Photos from the Show

After a week of warm sunshine, the weather forecast for Saturday was for rain, and it was clear from first thing in the morning that the best I could expect as show photographer was grey leaden skies. As a result, long exposures (> 1 second) were necessary all day, and I was pleased with how sharp the pictures came out. This year, I have been setting my camera into mirror lock-up mode, and it seems to help enormously with this type of photo.

The first job of the morning, before the judging has finished, is to photograph the 6-pan exhibits. Especially so when the exhibit consists of 6 huge dionysias, requiring the camera to be as high as possible on the tripod, and looking down. To see through the viewfinder and take the picture, I had to stand on a chair in the middle of the aisle; it was a good job they hadn't let the public in yet, it was dangerous enough with judges and stewards milling around.

Large six pan class
The AGS medal for the large six-pan went to Paul and Gill Ranson. Don't be deceived, there are only five dionysias here; the cushion at the back left is a saxifrage, perhaps filling in for the plant which suffered an accident at Loughborough.

Small six pan class
The AGS medal for the small six pan was won by Cecilia Coller; some of the individual plants were photographed later.

Lapeirousia pyramidalis ssp. pyramidalis
Since judging was still in progress, I began to seek plants which wouldn't be in consideration for awards, and which I could therefore safely remove for photography. The first of these was this difficult South African bulb exhibited by George Elder.

Wurmbea stricta

George Elder also produced a winning entry in the 3-pan bulbous class with another three South African bulbs, of which one, the Geissorhiza, attracted a great deal of attention.

This is Wurmbea stricta, a plant of seasonally damp places from the Cape (I have seen it in the wild, photographed flowering in standing water).

The second, close-up photo shows off clearly my secret weapon for combatting the gloomy weather. Over the winter I purchased (relatively cheaply) an LED light panel which produces an adjustable brightness at 5600K (daylight colour). It is very directional, which makes it difficult to use for a full plant, but excellent for adding some zing to close-ups.

Geissorhiza inaequalis

Freesia leichtlinii
Sadly, although beautiful, this doesn't really make a good show plant; its natural habit is to lie flat on the soil like this.

Dionysia Norlynn Heather
Now I would like to show some dionysias, concentrating on the babies in the New or Rare classes, rather than the giants in the heavyweight classes. This is a hybrid named Norlynn Heather, exhibited by Paul and Gill Ranson.

Dionysia sarvestanica ssp. spathulata
Exhibited by Paul and Gill Ranson

Dionysia crista-gallii
Exhibited by Paul and Gill Ranson

Dionysia Inca Gold
Now for some a bit bigger. This is Dionysia Inca Gold, a Michael Kammerlander selection. There were several plants of it on the bench; this one was the largest and best, winning a Certificate of Merit for Eric Jarrett.

Dionysia termeana
In the same entry (3 pans Dionysia) Eric had last week's Farrer medal plant, Dionysia termeana, this week awarded a Certificate of Merit and the new David Wisdom Trophy for the best plant of Primulaceae.

Cyclamen x. schwarzii
Continuing on a Primulaceae theme, Ian Robertson was awarded the Cyclamen Society Salver for this plant of Cyclamen x. schwarzii.

Soldanella carpatica
From Cecilia Coller's winning small 6-pan entry came this charming little soldanella.

Primula allionii Chivalry
Most of the large pans of Primula were in less than perfect condition, perhaps due to the season, but there were some lovely smaller plants around. This little plant of Chivalry was exhibited by Rosemary Hillyar in the Novice section.

Primula allionii Eureka
Not content with dionysias, Paul and Gill Ranson brought this lovely little pan of the white-flowered Eureka.

Primula hybrid
Nigel Fuller exhibited this hybrid in the class for three pans grown from seed. It must have grown very strongly, the seed was only sown in February 2007.

Primula bracteata hybrid
This plant was shown by Paul and Gill Ranson as Primula bracteata ssp. bracteata x. bracteata ssp. dubernardiana. It has surprisingly large pale flowers, and several more to come.

Saxifraga Allendale Bravo
Last week, I showed you a lovely plant of Allendale Grace. This plant of Allendale Bravo was nearly the same size, but in a pot a third of the weight, so thanks are due to Alan and Janet Cook the exhibitors. Almost perfect though this plant was, it was runner-up in its class to the following sax.

Saxifraga Sissi
Show secretary David Hoare says his plants have been struggling this year, with the season affecting their condition, but this plant of Sissi was surely the best saxifrage on display.

