I don't think that many people know that the name of this show actually appears in the Wallace nd Grommit film The Curse of the Were Rabbit. There are about eight classes for gladioli and in normal years I would fill it but this year the weather and season combined to wipe out most entries and as I'd been in Spain during the week my flowers had got battered by the elements. I just managed these three poor quality, underflowered prims: an Anne Milton on the left, a Marie Sandham in the middle and a new seedling on the right. They didn't deserve much but got best exhibit and a medal. If I had been judging I don't think I would have awarded a medal for these. The other glads at the show all had the bottom two or three florets gone and looked a bit bedraggled by the weather.
A gentleman called Derek Brooks, who sometimes writes about his garden in Garden News, is the main exhibitor in this show. Without him there would be no roses, no chrysanthemums and not so many other flowers. How he gets everything in his car is a mystery. He had some nice chrysanthemums on display. Mine had gone over so I couldn't bring them.
Above is Gillette and maybe Yellow Billy Bell and below is Matlock, one of my favourites.
His vase of five contained two different sorts of Matlock.
There are two classes for PFs in the show. I put three entries in the vase of three and one in the single.
These three Crompton Classic got the best in general flowers, although they are hardly well matched. It's a variety that appeals a lot to general judges.
I also put in a vase of two Lavender Schubert and an Unfinished Symphony.
My third vase had two Clara's Choice and a Heracles in it.
In the single class I put in what I think was my best Crompton Princess of the year. I'm not too keen on this variety. It's a short grower and many of them seem to have too much petal for me. This one was big and round.
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