intermediate Section.

Primula sieboldii

The Malvern Show always seems to lie on the cusp of the season, with the prominent genera from the spring being replaced by new early summer favourites.  There were still a few primulas, but the European hybrids have been replaced by Primula sieboldii, in this case exhibited by Sonia Morris in the Intermediate Section.

Primula sieboldii alba

Primula sieboldii also featured in the Open Section, here exhibited by Cecilia Coller.  Despite her accident last week (and I'm pretty sure she isn't supposed to be standing on her leg yet), Cecilia was at Malvern at 7am with the best of her plants ready to exhibit. 

Since the East Anglia Show, she had been overtaken by a new catastrophe.  On Thursday her plants had all been prepared for the show, and placed in her garage overnight before loading into the van.  During the night the garage was raided by a Norfolk were-rabbit, and at least 12 show plants were significantly damaged, devastating her plans to enter the multi-pan classes.  Even some of the plants she brought showed noticeable signs of nibbling.  Ah, the trials of an exhibitor!

Androsace bulleyana

Sticking with the Primulaceae, Alan and Janet Cook won a Certificate of Merit for this androsace, and the JRGC gave it an Award of Merit.

Androsace globifera

Another Certificate of Merit went to Eric Jarrett for this androsace. Most of us couldn't remember seeing this plant grown to this size, or this well flowered; a few days later to allow more of the buds to open, and it might have won the Farrer.

Cortusa matthioli

AGS Bulletin editor John Fitzpatrick exhibited this cortusa, a plant which used to be very familiar, but which I haven't seem on the show bench very frequently in recent years.

Cyclamen rhodium ssp. peloponnesiacum

Rounding off my survey of the Primulaceae is a lovely cyclamen exhibited by Vic Aspland.

Saxifraga pubescens

The season had brought a change to the saxifrages as well, with summer species replacing the familiar spring plants.  This perfect small pan of S. pubescens was exhibited by Eric Jarrett.

Saxifraga cebennensis var. minor

S. pubescens always seems very similar to S. cebennensis; this larger plant was exhibited by Lionel Clarkson.

Saxifraga longifolia

Finally, I can never resist this perpendicular shot of the large saxifrage rosettes exhibited in the foliage section, in this case by Ian Sharpe.

Trillium grandiflorum Flore Pleno

Last year, this show was dominated by a huge pot of Trillium grandiflorum exhibited by Chris Lilley.  This year, a similar pot of the beautiful double form was exhibited by Ivor Betteridge.  I can never resist the gardenia-like double flowers.

Paris japonica

A similar attraction is always exerted by the immaculate flowers of Paris japonica, here exhibited by John Savage.

Tulipa celsiana

One of the plants I noticed on my first tour of the benches early in the morning was this pan of late-flowering tulips exhibited by Vic Aspland.  I resolved to photograph it as soon as the flowers opened, to reveal the contrast between the yellow interior and the red markings on the back of the petals.  It turned out I was in for a long wait, and around lunchtime I spoke to my co-photographer / conspirator Doug Joyce, and we took photos of the buds before they closed any further.

A couple of hours after that, when we were looking around to see what else we felt we should photograph, my eye settled on the tulip again, to find that the flowers had finally opened, long after judging had finished.

Brodiaea lutea var. scabra

Rather more straightforward to photograph was this pan of American bulbs exhibited by Graham Nicholls. This was a lovely, short, refined plant, with dark stripes on the back of the petals.

Gladiolus carneus

I have photographed this gladiolus, exhibited by Ivor Betteridge, several times in previous years, but normally at the summer shows.  A lovely plant.

Lilium rubellum

Diane Clement exhibited a lily which I had never seen before.  I wasn't the only one to admire it; the JRGC gave it a Preliminary Commendation.  The thing you can't see is that it had a wonderful, delicate scent.

Ornithogalum bungei ex SLIZE 98-71

Robert Rolfe exhibited this eye-catching pan of ornithogalum.  For some reason my own pan of this flowered a full month earlier, very briefly and rather spasmodically, with one spike going over before the others had started to open.  Robert's plant was a huge improvement, and went before the JRGC to receive an Award of Merit.

Allium elburzense

This is one of the onions I have come to associate with Ivor Betteridge at the summer shows, along with the fabulous A. bodeanum (sadly my bulb of the latter got under a drip last winter and rotted).  Ivor was given a Certificate of Merit for this pan; the JRGC gave it an Award of Merit subject to confirmation of its identity.

Allium shelkovnikovii

As last year, Ivor Betteridge's A. elburzense was accompanied by this stylish lilac-flowered onion.

