AGS RHS Wisley Show 2025

Also, although car access for exhibitors and nurseries is beautifully organised, many exhibitors still have concerns about having to stage between 7.30am and 8.45am, and not being able to bring their car back in until 4.30pm.

On Friday, we received good news that over 200 plants had been entered, but would they all materialise on the day ?  We need not have worried.  Despite foul weather, both on Friday and Saturday, 16 determined exhibitors brought 140 plants to brighten the benches.

British Iris Society

We were sharing the hall with the British Iris Society, who had their own show and displays.  One stand was full of exquisite paintings of irises by their artist in residence, Sheryl Pape.

Display of Juno Irises

Tony Hall had brought a display of Juno Irises from RBG Kew which attracted a lot of interest, and received the Osborn Trophy from the society for the best exhibit in the Iris show.  I took informal photographs of several plants from this display – Iris nicolai, Iris aff. pseudocaucasica, and a lovely deep blue form of Iris planifolia.

Iris persica LN 9805

Nearby, there was a pot of Iris persica.  I think this may have been grown by Tim Loe from Cornwall, who exhibited another specimen in the AGS show.

Display of Alpine Plants

In one corner of the show hall there was a fine display of alpine plants by the Alpine department at Wisley, which was awarded a well-deserved Gold Award.

Lachenalia aloides var quadricolor

The Alpine department had one other exhibit – this fine pan of Lachenalia.

Unfortunately, I had a senior moment, and entered it for them in the class for Iridaceae, when it should have gone in the class for bulbous plants excluding Amaryllidaceae and Iridaceae.  So I owe them a huge apology, but I don’t think this error was responsible for the second place they received; the judges did not feel that this species was sufficiently hardy.

Six Small pans of Rock Plants

Bob and Rannveig Wallis won the AGS Medal for the small six pan class with five good pans of bulbs, and a Cyclamen.

Tulipa biflora

A little later, the flowers of the tulip had opened in the warmth of the hall.  Bob and Rannveig had a second pot, in another class, which didn’t open as fully.

Romulea tempskyana

Bob and Rannveig’s pot of Romulea tempskyana was also opening after the cold night in the car.

Tulipa (Amana) edulis

In their large 3-pan rock plants exhibit, Bob and Rannveig included a fine pan of Tulipa (Amana) edulis.

Crocus sieberi ‘Ronald Ginns’

After the tulips, it was time to turn my attention to the crocuses.  Ian Robertson has exhibited this clone for many years at the early shows.

Crocus sieberi

Paul and Gill Ranson exhibited a nice small pan of Crocus sieberi.

Crocus thirkeanus

And John Dixon had a small pot of Crocus thirkeanus, the plant which used to be shown as C. herbertii, and before that C. gargaricus subsp herbertii, or just C. gargaricus.

Crocus biflorus subsp ionopharynx

Late in the afternoon, just before the prize-giving, David Carver pointed out some interesting crocuses on the British Iris Society benches.  I photographed them in situ, as I didn’t have permission to remove and photograph these plants.

I am not sure who the exhibitor was, but looking at the labels, it may have been David himself, in which case I apologise, because I could have taken better pictures with his permission.

Crocus seisumsiana

The other crocus from the British Iris Society benches.

Eranthis hyemalis ‘Orange Glow’

This orange form of the winter aconite, exhibited by Diane Clement, was the last plant I photographed in my search for flowers which might deteriorate during the day.

Colchicum hungaricum ‘Velebit Star’

Perhaps I should have included this little Colchicum from Steve Clements.  This picture was taken in early afternoon, when it was starting to look a little tired.

Ophrys fusca

Of course, Steve Clements’ main interest is hardy orchids, and I enjoyed photographing this little Ophrys in perfect condition.

Pleione ‘Riah Shan’

This Pleione is a stalwart of the early shows, and the flowers were just opening on this pan from Steve Clements.

Three large Cyclamen

Ian Robertson staged a fine entry in the class for three large pans of Cyclamen, though rumour has it that he was saving his best plants for the Cyclamen Society show this coming weekend.

Cyclamen alpinum

Ian also entered this lovely plant, in the class for one pan of Cyclamen.

Cyclamen x wellensiekii

In this case, Ian had to take second place to this large pan of Cyclamen x wellensiekii from Mike Powell, though it looks like the latter might have multiple specimens in the pot.

Corydalis hyrcana

Bob and Rannveig Wallis won the class for three pans of Corydalis, with an entry including a fine specimen of Corydalis hyrcana.

Corydalis popovii

Also in the three-pan entry from Bob and Rannveig was this Corydalis popovii, which won a Certificate of Merit.

Flower Arrangements

There were two entries in the class for miniature flower arrangements, one rather elegant and austere arrangement of snowdrops and hellebores from Paddy Parmee, and a wider-ranging selection from Dot Sample, which took first place.

Dionysia archibaldii JLMS02-87-MK2

We were confident we would see some of the earlier Dionysia species and hybris at the show, though the cold snap at the beginning of January had confused some of them.  As usual, these classes were dominated by the Ransons and John Dixon.  This pan of D. archibaldii was exhibited by Paul and Gill Ranson.

Dionysia ‘Christie’

This curiously coloured hybrid was also exhibited by Paul and Gill Ranson.  The colouration certainly doesn’t have universal appeal, but it sparkled under my LED light, with tones of caramel and chocolate.

Dionysia ‘Mike Bramley’

This hybrid, named after an old friend and past exhibitor, and again exhibited by Paul and Gill, owes its appearance strongly to its seed parent, D. afghanica.

