Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
SRGC Shows and Events => SRGC Shows Questions and Answers => Topic started by: Maggi Young on December 01, 2006, 10:50:49 PM
-
Visit historic Hexham on Saturday 31st March: you could win a Farrer Medal, enjoy the show and spend lots at the plant stalls.
-
I shall be there and it'll be my birthday!
-
The Hexham show is a worth while excuse to visit Northumberland. Being only 147 miles from Ayr, it's a mere doddle there and back.
Apart from being a great show, you can try delicacies such as "singing hinnies" and visit Mrs. Miggins tea rooms, (of Blackadder fame ) for a slice of Pecan Pie - if I have left any. Listening to the Geordie accent and banter at the open air market is also most entertaining.
-
I don't think Edmund would have been eating pecan pie in Mrs Miggins pie shop, somehow? ;) Perhaps Herring and fruit pie (http://www.seatofmars.com/herringandfruitpie.htm)?
-
Mmmmm? Herring and fruit pie? Reminds me of my chum Lorna's surprising new soup: Rhubarb and potato :
It was thoroughly disgusting. She;s a woman witha lot in common with Baldrick . ::)
-
The Hexham show is a worth while excuse to visit Northumberland.
Who needs an excuse!! - well behaved visitors are always welcome and there are lots of good tea shops with scrummy cakes to maintain body and soul during the long afternoon of the show!
Sue
-
Well, I hope the Hexham show went well today... I have heard nothing as yet.... anybody out there with tales, pix?????
-
Just got back to Ayr from the Hexham show. The weather was spring like and the carpark was full !
Lots of entries with the Primula and Trilliums well in evidence While looking at the plant sales, I got a shock to see a double Hepatica on sale at £205.00 - yes, the decimal place is in the right position !
I have posted three pictures of plants that took my fancy, I don't even know if they were class winners, but I liked them. Just in case the names were no attached, they are Dionysia Monika, Iris Pumilia ( all of 12cms high) and Pleione Ducat....actually P. forrestii M
Tom
-
OOoo I like that Iris Tom.
-
Hello, Tom, glad you are safely home, thanks for the pix. That Iris is a little cracker, isn't it? Very dramatic colouring... I see from the label, just, that it appears to have been grown from Archibald seed (J&JA). Quite unusual to see that strong colour combo: yummy!
-
The iris !!!! it is like the inverse of the Swedish flagg. Yellow fields with a blue cross.
Stunning but I would like to have all three plants so TC knew how to pick beuties.
Please more if You have.
Thanks from Joakim
-
It is certainly a real stunner, the iris, and shows that it's a good idea to grow seed of a single species, from many different sources. If I'd seen it in a seed list just as Iris pumila, I probably wouldn't have bothered, having a few different forms already, but nothing at all this this one.
The others are superb too, especially the Dionysia which seems to be a very fine hybrid, it turns up so often looking utterly perfect, but I wonder why I'm reminded of that picture which Darren Sleep showed on the old Forum, of a bright yellow fungus which appeared overnight on his rock garden? ???
-
From a brilliantly sunny day in Ayr, hello. I can now almost believe Spring is on its way.
For the lovers of this classy Iris, here is another picture I have enlarged from an original. I did not bother taking many pictures as, to be honest, many of the plants are entered year after year. Although they look beautiful, and a bit larger, I already have them all from past years. I now look at things that can make a good picture, allowing for the constraints of the lighting conditions and positioning on the benches. If I was given a free hand at the plants I could take much better photographs but now I just take these as record shots of what I like.
-
It was an excellent show - some very fine plants. I took loads of photos. Too many to share, but this is the erythronium, Erythronium multiscapoideum that won the Farrer medal for best in show. Some gorgeous trilliums, asarum, narcissi, primula and fritillaria caught my eye but I didn't buy anything from the trade stands! Too expensive for what I wanted.
-
Must get that iris!
-
Too many to share
Ann, seems you enjoyed your birthday outing but "too many to share"? Wash your mouth out! Never too many, we're agog! By the way, sorry about your virtual birthday cake.... while you were out at the show we ate it!
-
An Erythronium with a Farrer Medal? Wonderful, the BD is ecstatic !
