Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
SRGC Shows and Events => Events => Topic started by: shelagh on July 10, 2013, 11:45:16 AM
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Perhaps this hasn't been mentioned because everyone's plants are going over by the minute, but there might be something to see on Saturday.
{Edit by maggi to thread title to correct date}
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Remiss of me not to get this posted earlier, Shelagh.... but your date is out --- it is the 13th July
Saturday July 13th 12 noon to 4.00 pm
AGS SUMMER SHOW (MID WEST)
Tewkesbury School, Ashchurch Road, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 8DF
Hope everyone has a wonderful day - I'm sure there are bound to be plenty folks with "real summer plants" to share!
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We have got everything crossed including eyes ::) that we may have something worth taking.
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We have got everything crossed including eyes ::) that we may have something worth taking.
Oh! I thought you had that look because you'd got a particularly sour lemon in your G and T. ....
Sure you'll have something to support the show - I have faith in you!
I believe that all these nurseries will be in attendance :
Aberconwy, Pottertons, Choice Landscapes, Parham Bungalow, Thuya Alpine Nursery and Blackthorn - so there will be a good chance for visitors to the show to fill any mid summer gaps in their gardens! I do not doubt there will be a good AGS members plant stall, too..... :)
Should we try to guess what will win a Farrer? I'll take the easy vote- for a Campanula! ::) ;D
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Ooh, that's not far from here. But I seem to have mislaid my new membership card >:( I assume it's open to the pubic for an entrance fee if I can't find my card? Just hope all the nicest nursery plants aren't gone by the time the public are allowed in.
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Martin, the nurseries will be selling from early morning. Most shows have the entry desk manned by about 9.30 but you could arrive even earlier (some exhibitors do their buying before they stage their plants so they don't miss the choicest offerings!) and you won't have a problem getting in to the plant sales area, just don't go nicking us poor exhibitors tea and toast :o It's only the show hall that is closed off to the public in the morning during set up and judging.
Come and say hello, just look for a grumpy, bearded, bespectacled Glaswegian - can't miss me ;D
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Come and say hello, just look for a grumpy, bearded, bespectacled Glaswegian - can't miss me ;D
Couldn't have put it better myself Martin. No honestly we are looking forward to seeing you, you have been missed. Oh and it's your round ;D
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Am planning on entering something for the first time at Tewkesbury. Saying that the flowers are going over on the Erodium so I may not now be able to enter that. Has lots of buds and I have had a firm talk to it about pulling its socks up so it can go out for the day but who knows
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Good for you, Helen - no exhibits, no show, and all that, eh?!
Good luck and HAVE FUN!!!
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have been prowling round the garden looking for plants and consulting the list of plants allowed to see what I rustle up. Think I have two classes sorted and possibly a third if the plant will just flower.
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Brilliant Helen, and if you need staging advice just ask on Saturday morning as my short list of show plants won't take long to stage.
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I doubt there is much advice to give for two pots of plants!!!
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Oh Helen if only you knew :o It's all in the staging especially for canny Scots and Judges ;D
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Oh Helen if only you knew :o It's all in the staging especially for canny Scots and Judges ;D
At AGS shows aren't the entry cards already placed on the bench and you must put your plant where the card is placed? That seems to be what I have seen :-\
For Martin: Do you really all have to show your AGS membership cards to gain access ? At SRGC shows we take people on trust.
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Oh Helen if only you knew :o It's all in the staging especially for canny Scots and Judges ;D
But surely there is only so much you can do with when staging one pot - apart from turning to its best advantage? I suspect I am very niave on this matter
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At AGS shows aren't the entry cards already placed on the bench and you must put your plant where the card is placed? That seems to be what I have seen :-\
For Martin: Do you really all have to show your AGS membership cards to gain access ? At SRGC shows we take people on trust.
On the first one, you put your plant where you want in the space allocated to the class and place the card in front of it. If there isn't enough space, or if things would look generally better if your tall plant was behind instead of in front of an already staged short plant it is considered polite to either talk to the other exhibitor or engage the services of a steward to ensure fair play.
