Ramsbottom Spring Show

The next day, Sunday 9th April, I was off to Ramsbottom for another show. With the same flowers, but in slightly different order, I managed to win the Championship three vases of three (see below). 

I was lucky enough to win the six class (note the leaves Andrew!)

The one Division 4 came my way with a Bala.

There were only two entries in the threesomes class and of course I was second.

The Loch Alsh and Loch Assynt did well

and the Bell Rock came second.

My two entries in the three Div 4s came first and second. Seagrave above

and Bala.

I got a third with these  Trecarra which have yet to get me a first anywhere as they are a bit rough.

There were some nice baskets

and some nice Pacific Rim from Ken Ellis.

Here are a few close-ups of some of the better blooms.

Not the biggest entry I've ever seen at Ramsbottom as the season has been an early one and some had flowered out but a fair show of daffodils. Jim Foote deservedly got the medal for the most points. Well done, Jim. I think he had something like 12 firsts to my nine.

Colne Daffodil and Spring Flower Show 8th April 2017

A week after Tottington, we had two shows in one weekend, one at Colne on the Saturday and one at Ramsbottom on the Sunday.

In the big class I staged mine (on the left here) a bit too high. The middle one of the back three did not not have a circular corona and the front right double was a bit bendy. The judge, Ian Tyler, advised me not just stick them in oasis as they tend to wang about a bit. He preferred the use of moss but of course one has to get hold of the stuff. I don't like using the real thing though there is some sort of dried alternative which I may experiment with a try dyeing it green as it's a straw colour when bought. So I didn't repeat my last year's entries where I won a lot. It was Andrew 'D'Artagnan' Clark who won the lion's share of the trophies thist time. Tom Alty, who had not been to Tottington, was a bit disappointed in the quality of his blooms, though he still won here and there. So in the first class it was Andre first, Porthos (myself) second and Dianne Mason third.

Class 2 calls for six stems shown in beer bottles. The three musketeers filled this class with D'Artagnan first, me second and Aramis (Tom) third.

Class 3 is for 5 blooms of one variety (cultivar) from any division. There were eight entries here. A bit disappointed that there weren't enough bases to go round. My Bell Rock (top left) won the day. This is a small but nicely formed Division 1 that Aramis had recommended to me. Dianne was second and D'Artagnan third.

Above is a better shot of the Bell Rock.

Class 4 is for three blooms from Divisions 1,2 and 3. I got a second here and I think Andrew was first.

Another shot of Class 4.

When it comes to the standard three bloom and one bloom classes there are always very good entries, though none of the big hitters had three Division 1s. These tend to flower earlier than the other divisions and there weren't many about this year by this time. In the three Div 2s above I managed a second in a big entry.

I was first in the three Division 3s. I have been very impressed with some of the Loch varieties and this was one that I did well with last year here as well, called Loch Assynt. I also like Loch Alsh. A similar spelling is one called Loth Lorian or Lorien which I find always has some sort of problem with 'mittens' or nicks on the edge of the petal. 

Another shot of my three Loch Assynt.

In the three doubles or Division 4s I was third with Bala or maybe Seagrave. Crowndale won which was no surprise.

Here's the three winning Crowndale.

And my three.

In the three Division 5-12 the 11bs didn't win but what looked like a Division 7 did.

In the single bloom classes I didn't get anything except a third in the specimen class. I'd used up all my best stuff in the big classes.

Above is another single bloom class.

There's always a good orchids section in the show.

And some nice tulips,

Bonsai

and more orchids.

A good range of orchids in fact.

In a good range of colours.

Aramis and Porthos seated with the victorious D'Artagnan behind.

And here he is with the trophies that I had last year. Well done, Andrew!

Tottington 1st April 2017

With the demise of what used to be our first show of the Spring, the Catforth Daffodil Show, it was not until April 1st that I showed any daffodils this year. I had hoped that Tom Alty (a.k.a. Aramis) was going to join us as the third musketeer but he didn't have enough flowers to warrant the trip and indeed was unhappy about his particular daffs from Scamps this year. D'Artagnan, in the shape of Andrew Clark, turned up with some excellent material while the humble Porthos had some but not what I would have liked. Dianne Mason brought a hatful, and Jim Foote and Tom Tinkler were also about. At first, it looked like the six class would be a tussle between the two musketeers and I noticed D'Artagnan's face drop when he saw that the humble Porthos had included leaves in the vases for the first time. However, his flowers even without leaves were a bit better than mine so I thought that would be that. How wrong can you be! Half way through the morning, Ken Harrop, renowned National exhibitor, and his accomplice were spotted in the car park with some quality blooms. I ended up unplaced in the six, though D'Artgagnan got a creditable second. I didn't have enough ammunition to go in the three threes, of which more later, but unleashed my best in the other classes.

In the three Division 1s, I won with Bell Rock. Aramis had commented that this, a substitute for Pemboa from Scamps, was small but very smooth and he was right. (Photo below)  

In the vase of five, I won with five Crackington (below), though one, the top right bloom, was deeper coloured than the others.

Another three Crackington gave me a first in the three Division 4s:

and three Loch Assynt saw me home in the three Division 3s.

A single Loch Assynt also did the job in the single Division 3 class

Back to the six in Class 1. I noticed that this time, I staged mine (on the left) a bit lower than the other entries. I had a bit of a faff with getting the leaves and stem into the Oasis I was using. When I later went to Harrogate the night before it opened, I noticed that John Peace was using moss rather than Oasis and he put his leaves behind the stem and on the edge of the vase. I need to work on this.

Here you can see my six on their own. The facing was rubbish on the front left and the back two should have been swapped over to give a better balance. And Bell Rock (middle right) is just too small for this sort of class.

These are D'Artagnan's six with a lot more weight to them.

And here's Ken Harrop's six on the left, with Evesham (front right) as Best Bloom in Show and a pretty good Ombersley behind that.

I didn't go in the three threes, but Tony Bracegirdle did and got a Diploma for his efforts.

My five Crowndale were judged to be be better than five Pink Silk and some other stuff.

I ended up with the most firsts in the daffodils with five and Dianne had four. For this I won some huge silver tray which I promptly returned as I don't take cups and things home.

To finish, here are some general shots of the daffodils section. I think most people got a card for their flowers in the various classes. There were some good novice entries.

Normal Service will be resumed

In conversation with D'Artagnan at Colne Spring Show about blogs in general, I realised that I have missed this blog. With more and more people using Facebook to show photos of their flowers and a good BGS Facebook group, I let this blog fade away for a while. I have now decided that the blog is better for photos as on Facebook everything is so transitory and anything posted on the weekend is buried in a sea of unscintillating drivel. So I'll try to do more on here. It looks like I will need to use my computer rather than this phone to do the photos as Google and Apple don't seem to fit well together.
One thing that cropped up recently is the question of judging daffodils. There is a brief summary of the points allocation on The Daffodil Society website, and I have some idea of what makes a good flower but it's the doubles that are a bit of a mystery for me. At Ramsbottom I was first and second in the three D4s and I was also first in the single D4 with around 7 or 8 other entries in each class. In the three D4s I got first with Seagrave and second with Bala and the winner in the single D4 class was another Bala. I've won with it before so it seems to be a good variety. I get the impression it's not just the number of layers of petals but also the way the shorter petals are interspersed with the big ones that matters . I'll post some photos on here soon. Maybe when I have a closer look I'll understand more. With most of the other divisions, I have a fair idea of why I win or lose.