Aberdeen Show 15th May 2010

[Luc Gilgemyn]

luc Gilgemyn has just noticed that the flowers in the corner are fake  and looks shocked at this discovery.... either that, or Jean Wyllie said something outrageous (again!!   )

Luc Scheldeman , (otherwise known here as Luc the Second, like some ancient King .... though he was keen to point out how youthful the Lucs are compared to some of us!! ) has a cheery glint in his eye, it seems he was having a good time... we certainly hope that was the case!!

Hmmm... you did your best to pick out a very friendly picture of mine Maggi ....    
Actually, I didn't mind the fake flowers...   but your second guess is correct.... it was Jean... she actually threatened to take the last piece of the wonderful Aberdeen fish pie....   and at that time I hadn't realised there was another pie ready to come out of the oven...  

I think I can speak both for Luc II, myself and our girls that we all had a wonderful time !  The show was great, the company even greater and the evening was....   enlightening...  

It was lovely to meet you all and see so many other Forum friends !
I hope you didn't mind we first "attacked" the Ardfearn Nursery sales table before even looking at the show...    it got us three nice rare Oxalis that would have long gone if we'd looked at the show first...

Definitely a show to remember !!  

[arilnut]

Hi Maggi. Iris 1 is Lycotis and Iris 2 is Acutiloba longitepala. Did you get the growers name?
Acutiloba longitepala is a recent discovery and I would love to get a start.

John B

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh had a super display. They were not able to show at Glasgow because the flowering period of their plants was out of kilter but happily there were plenty in good order to make the 130 mile journey up to Aberdeen.

RBGE1
RBGE _ comosum
RBGE Arisaema1.
RBGE arisaema 2
RBGE Cyp 1
RBGE Hyacinthoides vicenta : this was a real cutie that I would love to grow.
RBGE iris1
RBGE iris 2
RBGE overview
The plants, tended by Elspeth Mackintosh and brought up by her and  John Mitchell  of RBGE , helped by Struan Harley, were terrific and impressed the judges to the extent of a Certificate of Merit for Lewisia cotyledon var howelli and a  Gold Medal for the whole dispaly, but the icing on the cake was a Professional Medal for a truly glorious plant of Lewisia cotyledon var cotyledon.
The howelli was to the left of the big lewisias in the centre of the display, the Professional Medal went to the huge plant in the very middle!
It's the large one in this last shot with the howelli to its left....
RBGE fab lewisias.jpg

[Maggi Young]

John, these Iris were on the display of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh. As far as I know, they are as beset as every other Botanic Garden around the world  by regulations regulating the distributing of plant material. 

[Lesley Cox]

Chris, I love the Centaurea as well. For a minute I thought it was Carduncellus pinnatus but that's even more prickly. Same beautiful flat rosette though.

[Graeme Strachan]

Graeme where is the picture of you with your lovely apron.   
Angie

I consulted my apron but it said it was a little shy.

          Graeme

[angie]

Graeme where is the picture of you with your lovely apron.   
Angie

I consulted my apron but it said it was a little shy.

          Graeme

 

Angie 

[ChrisB]

Ooh, Lesley, I've had to google that one.  Never seen it before.  Will have to look out for it in the seed lists....

[Lesley Cox]

Chris, Carduncellus pinnatus and the super C. rhaponticoides do sometimes appear in the seedlists but I'm just about 100% sure that they don't produce fertile seed in cultivation. Or it may be that what is in cultivation is a single clone of each and it needs crossing (though one wouldn't normally accuse a thistle of that). Whatever reason, I've never yet had a single seedling of either species, over more than 40 years of trying! They are best propagated from root cuttings (pieces of tap root inserted in slightly damp gritty sand), but of course one needs a plant to start with.

There's also C. mitissimus but the plant I once had of that was quite a bit taller. A smaller flower head on a 20cm stem whereas the other two are absolutely stemless.

[Lesley Cox]

Those white spots on the leaves are not supposed to be there. I think they're from spraying something or maybe a bird flew over.

[ChrisB]

What a lovely thing it is Lesley.  I'll keep my eye out.  It doesn't even have a listing for the genus in the Plantfinder lol.

[Lesley Cox]

Both mine were imported from the UK in the first instance and C. rhaponticoides at least is reasonably widespread. I'm sure Lori in Canada posted a good picture last northern summer. I could send you a couple of root cuttings in our spring if you'd like to try it.

[ChrisB]

How very kind, Lesley.  I'd love to try it! Thank you.

[Lori S.]

Both mine were imported from the UK in the first instance and C. rhaponticoides at least is reasonably widespread. I'm sure Lori in Canada posted a good picture last northern summer. I could send you a couple of root cuttings in our spring if you'd like to try it.

It is Carduncellus pinnatus that I have, Lesley.  By the way, I took fresh seed from it last year, placed it in a damp paper towel in a plastic baggie, waited ages and ages, checking now and then... and got zero germination.  Fascinating.  I'm sure you have tried it with aged seed too?

[Lesley Cox]

Yes I have Lori, fresh, old and everything in between, of both species. Zilch! I wonder who it was who posted the other then. It was a better picture than mine.