On the second one, it depends who is on the door and how well known your face is. I just consider it polite to flash my card rather than put some poor volunteer in an awkward position.
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But surely there is only so much you can do with when staging one pot - apart from turning to its best advantage? I suspect I am very niave on this matter
Ah, you've got the first one right but there are many other 'tricks' to learn ;)
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Well, of course one seeks a steward if anything needs to be moved but I'd seen folk laying their plants exactly where the cards are and was told years ago when I asked that that was the way it was done at AGS shows. I'm glad to hear things are not so regimented as I feared.
Yes, it is polite to have one's card to hand if you can. There is very little chance you'd not gain free entry to a Scottish show though, just by explaining you are a member. Martin B's comment suggested he thought he wouldn't get in on Saturday..... ;)
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I wouldn't worry about anyone coming in to the Show; the trick is not letting anyone out unless they have a bag of plants in their hands! Hope the Show goes really well... and you must let us know if you get a red card Helen!
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Drat! Looks like I can't go after all! Have to help with scenery shifting for youth drama thing in the morning :-\
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Well done Helen! Not bad for a first show :D :D :D
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Well done Helen! Not bad for a first show :D :D :D
Why thank you kind sir and thank you for your advice today, it was much appreciated. I am planning to enter more shows in the future ;D
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What happened, what happened? :o ???
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What happened, what happened? :o ???
I got aa third for my flowering semp
a second for my 3 distinct rock plants - geranium, another semp and fern
and a 1ST!!!!! for my bulbous plant - allium sikkimense
thrilled - Martin was very helpful
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Wow! What a great beginning - well done Helen 8)
Lots of fun isn't it?
Hope Martin showed you where the tea and toast were to be found as well? ;D
Was it a busy show....= lots of visitors?
A good show ..... = great cakes?? ::) ;)
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Very good show, don't know about the cakes. Farrer won by the show secretary with a big pan of Helichrysum plumeum in full flower but oh dear did it stink :P
I'll try and post a few pictures tomorrow
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Oh, Congratulations to Eric Jarret for the Farrer for his Helichrysum plumeum - yes, those Helichrysum can be somewhat whiffy - worse indoors on a warm day of course ::)
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Wow! What a great beginning - well done Helen 8)
Lots of fun isn't it?
Hope Martin showed you where the tea and toast were to be found as well? ;D
Was it a busy show....= lots of visitors?
A good show ..... = great cakes?? ::) ;)
Tea, toast, cake??????????? No Martin didnt show me where these were located :'(
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He didn't? The Bounder!
Earlier in the thread there was talk of tea and toast for the early exhibitors, wasn't there (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=10704.msg280681#msg280681)?
And can this be the only show in the country with no tea and cakes? I'm beyond shocked....... Martin, please explain what I might be missing....... :-\
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Perhaps it us just us, but we thought it was a very poor show. Thank goodness for Celia Coller's plants. It was also very poorly attended, at least while we were there. One Nurseryman said that he had had 1 paying customer between setting up and 10 am. The members plant stall was good as was the Sewing Display, but otherwise......................
Sorry folks.
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He didn't? The Bounder!
Earlier in the thread there was talk of tea and toast for the early exhibitors, wasn't there (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=10704.msg280681#msg280681)?
And can this be the only show in the country with no tea and cakes? I'm beyond shocked....... Martin, please explain what I might be missing....... :-\
To be honest it was so hot I didnt go looking for tea so thats probably why I didnt find the toast or cake but now I know its there I will be on a mission to find it
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It was there down the corridor behind the members plant stall, free DIY tea and toast in the early morning and tea, coffee, soft drinks and yes....there were cakes 8). Sorry Helen :P
Palustris, I can't agree. For mid July I thought it was a pretty good show with some fascinating plants. I agree visitor numbers were low.
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It was there down the corridor behind the members plant stall, free DIY tea and toast in the early morning and tea, coffee, soft drinks and yes....there were cakes 8). Sorry Helen :P
Palustris, I can't agree. For mid July I thought it was a pretty good show with some fascinating plants. I agree visitor numbers were low.
