Growing for Showing
- Geared for the beginner to
the moderately experienced exhibitor, this presentation hopefully
will encourage the 'first timers' and give useful advice to those
who are into showing but have not reached the dizzy heights of
the so called 'expert'.
- For ten years I held the
post of Show Secretary to the West of England Show in the days
that it was held at Bristol. Those were the days, no computer,
all cards typed out or written by hand and Mary Randall as Director
of Shows. During this time I had a chance to see the top exhibitors
at work as well as showing plants myself. I also saw the mistakes
that led to those famous initials N.A.S.(Not According to Schedule)
written at the side of exhibits. In this talk you will see slides
of great plants, hear tips on how to pick up those elusive 'firsts'
and how to keep those N.A.S. slips at bay. It will not guarantee
you a Farrer Medal but maybe point you in the right direction.
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- Enter plants in the 'Grown
From Seed' classes such as
Silene
hookeri v. bolanderi a plant that, if seed is sown in the
autumn will flower in the following summer.
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- Silene hookeri var. bolanderi
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- or Campanula rupicola
that rewards you with fantastic flowering imitating a blue waterfall.
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- Penstemon acaulis
- A class that I always find
interesting is the 'New in Cultivation' or 'New or Rare in Cultivation'.
Examples of plants that can be exibited in such classes are Penstemon
acaulis from N.America and Nototriche macleanii from S.America
Nototriche
macleanii
Epilobium rigidum
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- You may have a special plant that although not a Farrer
winner is good enough to be given a Certificate of Merit as was
Epilobium rigidum.
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- Once experience has been
gained you can always try the 6 pan class where if all six of
your plants are top notch you may win an AGS Medal. Like the
Farrer Medal you can only have one. Each time in the future that
you have a Farrer Medal plant you receive a card only.
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- But if eventually your plant growing prowess reaches the
ultimate heights, you have all the luck going and your plant
is in peak condition you may, may I said, win a Farrer Medal.
- Daphne petraea 'Grandiflora', Midland Show
1999
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- Daphne jasminea, Cheltenham Show 2000
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The reverse of the Farrer medal. Your name and the
name of the plant are engraved on the reverse side.
I hope that by the end of my talk
some of you will decide to have a go at showing. It's a very friendly
hobby and not only will you make many friends but within no time
you will be swapping plants and growing all those 'specials'.