What a very lovely potful that is!
-
I want the Iris also. Must go and check Susan Tindall's nursery next Friday. She has lots for sale.
-
Some news filtering through from Hexham:
That wonderful pot of Erythronium multiscapoideum was grown (from seed sown in 1987) by Della Kerr.
Congratulations, Della, on this fine plant.
You will recall that elsewhere on the forum, Sue Gill told us about the trough she was planting for the display of Troughs to be staged by the North Est England AGS Group at the show? Well all the hard work put in by Mala Janes to plan the display, Alan Newton to prepare about three dozen troughs for planting and Peter Maquire for the display boards, not to mention the other members who contributed their own boxes or planted up Alan's handiwork really paid off when the display created a huge amount of interest from the public and was recognised by the award of an AGS Large Gold Medal. Well done indeed!
The display of troughs, most made from polystyrene boxes, was augmented by some attractive trees, Betula jacquemontii and topiary pieces to great effect. The idea was not just to make an appealing presentation, but to show just how many things can be grown to advantage in such containers, allowing anyone with even a very small space to enjoy alpine plants and to enthuse them sufficiently to have a go themselves. All sorts of techniques were employed, including a broccoli box, painted bright green from John Richards !
To demonstrate beyond doubt that even the very young can get involved with this type of growing, Marla's little two year old grandson had chosen the plants and stones for the trough that he planted up himself under the gaze of his justifiably proud Granny!
Elsewhere in a crowded show hall, with around 700 plus plants on the benches, there were a good mix of plants to be seen. Goodly numbers of Primula allionii, Narcissus, Ranunculaceae of various types, Trillium, the increasing popular Asarums, all in all a super display.... all I need now is for some more photos to prove it!! Local member Ian Kidman had a large entry and captured the award for most points.
I'm told it was pleasing to see that the B and C sections were well supported this time... these are sections where falling numbers of entries have been of concern in previous years.
By about ten in the morning the Plant Stalls were doing steady business, so it seems there was quite a bit of shopping going on!
More photos, please!!!!! :-* :-*
-
These pix will be appearing in the "official" Medal record page of the main site, but I cannot resisit posting them here, too! President Ian the Christie kind sent these:
[attachthumb=1]
What a stunning plant this is! Look at the perfect leaves and flowers!
[attachthumb=2]
Here is the exhibitor, Della Kerr... welll done, Della!
-
Maggi and Alan Newton have been begging me to post pictures from the Hexham show on the forum and I feel that I've recovered sufficiently from the very long day to look at plants again. Show secretaries aren't meant to have time to take pictures, but I managed to get some time to look round the show undisturbed and take some pictures. I haven't posted pictures on the new forum previously so this one is a test.
Hepatica acutiloba (David Boyd)
-
Thanks, Peter!
We do appreciate it!
[attach=1]
-
Another wonderful show which I couldn't be at. So yes please Ann, all pictures are welcome. And thanks too, Tom, for the extra pic of the little Iris pumila form. Like Anthony and Mark, I'd love this one so I hope it gets about and whoever owns and showed it, if donating seed somewhere, describes its colouring, rather than just saying "Iris pumila."
Posters often mention the friendliness and generosity of other posters on this Forum, and I endorse every such comment. While in general I'd never dream of asking an unknown person for seed from his/her plant, here, I never hesitate, with wonderful results. Sometimes it bothers me that I can't repay this generosity with something wanted by the donor, but in general I work on the principal that if I can't always give something to the person who gave to me, I ALWAYS can, to someone younger, or with fewer plant resources behind them, so that the cycle continues. Over many years people have been generous to me with plants and advice and it's now part of my role, to hand all of that on.
-
A few further photos:
Trillium rivale (Alan Furness)
Primula maginata 'Shipton's Form' (John Richards)
Ian Kidman's AGS medal-winning entry in class 1
A fine, compact form of Corydalis solida (Don Peace)
More to follow tomorrow
-
Many thanks for these Peter. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's batch.
-
A few mouth watering specimens I couldn't resist photographing at the Hexham Show on Saturday and my own Trillium rivale, taken last year but is now in full bloom again this year. I must count the flowers to see if I have more this year... so many things to do this time of year
-
Time for a few more photos from Hexham (sorry about the quality, I didn't have a tripod with me and they are all hand-held).
