Ponteland Show 12th October 2013

[veteran vet]

To continue down the Bob and Rannveig Wallis theme,(note correct spelling this time) they won class 1 with, from front to back, Hyacinthoides lingulata, Oxalis speciosa and Cyclamen graecum ssp candicum
Cyclamen cilicium album (55)
Colchicum baytopiorum
There were other exhibitors in case you think this was a Wallis display
Shortia uniflora grandiflora (27) from C&I Baibridge, President doing her stuff, the flash picture does the specimen well as shows it in real colours
Coprosma petrei from Trevor and Angie Jones, this was a Forrest contender, the flash again makes it look like it would outdoors which was not the case in the show hall, none the less a really nice exhibit from a pair who are stalwart behind the scenes helpers at this show and the spring show in Hexham

[veteran vet]

There were a few Gentian on display this year so
Gentiana x sino ornate (16) shown by Mala Janes was one of the biggest there in a maximum size pot, went up for the Forrest, Ian Christie made me carry it up for the Forrest judging, he sad he would carry it but I did not feel like giving him the kiss of life if he pegged out on the way so I carried it instead (and back too)
Gentiana sino ornate 'Gorau Glas' (Welsh for Best Blue) (16) from Keith and Rachel Lever
Gentiana 'Braemar' (63) Stan de Prato
Colchicum 'Atrorubens' 67) from Ivor Betteridge  was a stout, short exhibit of a nice colour
Cyclamen hederifolium 'Lysander' (9) from Ian Kidman

[veteran vet]

I am sure Show Secs are very happy to have commercial exhibitors who not only bring and pay for a sales table but also exhibit fine specimens as well. Tim Lever is another of that dedicated bunch and here are a few of his exhibits
Oxalis massoniana...quite a few for sale I saw on the Aberconwy tables
Gaultheria crassa 'John Saxton', a much admired plant, I gather there is a waiting list a mile long from the Nursery
To my great annoyance I did not take a picture of Primula sherriffae that Tim had on display, the first time I had ever seen it 'in the flesh', was really just as I had hoped it would be, my hope for the Forum is that Peter Maguire can post some pictures, he being the Official Photographer he just has to have a few.
Another well travelled exhibitor this year is Don Peace, now second in the AGS Open Aggregate, a considerable feat. Some of his exhibits included
Cyclamen mirabile (58)
Crocus niveus (67) the best crocus at the show (Newcastle Spoon)
Galanthus peshmenii 

[Maggi Young]

Crackin' plants, Grommit --- er, sorry..... George

[veteran vet]

To continue with some more Don Peace exhibits
Sternbergia greuteriana  (46)
Polystichum setiferum plumosum densum (13), caught my eye, I do grow ferns (even had one the bench for the first time ever) but this one was really crisp and clean
As you might expect, joint show sec Alan Newton had a busy weekend but he still managed to coax a few winners on to the show tables
Crocus goulimyi (71), sorry not the best of pics
Petrocosmea cryptica (49)
Saxifraga fortune 'Cherry Pir' (51) B & Smethurst

[veteran vet]

Seems the order of my last post got a bit scrambled but still got there. Down to the last few
Another from the Smethurst stable caught my eye as new to me, in fact is they are still in their early days with the plant as well but I felt it loks like it might have some potential was
Correa 'Pink Mist', (52) could develop in time into a good show plant
Saxifraga forunei 'Fumiko' (96) from our own Christine Boulby
Ever popular, and growing in popularity at this show, are the cut alpine flowers class (93) which was won by an fine exhibit from Helen Kidman which combined the pristine quality of the cut flowers with the exhibitors art of presentation, neat pristine, compact where others tried to put too much into their small containers leading to crowding and overwhelming of the entry. From front to back and left to right Helen had Erodium 'Purple Haze and Cyclamen gaecum, Geranium 'Ballerina' and  Viola cornuta alba and at the back Cyclamen graecum alba and Erodium guttatum
Finally
Class 80, 3 pan silver or grey...the flash here shows it off well and
Class 81, 1 pan silver or grey
 

[Peter Maguire]

I have the pictures George is hoping for and have been processing the files today. Look again in a day or so, it's our local group meeting tomorrow night and there's also something else I have planned for tomorrow, what was it.......? Ah yes, the day job. 

