Hexham Show 2008

[Diane Clement]

Thanks to Peter for organising a super show yesterday, and to Chris for the pictures so far.  Sorry I didn't get to meet you Chris, but your avatar doesn't help to recognise you      
OK, I know my current one doesn't, but I am waiting for "someone" to take a flattering one of me to replace the treacle pudding version.  I realise this is an incredibly difficult challenge!   

I had a problem with my camera at the show and didn't realise until too late that all my pictures were coming out too dark.  Back home and searching through the manual, I realise that an icon appearing on the screen looking like a shower head indicated that it was set for external flash.  As I don't have an external flash, I don't know how or why it had got this setting but I do know that most pictures were no good.  However, I got a few pictures in the final few minutes, although they are not very good quality, sorry.  To start, here's 2 pictures for this week's Caption Competition

[DaveM]

Yes, hearty congratulations to Peter for organising such a splendid show yesterday. A wonderful drive down through Northumberland in the early morning sun - quite made up for the horribly early start. But here comes yet another excuse for not uploading pix: I left in such a hurry yesterday morning that the one item I did forget was the camera.....

Such great plants on the bench. Lots of dionysias, primulas in particular. The Frit bucharica in Ian Kidman's 6-pan class was outstanding - must have been more than 20 'stems'. The Hepatica nobilis (David Boyd), featured in one of Chris' pics, got a certificate of merit, but he also showed some fine specimens of Hepatica acutiloba which in my humble opinion were even better!!

Sections B and C had some excellent plants too - some of which would have done very well in the open section. So that's all very encouraging.

[ChrisB]

Hi Diane,

You are much better off leaving my appearance to your imagination  , but so sorry I missed you.  I saw nothing that looked like a treacle pudding whilst I was there, and I did the raffle duty for an hour at the busiest time too.  Course, I didn't win the raffle, I never do, but there were tickets on the prizes at the end so someone sure did.  Managed to get hold of some more armeria seed too, from the surplus stall.  Must get on and sow them today.  Do you have any way of telling me the provenance of the seed by any chance, all wild collected.  Just in case you can, the ones I got were A. maritima alpina (Martin Hughes); A. multiceps (Ralph Rackstrah) and A. alpina (Dieter Zschummel).  As I'm starting (hopefully) a national collection, it would be nice to have this sort of detail.

[ChrisB]

Hi Dr. Rock,  Yes, you are probably right about David's plants, but that one of H nobilis was the most wonderful colour, and the photo isn't too far away colour wise either.  I didn't touch it up at all.  Too many wonderful plants, too small a memory card.....

[Diane Clement]

Hi Diane,
Do you have any way of telling me the provenance of the seed by any chance, all wild collected.  Just in case you can, the ones I got were A. maritima alpina (Martin Hughes); A. multiceps (Ralph Rackstrah) and A. alpina (Dieter Zschummel).  As I'm starting (hopefully) a national collection, it would be nice to have this sort of detail.

Yes, I can give you information about AGS wild collected seed.  Best thing is to pm me with the AGS numbers from the packets, and I will do what I can.

[Maggi Young]

Hello Folks, some pix received from President Ian from Hexham.
Don Peace' Androsace muscoidea

Alan Newton being supervised as he makes some last minute tidying to an exhibit


A wonderfully marked leaf form of Trillium rivale ..... maybe from Geoff Mawson, if I guess correctly ?

Cymbidium goeringii ..... a suberb little hardy Cymbidium with oodles of prescence and charm, which won the SRGC 75th Jubilee award ( for a plant from China or Japan in this case) for Wilma and Jim Wright, who are shown in the photo with President Ian and Show Secretary Peter Maquire. 
Many congratulations to  the Wrights and all the other exhibitors.

[Diane Clement]

Here's another doing his weekly shopping ... 

[Maggi Young]

Not much wonder that Waitrose needs a cashpoint!

You can see in this last shot of Diane's just how wide an area that supermarket draws its customers from  .... there's  Lionel from Blackpool, the bearded chap behind is Sam Sutherland from Kincardine and in the far background, AGS President Frank Tindall, from Huddersfield, is chatting with Ian Bainbridge, from Edinburgh.... not too many stores can boast so far flung a clientele, eh? 

[David Nicholson]

Good to see another lad from Huddersfield doing well!

[Maggi Young]

David, you just cannot keep talent like that hidden!

[David Nicholson]

I know. I know!

[Diane Clement]

A small selection of pictures, all I can do this time   

Firstly, a couple of splendid hybrid Cyclamen.  David Boyd is a superb grower of hepaticas, and cyclamen.  His plants always look very large and very healthy. 
Cyclamen schwarzii (C pseudibericum x libanoticum)
Cyclamen wellensiekii (C cyprium x libanoticm)

[Diane Clement]

some frits
Fritillaria crassifolia karaghadensis - I think the name of this is now F (crassifolia) kurdica? shown by Peter Farkasch
Fritillaria fleischeriana neat little striped job shown by Mike Bramley
Fritillaria albidiflora - interesting Chinese species shown by Alan Furness.  Looks like an albino version of something else

[Diane Clement]

A general view
and a mini garden from the maestro of the craft, John Dower (sorry for blurry pic)

[Maggi Young]

Diane, your description of David Boyd's plants sound rather like the Boydie himself..... large and healthy!! Happily I hear he is now keeping in better health after he was poorly recently....though his plants escape such mishaps as befall the man himself..... hope the new central heating boiler arrives, soon, David!!

No-one seems to be taking you up on your earlier caption competition so I'll make a start....
 first pic...... "AGS and SRGC sources announced today new measures to assist their ageing Membership  to continue exibiting......"



second pic........."Mr Ian Kidman after  his winning Supermarket Dash"