After a busy week I finally have time to start posting the images from the South Wales Show. The drive to the show should have been a pleasure, on a bright crisp sunny morning, but from Swindon onwards we encountered patchy fog, which meant fog lights, reduced speeds, and that edge to your concentration which makes driving exhausting.

Still, a cheerful welcome awaited us, and a bustle of activity. By the time I had staged plants and put up my exhibit, judging was well on, and there was just time for a quick dash round the plant sales before I needed to start the photography. Some years this show is dominated by snowdrops, sometimes by dionysias, and sometimes by cyclamen. Some years there have been wonderful specimens of Adonis, or Daphne calcicola. This year was the year of the crocus. That meant a frenzy of activity, for the crocuses were at their best mid-morning, and I wanted to photograph them before they closed up again, or reflexed and looked tired.

Crocus reticulatus ssp. hittiticus
I started with this tiny potful from the new or rare classes, exhibited by Robert Rolfe, as the judges were still sorting out the major awards, and might want the bigger pots.

Crocus kerndorffiorum HKEP9010
Also from Robert Rolfe, and in the same 3 plant class.

Crocus baytopiorum
Moving on to some slightly larger pans, this one entered by Jim McGregor.

Crocus cvijicii
Exhibited by Joy Bishop

Crocus biflorus ssp. nubigena

This was a familiar plant - Robert Rolfe has exhibited it here for several years; this was probably the best it has been, and the best photo.

Romulea zahnii
Breaking up the sequence of crocuses, this Romulea was exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis. Again, best photographed as soon as possible.

Crocus Midas Touch
By now, judging had finished, and I could start work on the largest pans. This was exhibited by Ian Robertson, and given an Award of Merit and a Cultural Commendation by the JRGC.

Crocus etruscus
Exhibited by Jim McGregor, and given a Certificate of Merit (and a Cultural Commendation by the JRGC).

Crocus herbertii
Exhibited by Don Peace

Crocus sieberi v. tricolor
Exhibited by Paul and Gill Ranson

Crocus rujanensis
Exhibited by Ian Robertson

Crocus kosaninii
Also exhibited by Ian Robertson

Crocus malyi
Exhibited by Joy Bishop

Narcissus asturiensis
The first panic was now over; most of the crocuses had been snapped, and I moved on to the other award winners at the show. This lovely pan of daffodils came from Eric Jarrett, and was given a Certificate of Merit.

Corydalis popovii

Exhibited by Robert Rolfe, and also awarded a Certificate of Merit. Before I had to carry it around the hall, I hadn't realised this was scented. Unfortunately, it is not an entirely appealing aroma.

Iris winogradowii
Exhibited by John Dixon, this was awarded a First Class Certificate by the JRGC, but missed out on the show awards.

Oxalis versicolor
A fine panful from Joy Bishop. Not an award winner, but one I wanted to photograph early before the flowers closed and reverted to their barbers-pole stripes.

Narcissus romieuxii
From Don and Heather Hyde, awarded a Certificate of Merit

Galanthus plicatus Sophie North
Don Peace won the Galanthus Goblet with this (for him small) pan of Sophie North. I expect we might see more pans at the Early Spring show in 10 days time.

Cyclamen coum f. album
Exhibited by Ian Robertson, and winning the Cyclamen Society Salver.

Dionysia archibaldii JLMS02/87/PMR1
Paul and Gill Ranson won the first Farrer Medal of the year for this large and lovely pan of Dionysia archibaldii.

Corydalis nariniana
Show secretaries Bob and Rannveig Wallis were given an Award of Merit by the JRGC for this Corydalis.

Gaultheria crassa John Saxton

I first photographed this Gaultheria exhibited by Keith and Rachel Lever at the autumn shows last year. Four months later it looked little different, prompting suggestions that the berries at least were artificial.

Vaccinium nummularia
Exhibited in the same class by Clive Dart.

Juniperus horizontalis Neumann
A fine conifer exhibited by David Richards.

Colchicum hungaricum
Exhibited by Jim McGregor.

Crocus sieberi Firefly

A crocus I missed in my first pass round the benches, this is from Paul and Gill Ranson's winning 6-pan entry.

Small 6 pan class

Paul and Gill Ranson won this with a well balanced grouping of dionysias and bulbs (and a cyclamen).

They also won the Open Section aggregate with plants all over the hall. Here is a collection of some of their dionysias from around the hall.

Dionysia Brimstone

Dionysia Perlmutt

Dionysia khatamii JJH1

Dionysia Corona

Dionysia hybrid MK01458/3

Dionysia hybrid MK06458/2

Dionysia hybrid MK06813/2

Dionysia Bernd Wetzel
Last but not least. This plant has grown a lot since last year.

This plant was in a 3-pan entry with the Farrer winning D. archibaldii.

Dionysia Mike Bramley
Finally, a dionysia exhibited by Eric Jarrett

Pleione humilis
Exhibited by Ian Robertson

Tulipa koyuncui
Exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis; more flowers than last year and much easier to get a reasonable shot of.

Benthamiella azorella
Exhibited by Eric Jarrett

Galanthus Maidwell L
Now for a few more snowdrops. This one was exhibited by Don Peace.

Galanthus The Pearl
Also exhibited by Don Peace.

Galanthus plicatus Sophie North
My own small pot of Sophie North. I was pleased how compact it is this year.

Unknown Galanthus

This was exhibited as Galanthus Tubby Merlin by Caroline Derbyshire, but was decreed not to be that. Unfortunately I didn't hear any suggestions as to what it was, other than 'nice'.

Galanthus reginae-olgae ssp. vernalis
Exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis

Scilla libanotica
Exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis, and given and Award of Merit by the JRGC.

Chionodoxa lochiae
Exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis.

Scilla mischtschenkoana
Also exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis

By now I was getting tired, but a last trip around the benches yielded a few more plants worth photographing.

Daubenya aurea
A stunning South African bulb exhibited by George Elder

Hepatica nobilis
A charming hepatica from Elsie Willett

Colchicum murzoviae (?)
Exhibited by Peter Taggart

Iris reticulata ex Lake Sevan
Exhibited by Peter Taggart

Primula Tantallon
Exhibited by Don Peace

Eranthis Guinea Gold
Exhibited by Ivor Betteridge

Crocus abantensis

Exhibited by Ivor Betteridge. This crocus wasn't fully out earlier.

Crocus corsicus
Exhibited by Ian Robertson. One I missed earlier

Fritillaria stenanthera
Exhibited by Tim Lever

Creative Digital Images
Finally, here are the three panels of my exhibit of Creative Digital Images. I can?t say all the comments I received were positive, but it created a lot of interest, which was the main intention. Because there was such a variety of work, everyone had their own likes and dislikes.

 The manicured perfection of the show plants is astonishing, but the skill level needed to grow many of them to this standard is quite daunting.

Plants in the garden have a less formal beauty of their own. After photographing at Caerleon on the Sunday, I spent Monday afternoon taking pictures at Robin and Sue White's, and was equally overwhelmed by the beauty of barely restrained nature, with snowdrops, aconites, cyclamen, crocuses and hellebores all naturalised, but guided with the gardeners' careful hands. Large drifts of some plants - Galanthus Sam Arnott, Crocus tommasianus and Cyclamen coum in particular, growing with abandon in warm spring sunshine (albeit winter seems now to have returned).