Pictures as follows:
Primula 'Netta Dennis' (Joan Bradbury)
Erythronium mutiscapoideum - the Farrer medal plant (Della Kerr)
Celmisia spedenii (Ian Leslie)
Iris reichenbachii (I think, didn't make a note of the name) - Sandhoe trophy for best plant in 19 cm pan (Darren Sleep)
Townsendia hookeri (John Richards)
More to follow, I'm only trying 5 pictures per posting
Peter
-
nice primula, never seen that one before
-
More from Hexham.
Hymenoxys torreyana (Ian Kidman)
Pulsatilla vulgaris - a particularly fine form, I often find that the tips of the petals are rolled back on the red forms (David Boyd)
Hepatica acutiloba - a white form this time (David Boyd)
Cheilanthes wootonii - a great little fern, very neat (Clare Oates)
Haastia pulvinaris - one for the antipodeans! (Alan Newton)
-
Susan,
Primula 'Netta Dennis' is, I think, a selection of Primula aureata that was introduced by John Dennis and named after his wife.
Peter
-
I love the Primula marginata "Shipton's Form", I must try to find one of those.
-
Final batch of plants from Hexham:
Hepatica hybrid - americana x acutiloba (David Boyd)
Cyclamen rhodium ssp peleponnesianum (David Boyd)
Fritllaria tubiformis (David Millward)
I was just taking pictures of plants that caught my eye as I walked around, and you may notice that many of them were exhibited by David Boyd. For those of you who do not know David, he is a very skilled exhibtor of plants with a particular interest in hepaticas, cyclamen and hellebores.
Peter
-
You're going great guns, Peter! Thank You!
According to a post by Chris B in the iris thread, I think Darren's Iris is I. suaveolens violacea.
That Broadwell Milkmaid gets about a bit, doesn't she? Must be the farm air!
Nice to see some of Boydie's plants...he is such a fantastic grower, though heaven knows how he manages to grow such good stuff when he is overun by those cats of his, you'd wonder anything survived those 'puddy tats'.... wonder what state his curtains are in? ;D
-
Thanks for posting the pictures Peter, I enjoyed them.
-
Maggi,
Yes, now that you mention it I was totally wrong about the Iris.
I'll put it down to the lack of sleep. I used to be a little disbelieving when Alan Newton was show secretary telling me tales of getting up at 5.30 on the morning of the show to get his plants ready after setting up the show until the small hours of the morning. Well this year, having finally got to bed by 00.50, there I was in the greenhouse at 06.00 cleaning pots (I managed a second prize!).
It would seem that a certain streak of madness is needed to show plants.
Peter
-
And finally from Hexham, for those of you who have not been to the Hexham show, I thought that a general overview of the show hall might be of interest -picture 1. Also the local group display of fishbox troughs was mentioned, there are two pictures of this display which won a large gold award from the AGS (does Chelsea beckon next, or are the team too exhausted?) - pictures 2 & 3. Also the obligatory photo of judges enjoying their job - picture 4 (from left to right: Geoff Mawson, Ian Bainbridge, Jean Wyllie, John Richards, Carole Bainbridge and Robert Rolfe. It might help someone put faces to names)
Peter
-
Hi, I got to the show too, and posted some pix elsewhere on the site, here are some that are not on this thread yet
-
The little iris is particularly attractive. Hopefully some seed will turn up in a list at some stage. And a great Haastia! In nature it grows into a dead flat cushion, extremely hard, with the shoots all of even length but I like this uneven version (the result of growing under glass probably), it's more interesting. (I don't mean a flat plant, it's a great humpy thing, just that the surface is smooth.)
-
I need/want to attend an English show!
-
Hi folks,
The show was great and I agree with the comments above on that lovely Iris pumila. There was also a nice Iris suaveolens rubromarginata on the bench, with more blue/purple flowers than my 'violacea' and red margins to the leaves.
I'm still gobsmacked about winning the Sandhoe trophy. I was convinced that the card had been put in the wrong place until the Bainbridges convinced me otherwise. I almost left the plant in the car too....
