AGS East Anglia Show 2025

I was one of the first exhibitors to arrive at the show in Attleborough on Saturday morning, albeit I brought no exhibits, only my camera.  But the benches were covered with entry cards, and slowly filled up as exhibitors arrived.  By the time judging started, there were plenty of plants to keep the judges busy.

Rhododendron trichostomum

One of the most eye-catching exhibits was a large plant of Rhododendron trichostomum, exhibited by Maurice Bacon.  This duly won the Suffolk Trophy for the best plant in the Intermediate section, leaving me with the conundrum of how to photograph it.

The picture I had taken of it on the bench wasn’t really good enough, but the grey background cards I had with me were nowhere near big enough to use.  Eventually I found a piece of white wall, and stood the Rhododendron in front of it for a few minutes to try to do it justice.  At least my efforts gave Maurice a laugh.

Cut Flowers

The cut flower class had two exhibits, one from Mark Childerhouse consisting of six different saxifrages, and one from Diane Blyth, the winner, with six different daphnes.

Miniature Gardens

Georgina Instone won the miniature garden class in the Open section, while Phillip Webdale won the Novice section class.

Semiaquilegia ecalcarata Australian Form

Peter Lyle, who exhibited this attractive pale form of Semiaquilegia ecalcarata, took the East Anglia Trophy for the Novice section aggregate by one second place point from Phillip Webdale.

Allium karataviense ‘Ivory Queen’

The Ken Aslet Trophy for the Intermediate section aggregate went to Andrew Ward.  The best of his plants was probably this Allium.

Dodecatheon clevelandii

In the Open section, David and Liz Livermore had a lovely plant of Dodecatheon clevelandii.

The judges seem to have now accepted the move of all the Dodecatheon species into Primula.  This triggered a discussion about whether there was any point continuing with a class for Primulaceae excluding Primula and Androsace at this time of year, when very few Primulaceae other than Primula, Androsace and Dodecatheon (now Primula) could be expected to be in flower.

Paeonia peregrina

I think in the same class as the Dodecatheon, Diane Clement had a plant of the lovely red Paeonia peregrina, but the flowers were so tired that I didn’t dare move it for fear of the petals falling, and photographed it where it stood.

Myriopteris yatskievychiana

Don Peace’s Myriopteris yatskievychiana received a Certificate of Merit, so I photographed it for the third time this year.  At least it has some new fronds on now.

Pyrrosia drakeana

Don received another Certificate of Merit for this fern, again hardly a stranger to the camera.

Cystopteris dickieana

Personally, I rather liked this Cystopteris, also from Don.

Notholaena standleyi

I also love this rare and unusual one, exhibited here last year and this by Neil Hubbard.  This pretty little species, the Star Cloak Fern, comes from Southwestern USA and Northern Mexico.

Woodsia polystichoides

The reason for all this focus on ferns is that at this show there is an award for the best fern, the Barbara Tingey Trophy.  The winner this year was this Woodsia from Don Peace.

Paris quadrifolia

Neil Hubbard also had a nice little plant of Paris quadrifolia – not quite the size of the huge specimen I had to carry at East Lancs.

Disporopsis pernyi

Diane Clement exhibited this unusual Solomon’s Seal relative from China.

Arisaema kiushianum

Steve Clements exhibited one of my favourite Arisaema species.  The flowers always look like a little mouse with a parasol.

Enkianthus campanulatus ‘Wallaby Red’

I loved this Enkianthus cultivar from Diane Clement.  A bit untidy as a plant, but spectacular in close-up.

Primula aureata

Don Peace had a nice fresh-looking plant of Primula aureata.

Primula sieboldii

Ian Instone brought several plants of Primula sieboldii, including a fine white cultivar.

Androsace studiosorum ‘Conway Jewel’

This was a pretty selection of Androsace studiosorum from Martin Rogerson.

Saxifraga ‘Southside Red’

The first of Michael Sullivan’s big silver saxifrages was in flower.  Let’s hope the others make it to the East Cheshire show.

Saxifraga pubescens ‘Snowcap’

Don Peace showed a neat dome of the popular cultivar ‘Snowcap’.

Saxifraga pubescens subsp iratiana

A similar plant from Mark Childerhouse was the subspecies iratiana, rather than the selected cultivar that the other exhibitors tend to display.