Thanks Martin - I will know where to look next time
I quite agree I thought there was a good selection of plants, very similar to last year but I think there were more in the novice section than last year and not just because I entered. I remember being very surprised at how few entries there were last year.
I suspect the heat prevented a lot of people going out. The roads were certainly very quite when I came back to the show after lunch. I also think that, as with many locations used for shows, there isn't much passing interest and its a case of where you advertise to get the right audience.
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I think there is nothing better than seeing Eric's greenhouse for a nice array of Farrer medals! Just from my experience of going too and talking about the Shows for quite some time - and because I have a vested interest (though not necessarily great ability) in selling plants - I remain convinced that attracting more people to the Shows centres around the specialist nurseries and plant sales, though how these can be promoted more remains beyond me so far. People get excited when they can buy plants; seeing them exhibited is wonderful (especially when you know them well, and the people who grow them), but this in itself doesn't attract the new gardener. Personally I am deeply inspired by seeing enthusiast's gardens (even those that are weedy like mine). I love the Shows but I am more tempted to travel up to Lamberton and Ron McBeath's garden, and listen to Rob Potterton's talk, at the end of August because I come from such a gardening and nursery perspective (and there is the opportunity to go and see Cally Gardens and Logan again!).
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Be that as it may I normally would expect to take over 100 photos at a show and I struggled to find 25 plants to photograph.
I think it is very sad that ALL members of a group holding a show do not go, if they can, and just as sad that so many members of the AGS from other groups do not make the effort. We drove from North Shropshire down to support the organisers (and to see lovely plants and Nursery peoples stall).
Did forget to say well done to Helen, sorry about that. I did look out for plants with her name on, but failed to see it.
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I think the temperatures in the preceding week and yesterday were the answer Eric. My car was registering 33 degrees as we left yesterday. It was almost too hot to stagger to the Pub for lunch ;D I'm not surprised the general public weren't much in evidence. There were some quality plants however both in the show hall and the plant sales.
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I agree that Palustris is being disingenuous to both the organisers and the exhibitors who managed to stage the plants despite nearly two weeks of temperatures approaching 30 centigrade. To suggest it was a one woman show is wrong and I know Cecelia would be the first to refute that. This is attested by the fact that in the Open section only four classes had first place withheld which is lower than average; and that four classes had ten or more entries plus several more with more than five. Also four certificates of merit were awarded which is again more than average. You are never going to get the number or range of plants that are seen in March but the show circuit would be much poorer without a July show.
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There are some nice pictures by Jim Almond on the AGS Discussion pages - I like the Epilobium from Graham Nicholl's and Eric's Helichrysum plumeum is quite a sight. Since when did Diosphaera become a Campanula? I wouldn't be surprised if 10% or more of the plants came from Cecilia; it seems to me there should be a new medal minted just for her! I know that the Shows are always reported in the Bulletin, and pictures are quite often put on the websites, but more detailed reports of them (like Jon often does, or in a different way I have also done at times), would be very interesting. It is nice to set the plants in context and get an overall 'feel' of each Show.
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Hi Tim. What was once Diosphaera asperuloides was transferred to Trachelium several years ago. Three or four years ago Swedish botanist and expert on the Greek flora Arne Strid redetermined it's status to be Campanula asperuloides. During that period we have accepted it on the show bench under either name but as it's transfer has now been officially published and this has been confirmed to exhibitors in their newsletter, it must now be shown as Campanula. Unfortunate for those of us who love it (we showed 5 at Tewkesbury) particularly as it is no longer eligible for the Campanulaceae excluding Campanula classes. Strid's determination would appear to be endorsed by Martin and Anna-Liise Sheader's successful crossing of it with Campanula myrtifolia. Although bigeneric crosses are by no means rare their success was always going to be more likely the greater the affinity.