Darren.
-
I also took some pics at Hexham so here are some other things which caught my eye!
a view down the benches
Peter M talking with Ron M with John Richards on left
the door keepers! David Boyd on left and I don't know the other names though they know me which is slightly scary!
Darren procreating on the showbench!
One of Davod B's hepaticas
Sue
-
More pics of plants
a study in purple
a nice cyclamen
the plant I wanted to take home with me Cymbidium
and a close up
Iris attica
-
and more
lupinus and a scilla and another iris
My other pics replicate ones already here or are not very good - my camera does not like the light in the hall so several pics are without flash and a bit too blurry to post.
I bought a number of plants - erythroniums, narcissus, asarum and sold lots more at the members plant table plus had a few plants in the show. I think there were more people there than the last couple of years - certainly felt like that, and there seemed to be a lot more plants in sections B & C.
Alll in all an enjoyable if exhausting day
Sue
-
Susan
Primula Netta Dennis is a cross between Aureata and Gracilipes - so I was told. It first appeared on the show benches about 8 years ago. Bob Meaden and I managed to get hold of a plant each which I carefully nurtured until I forgot to open the greenhouse door one day and came back in the evening to find it baked. I have never seen it offered again by any nursery. I suppose the only way to obtain one is to ingratiate yourself with the current growers or try crossing the plants yourself.
-
By heck: some show! 8)
-
I love the dark blue Iris suaveolens - does anyone know whose plant this is? It seems an improved superior colour to violacea which I have and find rather muddy.
-
I'm pretty sure the Iris was shown by Darren Sleep.
Martin
-
Nice to see some of Boydie's plants...he is such a fantastic grower, though heaven knows how he manages to grow such good stuff when he is overun by those cats of his, you'd wonder anything survived those 'puddy tats'.... wonder what state his curtains are in?
I am reliably informed that David Boyd's puddy tats (cats) are not shredding the new curtains, nor, indeed, any of the furniture... it may be that they are giving the carpets a bit of a hammering, though!! :P
The Iris suaveolens violacea is Darren's, so perhaps Martin is right and the lovely blue version IS his, too?
-
Hi again, it's nice to see all the pictures - I recognise most of the plants! Here are a few that caught my eye.
-
I'm pretty sure the Iris was shown by Darren Sleep.
The show was great and I agree with the comments above on that lovely Iris pumila. There was also a nice Iris suaveolens rubromarginata on the bench, with more blue/purple flowers than my 'violacea' and red margins to the leaves.
The splendid Iris suaveolens violaceae that won a trophy was Darren's. But the dark blue one, re-reading Darren's comment, was I s. rubromarginata and wasn't his. Own up someone, who's is it?
-
Hi Sue
isn't that Iris attica really Iris iberica ssp elegantissima?
fermi
-
isn't that Iris attica really Iris iberica ssp elegantissima?
I think it is Iris iberica ssp elegantissima shown as I. attica in Sue's post « Reply #41 on: April 03, 2007, 11:37:10 AM »on page 3 of this thread
-
I am innocent - I just copied down what I thought the label said! I make no claims at all to know about irises and will happily take your word for the correct name! I don't know whose plant it was as it was at the back of the bench and I couldn't see the card.
Sue
-
Hi Sue, Ardaby, Maggi et al,
I took photos of the labels as well as the plants, and the iris in question was labelled as Iris iberica. So now who's right I wonder? It was stunning whatever it is and certainly caught my eye as it did Sue's because we both took a photo of it. I didn't photograph the name labels on the whole though, so don't know the owner of this gem.
-
Life gets too complicated at times ::)
There are THREE irises on the show bench -
1. Post #36 Pic 5 is Iris suaveolens violacea which is Darren's.
2. Post #41 Pic 5 is Iris ibirica elegantissima
And
3. Post #42 Pic 3 an unusually coloured dark blue Iris suaveolens.
I've already got 1 & 2 but I'd really like 3 but I can't find out whose it is, so I'll go and lie down in a darkened room and wait for Saturday, when I hope I might meet the plant at Cleveland show where all will be revealed.
But in the meantime, anyway, thanks to all those who took the pics!