Dionysia ‘Zdenek Zvolanek’

This is also a hybrid between D. afghanica and D. tapetodes, but the colour is much stronger.  Paul and Gill exhibited two specimens, the second of which (last two pictures) received a Certificate of Merit.

Paul and Gill just pipped Bob and Rannveig and Anne Wright for the Open section aggregate, and were awarded the Frank Waley Cup.

Dionysia afghanica GW-H1308

The Anna Griffith Trophy for the best plant in a 19cm pot went to John Dixon for this tennis-ball sized specimen of Dionysia afghanica – small but notoriously difficult to grow to any size.

This is the only clone in cultivation, so no seedlings can be produced, and it will always be scarce and difficult.  Given its origin in remote, land-mined valleys in Afghanistan, it is likely to remain the only one.

Helleborus dumetorum ex WM9832

Diane Clement exhibited this little green hellebore seedling.

Galanthus graecus

Moving on now to snowdrops, in the Intermediate section Christine Jarvis, who won the George Gable Memorial Trophy for the section aggregate, had a nice pot of Galanthus graecus.

Galanthus ‘Amy Doncaster’

In the Open section, Anne Wright and Bob and Rannveig Wallis entered some fine pans of snowdrops.  I loved the long droopy ears of this cultivar from Bob and Rannveig.

Galanthus ‘Trym Baby’

Diane Clement also exhibited a seedling with the distinctive shape and markings showing the presence of G. ‘Trym’ in its ancestry.  This one was named ‘Trym Baby’.  I owe Diane an apology for crediting this to Bob and Rannveig initially – I even photographed the label, so no excuses available.

Galanthus ‘West Hayes’

This seedling was exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis.  The name perhaps indicates that it derives from G. ‘South Hayes’, itself a descendant of G. ‘Trym’.  The ‘West’ suggests it appeared in their Carmarthenshire garden.

Galanthus transcaucasicus

Anne Wright’s snowdrops were mostly seedlings of her own raising, with one exception, this lovely, compact pan of Galanthus transcaucasicus, which received a Certificate of Merit.

Galanthus plicatus x elwesii AW 4136-1-21

A pretty poculiform (the normal inner segments are replaced with additional outer segments) hybrid raised by Anne Wright.

Galanthus seedling AW 4598-A-2-22

This seedling from Anne Wright has very pretty green markings on the outer segments, and deep green inners.

Galanthus seedling AW 4628-1-21

Another, similar seedling from Anne Wright, again with green stripes on the outer petals.

Galanthus ‘Dryad Sunrise’

Anne Wright is best known for raising a series of seedlings with yellow inner petals, and sometimes a yellow calyx.  Here are three of them, all of which have been named under her ‘stable’ name ‘Dryad’; the first is ‘Dryad Sunrise’.

Galanthus ‘Dryad Gold Bullion’

Better known perhaps, and more widely distributed, is Anne Wright’s seedling Galanthus ‘Dryad Gold Bullion’.

Galanthus ‘Dryad Gold Star’

This final yellow seedling was probably the best snowdrop in the hall, and won Anne Wright another Certificate of Merit.

Narcissus triandrus x bulbocodium

There were lots of daffodils in the hall.  Bob and Rannveig brought this hybrid, which I found very attractive.

Narcissus peroccidentalis

I have never photographed a plant under this species name before, though this plant is clearly part of the creamy white confusion of hoop petticoat daffodils, including Narcissus cantabricus and Narcissus romieuxii and their varieties.  This is a relatively new name, and I would probably recognise whatever name Bob and Rannveig grew it under previously.

Narcissus cantabricus subsp eualbidus

My favourite of Bob and Rannveig’s daffodils was this pan of little upward-facing white petticoats.

Narcissus romieuxii var rifanus

Similar, but this time lemon yellow, was this lovely variety from Anne Wright

Narcissus ‘Angelina’

A little N. cyclamineus hybrid, again shown by Anne Wright.

Narcissus ‘Pallene’

This is a daffodil hybrid raised by Anne Wright, and a spectacular one, with huge, almost reflexed trumpets.  I was puzzled how to pronounce the name until I realised it was a contraction of Pallas Athene.  I couldn’t resist experimenting with backlighting some of these trumpets.

Three large pans of bulbous plants

However, Anne Wright’s best plants were grouped in her winning entry for three large pans of bulbous plants.

Narcissus AW 4212-5-18

The first of these was a lovely lemon yellow seedling with a huge wide open trumpet similar to that of Pallene.

Narcissus ‘Pallene’

The second member of the threesome was a second pan of Narcissus ‘Pallene’.

Narcissus AW 3956-3-19

The final pan of Anne Wright’s three-pan entry was this wonderfully compact pan of wide, upward and outward facing trumpets, which won the Narcissus Salver for the best pan of Narcissus, and the Farrer Medal for the best plant in the show.  It was exhibited under a seedling number, but will be named later in the year.

That’s all from an excellent show, which was well attended and enjoyed by the public, despite the miserably cold and damp weather.  I would like to thank everyone who contributed:

• First the RHS staff who worked hard all through Friday and Saturday to organise things in and around the hall, lead a behind the scenes tour of the alpine department, and lead the convoys of exhibitor cars and nursery vans in and out of the garden.
• Secondly the British Iris Society who staged an excellent show and display in the other half of the hall – it was a pleasure working with you
• Then the exhibitors for bringing so many beautiful plants, the judges and stewards, the two speakers who gave talks, the nurseries who brought plants and everyone who helped with behind the scenes show management and organisation before and during the show.
• And finally everyone from the Surrey groups of the AGS, who helped put up tables on Friday, and spent all day at the show on Saturday serving hot drinks and toast to the exhibitors, selling plants and giving away information, then helping clear the hall and flatten the tables.