[ichristie]

Thank you George for your concern about my welfare the Gentian sure was in a BIG pot with about half a hundred weight of compost this was I am assured allowed within the rules for the show and from the show manager said quote it is an Alan Furness special pot well please make them smaller??. George you are the Young kind thanks again for your kindness. cheers Ian the Christie kind

[Peter Maguire]

It wasn't really that heavy Ian. I had to take it away for a photo (after the show, as I ran out of time) and coped without putting my back out, must have been a highly organic compost.
I've certainly struggled with worse!

[Peter Maguire]

Many of the plants have been already covered by other people's photographs, so I thought that I would show some of the more unusual aspects of the show in Ponteland. Firstly Jean Morris' wonderful display of embroidery of alpine plants. Jean has been entering these works of art in AGS artistic competitions for many years, and I have always looked forward to seeing what she has produced for the new season at the Loughborough show every year.
Her display at Ponteland seemed to be the total of her work over the years and it was a rare treat to see it all gathered together at one time.
1. The maestro herself with half of the display - the other half was around the back of the boards you see here - great for close examination, but not conducive for photography. The orchids and tulips on the second board from the left appear to be paintings from this distance, but were in fact all embroidery.
2. Close up of one of my favourites - Meconopsis x sheldonii, with iridescent blue threads showing well against a black background. Unfortunately the individual works were difficult to photograph due to the protective layer of covering plastic which picked up reflections from all around. A poor photograph, but it gives a reasonable impression of the exhibit.
3. A different type of embroidery with explanatory notes.
4. The workbench.

It would have been possible to spend hours looking round this display, and unfortunately I only had about 20 minutes to get some photographs before moving out of the way as the judges arrived to award the exhibit an almost obligatory gold medal. (there would have been a lynching for anything less!)

[Peter Maguire]

A couple of years ago, Alan Newton introduced into the schedule a class for '5 named varieties of cut alpine plants in fruit, cone or seed....shown in own containers'. This originally caused great discussion amongst the judges for whom it was quite radical idea! It now seems to be better appreciated, and we are starting to see some more imaginative ways of presenting the (parts of) plants.
1. Overview of the class (94, for those of you sitting there with a schedule in hand)
2. First place: Peter Hood - the conventional approach, with matching glasses, as been seen for many years at spring shows with flowers instaed of fruiting bodies.
3. 2nd, David Boyd, with some eye-catching Arisaema seed heads
3. 3rd, Mike and Pearl Dale with a very different approach to the word 'container'!

All very different, and it is to be hoped that other shows will pick up on this imaginative approach to a class which seems to go down well with the visiting public and provides scope for a bit of creative thinking.

[Maggi Young]

Class 94 is fantastic - much more interesting than the spring version, to my mind - and very aesthetically pleasing to see all the variety in presentation. The concept is a real winner for me!

[Peter Maguire]

Whilst we still have a class for cut flowers at the Newcastle show, I did not take any pictures of these entries this year. Alan had sneaked in another innovation, one of cut foliage, where a decorative base could be specifically be used. Another little gem of a class.
1. Overview of class 41
2. 1st: David Boyd
3. 2nd: Jean and John Morris

Some lovely little displays here, and it will be interesting to see the entries in this class next year.

More to follow tomorrow......

[ashley]

Class 94 is fantastic ...

I agree.  Those snow-white berries look amazing.  Presumably they're Sorbus, but which?

[Peter Maguire]

I have similar berries on a Sorbus that came to me as Sorbus fruticosa.
It grows to about 1.5m high, then it tends to get pruned to keep it small, so I don't know how high it would grow if unchecked.