Saxifraga berica

Mark’s plant of Saxifraga berica had produced a lovely display of flowers.

Saxifraga erioblasta

This was probably the most coveted plant in the show.  Mark Childerhouse showed it last year at East Cheshire; this year the cushion of tiny rosettes is larger, with white flowers waving on long stems above.

Lewisia cotyledon

This show used to be renowned for its ranks of Lewisia cultivars, but this year Martin Rogerson had little competition.

Lewisia rediviva x ‘Little Plum’

Martin also had an unusual Lewisia rediviva hybrid.

Pleione Taal ‘Red-tailed Hawk’

This is one of the last Pleione cultivars of the season, exhibited by Don Peace.

Cypripedium Victoria grex

Replacing his Pleione, Don Peace brought a variety of Cypripedium.

Cypripedium calceolus

It was good to see our native Lady’s Slipper, Cypripedium calceolus on the show bench, again from Don Peace.

Cypripedium parviflorum subsp parviflorum

Don Peace received a Certificate of Merit for this pan of Cypripedium parviflorum subsp parviflorum.

Cypripedium Emil grex

Although it won its class, the judges felt that Don’s pan of Emil was far too tall and had probably been drawn, so it lost out in the vote for the Farrer Medal.  Arguably they should have considered the Cypripedium parviflorum subsp parviflorum instead.  Nevertheless Don won the Norfolk Trophy for the Open section aggregate, but only by the narrowest of margins.

Erodium ‘Spanish Eyes’

The runner-up for the aggregate cup was Steve Clements, who must have felt the judges were against him.  He lost by just one first point, but his entry in the class for three large pans of rock plants was only given second, though there was no competition.  This entry included a lovely Erodium – ‘Spanish Eyes’.

Rebutia ‘Celebration’

Steve’s three-pan entry also included a well-flowered Rebutia hybrid.  And this, I think, was the root of the problem.  All over the show there were well-flowered Rebutia, but mainly hybrids rather than species.  A lot of them were exhibited by Steve.  And most of them had been downmarked and only placed second or third.  The judges had decided that these were over-selected hybrids, and disapproved of them, in the same way they disapprove of florist’s Cyclamen, or show auriculas.

This seems to me a very slippery slope; why shouldn’t the same ruling be applied, with equal justification, to the range of Pleione and Cypripedium hybrids being exhibited, just for a start.  And what about all the generations of Dionysia hybrids ?  It did feel a bit as though those judges who don’t like including cacti had just found another way of excluding them.

Scilla peruviana ‘White Moon’

To add insult to injury, Steve Clement’s huge pan of a lovely white clone of Scilla peruviana, which was the only pot I declined to carry at the show, was voted the best bulbous plant, but the judges decided it didn’t meet the standard required to receive the Sudbury Prize, awarded for that.

Oreocharis speciosa x aurantiaca

When I saw what was under consideration for the best plant in the show, I was surprised that this hadn’t been taken up.  This fabulous gesneriad was grown by Gemma Hayes at Aberconwy, and travelled with Tim Lever and the plants for sale.

But on closer inspection, although the plant still had plenty of buds, the individual flowers had suffered from the hot dry conditions, perhaps in transit, and had brown marks around the rims.  Nevertheless Gemma received a Certificate of Merit.

Orostachys spinosa

Michael Sullivan showed a fabulous pan of Orostachys spinosa, something I have grown and killed, but in the event it didn’t even win its class, for it was up against the best plant in the show.

Rhodiola saxifragoides

The Farrer medal went to this lovely pan of Rhodiola saxifragoides, formerly Sedum trollii, again grown by Gemma Hayes, and her first Farrer medal.  This didn’t suffer from the journey in the hot van; it probably enjoyed it.

Although much reduced from what it once was, this was a very enjoyable relaxed show, and I offer my thanks to all the local group members who made it happen.  The show secretary was Peter Lyle, but I know he had a big team of helpers.

My personal thanks to the kitchen helpers.  I was taking photos right beside one of their counters, and they kept putting plates of different filled rolls and cakes on the counter to tempt me.  I resisted the cakes, but sausage rolls were another matter.  Thanks also  to the judges, stewards, and to the exhibitors who brought plants to this distant corner of the country.  And finally to Helen and my son Robin, who came back to get me as the show was closing.