Famous Flower Show

It's Shrewsbury Flower Show tomorrow and Saturday and I'm ashamed to say that, although I've lived in the county for over twenty years, I've never attended.  I'm hoping to change that this year, weather permitting. 

If I manage to get there I'll be adding another View from the Audience post - so keep your fingers crossed for fine weather and your eyes peeled for the VFTA review!


Update - no go on the flower show visit.  The friend I was going with had to call off and the weather has been variable anyway with lots of heavy showers; well perhaps next year!

Malvern Spring Show Impressions (VFTA No 2)

First things first, my friend C and I had a lovely day out at the show, as usual we really enjoyed each other's company.  The weather was fine, no rain until I was driving back to Shropshire.  During the day it was cloudy with sunny intervals and very breezy, but pleasant enough for us to eat our lunch outdoors and to have a good wander around the show.

So impressions...well, lots of acers, lilies, hostas, acquilegia, grasses in the various nursery stands.  A mixed bag of a show with crafts and specialist foods alongside gardening tools, clothing, plants and show gardens.

Orange Marmalade on the left and Fragrant Bouquet on the right

I love hostas and the show had a number of stalls showing such a range of these plants from minatures to giants.  Needless to say I bagged a couple, Orange Marmalade and Fragrant Bouquet, well who could resist - not me!  C looks like becoming a hosta convert, it's the minature ones that have caught her interest.  I also picked up a envelope of hosta seeds.  According to the packet they seldom come true to the parent plant as, like acquilegias, they are very promiscuious, so it will be interesting to see what results I get.

I couldn't come back to Holly Grove without at least one new addition to the flower borders.  The chosen plant is Nemesia Vanilla Lady, chosen for its striking perfume and its dainty flowers.  I think it will go into the front of the swingseat walk border, right by the steps so that its perfume can be fully appreciated.

Dainty Lady

Highly perfumed

Lilies were my other purchase.  The displays in the Floral Marquee were amazingly beautiful and these are what tempted both C and I to buy some bulbs.  We came away with three types, all asiatic lilies I believe:

Dimension; the most dramatic of the three.  A very deep burgundy with texture like velvet.

Patricia's Pride; picking up the burgundy theme in the centre of the predominently white flower.

White Heaven - what can I say, irresistible!!!

White Heaven

Talking of show gardens I found these a bit disappointing; they were very small (not that big is necessarily better) and lacking in imagination and (for me anyway) lacking in inspiration.  The focus of the gardens seemed to be more on the hard landscaping than the plants - a pity as if the planting had been better the gardens would have risen in my estimation. I was really surprised to see that any of them had an RHS Gold Medal - but then this is only my view and I'm no RHS judge!

There were three gardens I found of interest:

A Garden for Life - very attractive garden building surrounded by dense planting and a lovely fountain water feature.  The colours in this garden really appealed to me; mostly blues and purples.

The Atomic Journey - strange theme for a garden but this was beautifully executed.  A very symmetrical garden with a small but effective range of plants - both C and I thought that this would make a lovely front garden.

The Rain Garden

The Rain Garden - my favourite, not for the planting but rather it has provided a couple of ideas for using water in the garden and may provide inspiration for a garden somewhere in Holly Grove - still considering it.  My photo doesn't really do it justice.  You can find descriptions of all the show gardens here.

I should also mention a stand that I have visited at a couple of shows and on-line: Plant Supports.  They stock very robust and attractive plant supports and there is always a bargain to be had on their show stands.  Add to this that it's a family firm and they are so friendly and helpful, it makes it a pleasure to do business with them.  This time I bought some spiral supports and some edging supports; I'm getting quite a collection and they are required on this exposed and often windy site.  My preference is for the rustic version as they fit in so well with the cottage garden planting, though by mid season they are hidden from view by foliage. They also supply green plastic coated supports.

We really had a lovely day out and I would recommend the show to anyone who enjoys their garden - lots to see and do in the lovely setting of the Malvern Hills.  We'll be going back for more in September at the Autumn Show.

Gardening Day Out

I'm off to the Malvern Spring Show today to meet with my good friend, C.  We've been meeting at the Malvern Autumn show over the past few years and have been very fortunate with the September weather and had lovely days sharing each other's company.  C lives in Devon and I in Shropshire, so it's a good venue for us.

This is our first foray to the Spring Show and the weather forecast isn't great, 14C and showers, so instead of the summer dress, sandals and a straw hat I was planning on wearing it's back to jeans, sensible shoes and a warmish jacket, with, of course, the ubiquitious umbrella.

I'm sure we'll have a great day out, as we can wander through the marquees during the showers and the show gardens when the sun come out (fingers crossed); but best of all we get to spend the day together and catch up over lunch - oh, and there's always the prospect of some new plants for the garden!

I'll post an update on the show (hopefully with some nice photos) tomorrow.

RHS Membership

A belated birthday present arrived in the post this morning - 12 months membership of the Royal Horticultural Society.

I'm already planning some more RHS show visits and I'll be looking into the seed list when it is published in October.

It would be interesting to try some more unusual varieties of vegetables and I'm sure they'll have a good range of cottage garden plants.

A very thoughtful, useful and appropriate present for any gardener - thank you both, G&K!

New Boots

I treated myself to some new gardening shoes whilst I was at Tatton RHS Flower Show last weekend. After reviewing my Well Worn Boots post I thought it might be about time to refresh my footware.

I love these RHS waterproof cloggies from Hunter, they're great for slipping on and off at the back door and are very practical in the garden - as well as pretty. They're going to cheer me up as I potter round the garden in this monsoon weather!

More Tatton Moments (VFTA No 1)

I promised more on Tatton so here we go...I think I'll start with the RHS/Ball Colegrave National Flower Bed Competition - the favourite entry for J and me was the Dumfries and Galloway entry of Peter Pan, Captain Hook and the Crocodile - fantastic! Not the show winner but, hey, what do RHS judges know!
Our two visits to the Floral Marquee were made during lulls in the sunshine - we were loathe to miss any sun this summer! The chrysanthemums and orchids seem to have been J's preferred options, judging by the number of photos taken. They were strangely attractive, though at odds with the prevailing cottage garden look of most of the exhibits.
But the highlight of the marquee for me was the Bowden Hostas stand - a Gold Medal winner with the judges and me. I managed to restrict myself to just one hosta but as mail order is their speciality I don't think that it will stop there!

In the National Plant and Societies Marquee we loved the display by the National Vegetable Society - how do they get the vegetables to look so perfect! And the Tomato Growers' Association stand tasted delicious - hmm, time for lunch...
After a bite of lunch we moved on to the show gardens - all in all a bit disappointing this year and the same could be said for most of the Back to Backs.

So onward to the Plant Plaza where the urge to purchase became irresistible...so much to see, touch, smell, buy! Some of the displays outside of the little stalls rivaled the back to backs in content and structure.

A lovely day out with good company, fine weather and the joy of gardening...can't wait until next year!

Tatton Trip

Just returned from a lovely weekend with my sister, J and her family. J took me to Tatton RHS Flower Show as a birthday treat and we had the best weather of recent weeks and a fantastic day out together. I'll be posting more of Tatton over the next couple of days but here's a taster and a big thank you to J for a lovely birthday treat!