Allium mirum

Somewhat more unusual - a very elegant single bulb of Allium mirum from Robert Rolfe.

Allium nevskianum

Another familiar summer show exhibit, which seemed to have escaped Cecilia Coller's rabbits.

Allium platycaule

Martin and Anna Sheader exhibited a fine pan of this American allium, another which I haven't seen to photograph for a few years.

Antirrhinum sempervirens

Another familiar summer exhibit from Robert Rolfe.  Charming.

Haberlea rhodopensis

Another of Cecilia's survivors was this small pan of Haberlea; a bigger pan of it displayed distinct signs of nibbling around one side.

Aquilegia ottonis ssp. amaliae

Lionel Clarkson exhibited this lovely aquilegia from Southern Europe last year; I think I photographed it at the Summer North Show.  Here I was lucky; the dingy interior of the cowshed in which the show was staged, combined with rainclouds, meant that I had to use my LED panel overhead, in place of sunlight, with surprisingly effective results.

Erigeron vagus

There were a good number of North American alpines at the show; this attractive lilac-petalled form of E. vagus was exhibited by Lionel Clarkson.

Silene hookeri

Again from Lionel Clarkson was this fine pan of silene.  I was lucky I chose to photograph it; on the bench it looked a bit messy, but when I had it on the table for photography I found a better aspect and it looked stunning.

Eriogonum umbellatum porteri

From Ivan Pinnick came a shockingly lime-green eriogonum. Not a nice thing to carry; it has a quite unpleasant scent.  

Penstemon unilateralis

Cecilia Coller showed several seedlings of this attractive penstemon.

Phlox grayi

Finally, Graham Nicholls won the AGS Seed Distribution Award for this phlox, which he has been exhibiting at the summer shows for a couple of years now.

Salvia cyanescens

Now we come to one of the disasters of the show season so far.  David Richards' pan of Salvia cyanescens, which won a Farrer medal at the Summer South show last year, was put before the JRGC and received an Award of Merit. 

On the way back, the steward carrying it through the crowded hall tripped over a concrete plantstander, fell headlong, and smashed the pot to smithereens.  Most of us, including David Richards, were concerned about the steward (Peter Farkasch), who banged his knee badly and was initially in severe pain.  I hope that it has settled down without swelling too badly, and that Peter will be back to his usual dynamic self at the next show.  Peter himself was of course most concerned about the plant, and was mortified at the damage which had occurred.

Beware the Joint Rock my son!
The scissors that snip, the hands that drop.

But seriously, this was a timely reminder to all of us who carry plants at shows of the dangers of doing so.  However careful you are, there is always an increased risk to the plant; any exhibitor who would rather I didn't move their plants to photograph them is welcome to tell me so, and I will ask them to move them themselves if I wish to take photos.

Unfortunately, this accident happened before we had managed to photograph the plant this year, so I have included a photo of it from the Summer South show last year; this year I can only show it to you tucked up in its hospital bed.

Campanula species ex Zigana Pass

Campanulas are of course a staple of the summer shows, and always start to appear at Malvern.  This one was exhibited by Anne Vale.

Campanula radchensis

Eric Jarrett exhibited this cushion of campanula flowers.  There were odd lines across the plant where there were no flowers, almost as though a hose-pipe had lain across it, perhaps the result of something in its cultivation, or a sign of the passage of a hungry mollusc.

Campanula species MELJ 200944 aff. andrewsii

In 2012 Lee and Julie Martin won the Farrer medal at the Summer South show for a campanula seedling from this collection.  This year's plant wasn't quite up to that standard, but still spectacular, and awkward to carry.

Centaurea pestalozzae

Martin and Anna Sheader exhibited the most striking plants in the New and Rare section, starting with this Centaurea from Turkey.

Viola species

Accompanying the centaurea was an interesting undescribed yellow viola from Chile, exhibited by Martin and Anna Sheader.

Oxalis laciniata Miradores de Darwin

The third new or rare plant from Martin and Anna Sheader was this new form of Oxalis laciniata.  After the London show, I showed a photo of the striped exterior of the petals, taken after it had closed; here is the interior of the flower.

Calanthe brevicornu

I would like to move on now to the orchids which dominated the show, starting with this lovely calanthe I have never photographed before from Ian Sharpe.

Calanthe Kozu hybrid

Ian Sharpe also exhibited this Calanthe hybrid.  These are becoming widely available at very reasonable prices now; I bought one myself from Jacques Amand, but whether or not I can grow it remains to be seen.

