AGS CLEVELAND SHOW 7th APRIL 2012

[ranunculus]

Just back from an excellent Cleveland AGS Show at Stockton-on-Tees today, where the benches were alive with both quality and colour in profusion.  Hearty congratulations to Show Secretary; Norma Pagdin and her hard working team on another successful and welcoming show.  The Farrer Medal for best exhibit in the show went to local stalwart; Don Peace with a superb Androsace muscoidea - Don and his worthy plant are pictured in the first two images.  More shots to follow:-

PLEASE CLICK ON EACH IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT.

[Maggi Young]

Yes, we can quite believe Don is the Best in Show... but surely that super plant was close behind?  

Fab plant, what a bosker .... one of our favourites and Don has got that to peak condition... Easter Congratulations, Don!

Was the weather a bit on the cold side, Cliff ? ... Don's dressed for the chill we had here today, several hundred miles north.

There will be a tired but happy local show team tonight - hope they've got time for a pint and an easter egg.

[ranunculus]

Everyone was complaining about the cold, Maggi ... apart from Buttercup who rarely notices such things. 

Lots of images from Cleveland to follow ...

Arisaema amurense

[ranunculus]

More from Cleveland ...

[ranunculus]

... And some more ...

[ranunculus]

... and a few more ...

[ranunculus]

... and the last for this evening ...

[Maggi Young]

My word, is it just me or is there a surprising range of plants on show there for early April?
I don't know, the weather has been so crazy it's hard to tell what is "usual" any more.  

Narcissus and Lewisias? Androsaces and Phlox? Frits and Astragalus?

Some super plants. The two six pan entries you've shown us are terrific.

That Lamium armenum in the last pic above is a wee smasher.

Thanks Cliff!

[Lvandelft]

Super plants (and pictures)! I go for the Astragalus coccinea, never seen before..

[Lori S.]

Astragalus coccineus:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ASCO6
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=934.msg16320#msg16320

[veteran vet]

Cliff has done a great job of illustrating what a fine show we had yesterday and even though was cold the rain, in the main, stayed away at the times of staging and later in the day putting all back in the car...I had a good parking spot thanks to being there early so not too far to carry things.
My pictures will be in the main repetition of Cliffs but as I have said before different camera and different angles and whats the harm in seeing good plants more than once

The Farrer Medal was won by Don Peace with Androsace muscoidea...getting on for a  30cm pan!
Androsace lehmanniana from Geoff Rollinson was the best plant in a 19cm pot, the best american and also won a new award donated by Ian Kidman which was a tankard and a few bottles of beer (Geoff liked that)...he has to return the tankard next year, he said there was no chance that the ale would be returned.
Androsace villosa taurica from Ian Kidman
Androsace vandellii, again by Geoff rollinson

[veteran vet]

Some of the large pan classes had sizeable entries, goes to show that even though the wrists, elbows and knees may be a bit creaky for some (most?) of us where there's a will there's a way
Anchusa caespitosa from Chris Lilley...there were a few for sale from one of the nurseries, were not there long, love the quality of the blue colour
Oddly enough there were only three Benthamiella patagonica at the show, one from Ian Leslie in a 25 cm pan and one fron me in a 19cm pan so am going to show both
Class 1, the big six had to fine entries with quite a different style to them. The runner up was Barry winter with an exuberant display of Lewisia and Lathyrus. The class was won with a fine display by Tommy Anderson and the plane were, from front to back, left to right Anemonella thalictiodes 'White', Corydalis x allenii, Anemonella 'Oscar Scoaffe' and fron row was Draba mollisima, Lamium armenum, Draba cappadocica
Claytonia megarhizza nivalis Peter Farkasch won the 1 pan rock plant in flower 19cm pot
Cyclamen persicum 'Rhodes Form' Ivor Betteridge was a lovely plant, wish my picture did it justice

[veteran vet]

Mala Janes, the lady who did the display centred on 'Ruby' last week at Hexham had some fine plants on the bench yesterday
Daphne 'Cheriton'...she had the full list of the hybrids involved in this on the label but Cheriton will do...is a Robin White cultivar.
Primula rusbyi had hung on well from last week for her, enough to get a Certicate of Merit as well as win the class
Back to Daphne, Ian Kidman, who by the way yet again had the most points in the Open Section produced a lovely
Daphne petraea 'Michelle'
Forumist Martin Rogerson had some excellent p[lants on displat
Dicentra cuccularia....best I could do with the pic, its a plant I like very much but I don't find too easy to flower this well in a pot, does ok in the garden
Martin had a huge (30cm?) pan of
Draba longisiliqua in tip top fettle and staying on the yellow theme
Dionysia tapetodes x odora from Ian Kidman
Fritillaria epirotica, probably not flowering as well this year as last when it probably exhausted itself making love to Robert Rolfes' plant...we got loads of seed as a result, Roberts has already germinated very well, mine is just starting to now

[veteran vet]

A fine plant of
Hymenoxis lappidicola from Lionel Clarkson certainly added some shine to the proceddings, it is a plant I try to grow but find hard to get to flower well...such is life
Iberis pruitii from Tommy Anderson was a fine display for nil reward if the large pan European class but caught my eye
Iris mellita from Ian Leslie in the same class I think
Lewisia tweedyii from Margaret Pickering had flowers of a wonderful colour
I had another winner in the Narcissus class with
Narcissus 'Sennoke', a plant I bought from David Sampson many years ago, not too often seen on the bench these days for some reason
I do not often photograph pines but
Pinus mugo 'Suzi' from Dave Riley won the class and was one I do not recall seeing before

[veteran vet]

I am going to do a run of Primula pictures, not soo much ones that have been at shows already this year but some fresh examples
Primula aureata from Don Peace, a good example...there have been very few around this year so far, people seem to have lost quite a lot as a result? of last winter
Primula albenensis from myself, runner up to the P. rusbyi
Brian Burrow, as usual caused a stir among the cognosenti with some of his hybrids, however he was a bit 'miffed' to find the one of his cast offs had won a class
Pimula auriculka x, shown by Alan Spenceley....Brian said Alan has picked it up by mistake as it was not a reject...did make us laugh
Primula daonensis from Brian Burrow, grown from wild seed, the true plant is seldom found in the wild now as it hybridises so much
Primula tyrolensis, again from wild seed, Brian Burrow
Primula x allioni x carniolica x albenensis Brian Burrow certainly had me hovering over it for a long time
Primula petelotii, Robin Pickering had also held on well from Hexham
Primula bracteata from Ian Kidman
Primula 'Wharfedale Village' from J&C Dower, another huge pan but they are used to carrying heavy pans, it is another plant I find difficult to grow to a big size