Rainham Autumn AGS Show - Saturday 27th September 2014

[Yann]

Some Crocuses (nudiflorus a vallicola) and Narcissus cavanillesii

[Yann]

Biarum take it all the eyes and....nose
the foliage of Astilbe microphylla is also stunning

[johnralphcarpenter]

Indeed a fantastic day and good to see and speak some friends again. It was really hot inside and I surely could use a Belgian beer .........

Bear with me, this is about plants, really. Hops are plants, right? Humulus lupulus?

Just back from the Folkestone Beer Festival, and their tasting notes sum up very well what is special about Kent Green Hop beers:

"When the annual hop harvest comes, it brings with it a four week window of opportunity for brewers to make the ultimate seasonal beer. As perennial plants, hops return every spring and are harvested at the end of summer in both hemispheres - they give beer the quenching bitterness and appealing aroma which makes us go back for another gulp. Freshly picked hops start to deteriorate in quality and flavour as soon as they are stripped from the bine, so they're usually taken directly from field to kiln to be dried and then packed. The drying process is essential to ensure that the hops last a full year, but in the process volatile oils which otherwise contribute to the beer's taste and aroma are lost. This is where there is a chance to make a unique seasonal drink: green-hopped beers, also known as wet- or fresh-hopped; take hops fresh from the bine and straight into the brewhouse, bypassing the kiln. The flavours in freshly picked hops are very different from those in dried hops; the grassy, delicate citrus notes in fresh hops turn pungent and intense when they are dried. It's like the difference between a freshly picked apple or tomato and one that's been roasted or dried. Speed is crucial when brewing a green-hopped beer and the hops need to get from field to brewery in the shortest time possible to capture all those delicate volatile oils before they begin to oxidise. The joy of a green-hopped beer is in the aroma and flavour which captures an elemental essence of late summer; an evocative grassy kind of spiciness that hangs in the air."

So there you have it! A seasonal treat, and for our Belgian friends (and us as well) Canterbury Brewers have made two Belgian-style green hop beers; a Blonde and a Saisons.

Cheers!

[Gerdk]

Some Crocuses (nudiflorus a vallicola) and Narcissus cavanillesii

Hi Yann,
These Narcissus were so well cultivated that I am very much interested in to know who
was the exhibitor!

Gerd

[Yann]

Gerd i didn't shot the label. May be some forum's member will let us know.

[Martinr]

The answer is Ian Robertson

[Maggi Young]

Ian Robertson is from the North East of England and has won quite a number of Farrer medals - he grows superb cyclamen, for instance.    He is very skilled with many plants and I agree, Gerd, the quality of the pot of Narcissus is really something!

[David Nicholson]

Ian Robertson is from the North East of England...........................

I thought this one was from Dorset/Wiltshire way?

[Maggi Young]

I thought this one was from Dorset/Wiltshire way?

Oooh err.... well there may well be two Ian Robertsons  ....... Martin will know.

This is the  Ian Roberston who grows great cyclamen - pictured by Jon Evans .....

[cycnich]

Near shaftesbury Dorset.

[Maggi Young]

Thanks Pat!
 Sorry,  I got the wrong Ian Robertson.

[Jon Evans]

I spoke to Ian about the Narcissus cavanillesii after the show.  Whilst it is clear that he has a very good clone, he stresses that the important thing is for it to become very pot-bound.  These bulbs are in a plastic pot, double potted for the show, and he hasn't disturbed them for 5-6 years.  He merely replaces the compost above the bulbs in summer, and feeds once or twice with dilute tomato food in spring, before letting them bake in the summer.  That's all he told me; his potful was written up in an AGS show report in 2011 and 2010, but there is little if any more information there.

http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/shows/reports/Autumn+South+AGS+Show+/175/
http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/shows/reports/Autumn+South+AGS+Show+/138/

[Maggi Young]

Oh, Thanks, Jon - excellent info there.