Saxifraga Peach Melba
This fine plant of Sax. Peach Melba was the best plant in the Novice section, winning the Invicta Trophy for local exhibitor John Millen.

Asarum trigynum album
Cecilia Coller has grown and exhibited this unusual asarum for two or three years now, but it has never been an easy plant to photograph. At this show it was awarded a Certificate of Merit.

Cardamine kitabelii
An unusual plant to see on the show bench, this cardamine was exhibited by Anne Vale.

Hepatica nobilis var. japonica
The best plant in the Intermediate Section (Longfield Trophy) was this hepatica exhibited by Peter Jacob.

Hepatica yamatutai
In the open section, this white Hepatica yamatutai won a Certificate of Merit for Rosina Abbiss.

Ophrys bertolonii
There were some lovely orchids on display. Barry Tattersall's Ophrys bertolonii has progressed a little since last week, with a second flower starting to open on each stem, but even with the LED light it was still difficult to capture any detail in the lip.

Serapias neglecta x. Anacamptis morio
Perhaps the most talked about plant of the day was this little orchid also exhibited by Barry Tattersall - a remarkable colour.

Cypripedium formosanum
Holding pride of place though was this lovely pan of Cypripedium formosanum, winning the Farrer medal for Ian Robertson.

Erythronium californicum Margaret Mathew
Erythroniums are always a favourite of mine, and this single spike, exhibited by Audrey Dart, photographed beautifully.

Fritillaria carica Brun
One of the few pans of Fritillaria on display, exhibited by Ian Robertson. The absence of the Wallises was very evident in some classes.

Ipheion sellowianum
Another plant from Cecilia Coller's six pan - I know I photographed it at Loughborough, but I couldn't resist taking it again.

Iris aitchisonii
Robin White brought a fine pan of Iris aitchisonii to the show, with three flowers open and lots of buds to come.

Iris bucharica x. svetlanae
Much shorter and completely different in habit, this was exhibited by John Kemp

Narcissus cyclamineus
Cecilia Coller won the Northdown Trophy for the best plant in a 19cm pot for this pan of Narcissus cyclamineus.

Romulea bulbocodium Jenny Robinson
This pan of romulea, exhibited by Ian Robertson, was wide open in the warm, and quite stunning.

Scoliopus hallii
There were several pans of Scoliopus on the bench, all S. hallii; this one was exhibited by Jean Rich. It is a wonderful plant when you get really close to the tiny flowers.

Trillium ovatum
Jean Rich also brought this Trillium, which is not one we see often on the show bench.

Tulipa cretica
Lee and Julie Martin exhibited this pan of Tulipa cretica. It seems to be quite a different form from that exhibited at Blackpool yesterday by Don Peace, taller and with smaller flowers, but a fine plant nonetheless.

Arum creticum
I promised last week that I would photograph Rannveig Wallis' lovely prize-winning painting of Arum creticum, so here it is.

Arum creticum Marmaris form
For comparison, this plant of Arum creticum was exhibited by Colin Rogers in the Intermediate Section.

Sempervivum calcareum Guillaumes
Still in the Artistic section, this wonderful piece of needlework by Jean Morris was awarded a Certificate of Merit.

Meerkat Mound

We don't see much wildlife at shows; the odd greenfly, an ant or two, and the occasional travelling mollusc. At the South Wales show there was a cat in the show hall most of the day, and at Kent two ladybirds made a most unpleasant colour combination with a pink Corydalis solida.

One final Certificate of Merit was awarded in the Artistic Section, to this piece of digital fantasy. Some liked it, others hated it; it was described by one as dionysia abuse, and others felt I had too much time on my hands.

The growers of the original plant, Dionysia tapetodes JRDE2, exhibited last year by Paul and Gill Ranson, were keen to point out that there wasn't a hole in the side of the plant until it became infested by meerkats.

Paintings by Rosemary Powis
Finally, Tim Ingram promised us a display of paintings by Rosemary Powis, who died last year. Here is that lovely exhibit, which was awarded a Gold Medal.

As well as a wonderful artist, Rosemary was a friend, and one of those delightful people whose enthusiasm brings a little lift into the life of everyone they meet. I am delighted that Tim and his wife Gill were able to collaborate with Rosemary's husband Paul to put the display on.

In Rosemary's memory, the show has a new award for the most first prize points in the artistic section, a beautiful glass vase engraved with the AGS gentians, which I was very pleased (and lucky enough) to be able to take home.