Cypripedium Boots

Now the cypripediums, starting with this plant exhibited by Brian Sulman.  I believe this is the same plant Brian exhibited last week at the East Anglia Show as C. Parville, where it won the Suffolk Trophy for the best plant in the Intermediate section.  Here it was just starting to go over, but still a very attractive plant.

Cypripedium kentuckiense Pink Blush

Brian and Jo Walker exhibited this lovely form of C. kentuckiense.

Cypripedium ventricosum

Also from Brian and Jo Walker was this C. ventricosum; cypripediums are one of Brian's passions.

Cypripedium calceolus

The Ashwood Trophy for the best plant in a 19cm pot went to Brian and Jo Walker for Cypripedium calceolus.

Cypripedium parviflorum x calceolus

Diane Clement exhibited this hybrid between C. parviflorum and C. calceolus.  Is that the same as C. Parville ?  Unfortunately, the second image, which should have been the best of the set, isn't at all sharp; I suspect I had turned auto-focus off to take the previous shot.

Cypripedium pubescens

Colin and Elaine Barr exhibited a beautiful pan of lemon-yellow C. pubescens.

Cypripedium fargesii

Finally, I have been frustrated that I did not get a chance at the London show to photograph Colin and Elaine Barr's pan of C. fargesii properly.  It probably went to East Anglia, but Norwich is a bit far for me.  So I was very glad to get this opportunity, even if one of the three flowers was tiring.  The third shot is the one I wanted - C. fargesii, or should I say "Audrey" !

Pleione aurita

As well as the calanthes and cypripediums, there were a number of good pans of pleione, this one from Michael Clement in the Intermediate section.

Pleione Sandpiper

Michael Clement's plant, above, had the misfortune to be up against this one from Pauline Carless, which won the Susan Clements Memorial Trophy for the best plant in the Intermediate and Novice sections.

Pleione Vesuvius Phoenix

In the Open Section Don Peace exhibited this pan of Pleione Vesuvius Phoenix.

Pleione Vesuvius Tawny Owl

Cecilia Coller exhibited a different form of the same cross.  I photographed this last year, but the light just came right this time and I was pleased with the results.

Sedum humifusum

A simple plant, but another of my favourites; this was exhibited by Cecilia Coller.

Sulcorebutia candiae

Vic Aspland exhibited several well-grown cacti including this one.

Dudleya cymosa pumila

Ivor Betteridge exhibited this visually fascinating Dudleya, grown from seed sown in 1996.  I hope it isn't monocarpic.

Vaccinium vitis-idaea var. minus

Also from Ivor Betteridge came this lovely little ericaceous plant.  Perhaps assisted by Cecilia's difficulties with rabbits, Ivor was nevertheless a worthy winner of the Walker Trophy ("the Birds") for the Open Section aggregate.

Weigela florida Pink Poppet

Anne Vale continued to tease the judges by testing the boundaries of the class definitions and exhibiting this Weigela as a dwarf shrub.  On the other hand, is it likely to get any bigger than some of the 'dwarf' rhododendrons ?

Menziesia Plum Drops

Another interesting ericaceous plant from John Savage.  It was a decidedly awkward shape to photograph, hence the digital pruning in the second photograph.

Rhododendron Golden Torch

John Savage also exhibited this compact rhododendron.  The large flowers aren't really what the judges are looking for in the dwarf rhododendron classes, but it was a very attractive plant.

Rhododendron radistrotum

A more traditional dwarf rhododendron exhibited by John Savage.

Rhododendron Sarled

Finally, Ron and Hilary Price won the Farrer medal for this magnificent plant of Rhododendron Sarled.

Artistic Section

Of course, this report of the show has largely ignored the artistic section, and the display of needlework for which Jean Morris was given a Gold Award.

The photography aggregate went to Kit Strange who won virtually every class she entered.

The artistic aggregate went to Jean Morris with her beautiful needlework.

Last but not least, Peggy Dawe was given a Certificate of Merit for her painting of Cyclamen cyprium Nymansay.

Was that every plant in the show ?  Not quite, but I took about 500 pictures in 6 hours on Saturday, and there are over 180 of them here.  Thanks and congratulations to everyone who made the show such a success, particularly the new show secretary Ross Barbour and his helpers, Jo Walker for delivering a magnificent series of practical demonstrations, and not forgetting Helen Johnstone, who did a great job of organising and putting up the artistic section, and will clearly be able to manage without my assistance next year. 

It would not be fair to finish without mention of Christine McGregor, who, on the back of her huge contribution to the London Show, worked tirelessly throughout the show to facilitate everything, in between running the bookstall, and will now turn her efforts directly to marshalling the AGS presence at Chelsea.