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That is fascinating - especially the cross carried out by Martin and Anna (although from an ecological viewpoint it would be even more interesting if any natural hybridization occurred in the wild - i.e: from the viewpoint that speciation is a phenomenon of the environment and always likely to be quite a subjective assessment). Are there any other species of close affinity to C. asperuloides - it looks so distinctive. I didn't even realise that it had travelled via Trachelium! It is a wonderful plant whichever, and I imagine the hybrids will be set to cause a stir.
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Hi Tim. I don't think there are any other species with such an apparent affinity. I'd thought for a while that it would be an interesting cross to attempt, particularly with 'Helmi' the white myrtifolia, but never had time to do anything about it. I don't even think C. asperuloides is widely propagated by seed as cuttings root so easily. I did at one time grow some from seed received from Gothenburg under acronym JP84-37 (Jimmy Persson?), but the seedlings had asymmetric flowers and weren't as good as the 'trade' form. I've seen a photo of one of the hybrids which is similar in habit to C. asperuloides but with more substantial flowers. Now I'm just waiting for somebody to cross Androsace bryomorpha with a Dionysia but I'm not sure that I'd like the implications with some botanists trying to sink Dionysias into Primula.
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There is that beautiful line "is a rose so sweet under any other name..." (and a cross like that really would set the cat among the pigeons! - after all a dionysia would then be not far off being a dodecatheon too).
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Belatedly stepping back in the conversation, we were one of the nurseries in attendance at the Tewkesbury show on Saturday. My alarm went off just before 3am and out of the house by 3.30am to travel the 160 miles down to Tewkesbury, the last 40 miles after Birmingham was a struggle to keep my eyes open. Chatting to Robin White, Tim & Keith Lever at 7am, it was already HOT!!!! The doors opened early, tables laid out for us the previous evening and lots of spare space (thanks Eric), unloaded and set up by 8am, a trickle of customers through the morning. Favourite topic of conversation of course was the weather. Rain, snow or heatwave we plants people are never happy - just like farmers!!!! So we sold a bit less than normal but met up with lots of old friends and hopefully a few new ones, its always good to meet new members who remind us of our early novice days, full of enthusiasm and lots of questions ..... was that you Helen mid afternoon?? Only got the briefest look round the show, to see Gentiana georgei in Class 62 grown by Lionel Clarkson - my favourite plant, chatted to Lionel, congratulating and thanking him for displaying the plant i'd previously seen growing at 16,000 feet in China back in 1994.
Overall a grand day out. Good experience, lovely to meet so many people. It's not just about the showbench .... or for this nurseryman, sales achieved. People and friendships come first. :)
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So we sold a bit less than normal but met up with lots of old friends and hopefully a few new ones, its always good to meet new members who remind us of our early novice days, full of enthusiasm and lots of questions ..... was that you Helen mid afternoon?? Only got the briefest look round the show, to see Gentiana georgei in Class 62 grown by Lionel Clarkson - my favourite plant, chatted to Lionel, congratulating and thanking him for displaying the plant i'd previously seen growing at 16,000 feet in China back in 1994.
Overall a grand day out. Good experience, lovely to meet so many people. It's not just about the showbench .... or for this nurseryman, sales achieved. People and friendships come first. :)
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Hi Rob
Probably me - we talked about how I looked cooler than everyone else but I had been home. I enjoy each show more than the last one as I am starting to get to know people and learn more about plants so it isnt so daunting. I think you are right that people and friendships come first, after all that is why people join societies etc in the first place surely?
Helen
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Hello Helen. Most pleased to meet you, even though you had a bag full of Aberconwy Nursery plants ;) , hope you keep coming to the shows and exhibiting. Regards Rob
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Hello Helen. Most pleased to meet you, even though you had a bag full of Aberconwy Nursery plants ;) , hope you keep coming to the shows and exhibiting. Regards Rob
Hi Rob
No I was very fair with my plant purchasing, I bought two from you, two from Aberconwy and two from another nursery :)
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Lionel obviously had a good day Rob. For me it was Primula tibetica if it hadn't been too darn hot for a coat that's the one I had my eye on. Only joking Lionel :o