AGS Virtual Flower Show Winners

Best close-up, showing the whole flowering portion of the plant.

Celia Sawyer on Facebook – Crocus sativus – This close-up shows all the important parts for a formal diagnostic. Beautifully in focus, the bright red stigma filaments are the ‘saffrons’ which are those used in cooking.

John Grimshaw on Instagram – Crocus nudiflorus – As the name suggests, this Crocus flowers without leaves. Being a plant which naturally occurs in northern Europe, it makes a good subject for the garden. The simple, monocoloured flowers are a joy in early to mid-Autumn.

HPS Staffordshire on Twitter – Colchicum – I’m pretty sure this is Colchicum autumnale ‘Nancy Lindsay’. One of the earliest to flower and well worth seeking out.

Best group of alpine plants growing in a permanent garden setting

Alan Isaac on Facebook – Trough – This is a ‘would love to see in a years’ time’. Still quite new but full of promise. If you don’t have much space; a terrace, window box or small paved area, this kind of growing is for you.

Dean Croucher on Instagram – Cyclamen hederifolium ssp crassifolium (now just Cyclamen hederifolium) – This was so packed with flowers that I had to check it wasn’t photo-shopped! Mature, well established and cleverly lit to catch the judge’s eye. Who wouldn’t want this in their back garden. Without doubt, my pick of the bunch, making it the overall winner.

Francoise Salomon on Twitter – Crocus speciosus – This shows how plants can crop up and survive in the most unlikely place. These give a lift to an otherwise green area at this time of the year.

Best single plant, where the whole plant can be seen, showing flowers, stems and leaves (in the garden or in a container)

Celia Sawyer on Facebook – Crocus hadriaticus ‘Celia’ – A distinctive form of this charming Crocus. Selected from a batch of seedlings and propagated vegetatively to maintain its form. Could easily have been entered into the close-up class as all the important diagnostic features are sharply shown.

Hillary Birks on Instagram – Sedum ewersii (now Hylotelphium ewersii) – The ‘pink Mongolian stonecrop. This will grow just about anywhere, if good, sharp drainage can be guaranteed. Best to cut it back after flowering (its deciduous anyway) to keep it tight and well flowered in future years.

HPS Staffordshire on Twitter – Colchicum – This is Colchicum autumnale ‘Album’, available from any good bulb merchant. The beautiful goblet shaped flowers are produced in abundance from a single corm. Be warned, when the leaves do come up, they can reach half a metre!

We want to thank our competition stewards David Charlton and Robert Amos and in particular to our judge Ray Drew, the author of the notes above.

As overall winner of our Virtual Flower Show, Dean will receive a copy of the 2023 AGS Calendar.