The day dawned bright but frosty and with a cold north wind. Several exhibitors commented on the changeable weather, with temperatures in the high teens one week and the following week in low single figures. Their plants did not know whether they were coming or going. However, the show benches were full of desirable plants and looked extremely colourful, despite the fact that the number of exhibitors and plants was slightly down on previous shows due to various factors including COVID. Even so, there were 39 exhibitors and a total of 361 plants on show. The Intermediate Section was especially strong with 11 exhibitors benching 116 plants, many of which would have done well in the Open Section.

At the entrance, an attractive display of photographs, books and pamphlets advertising the AGS and the Chesterfield Group greeted visitors. The kitchens seemed busy with drinks, bacon baps etc. and in the afternoon there was a well-attended, interesting and informative talk by David Charlton on the ‘Plants of the Picos de Europa’.

The Farrer Medal was won by a large, superbly flowered Rhododendron megeratum (Bodnant form) shown by Chris Lilley. This also won the Chesterfield Vase for the best pan of Ericaceae. There were two beautifully grown saxifrages in competition for the Finley Swift Trophy (the best pan not exceeding 19cm). After much discussion and a narrow vote, it went to Saxifraga ‘Allendale Chick’ shown by Geoff Rollinson. Its rival, Saxifraga quadrifaria, shown by Mark Childerhouse, was awarded a Certificate of Merit. Geoff Rollinson also won the John & Gill Saxton Memorial Trophy for the best plant native to Europe with Androsace villosa var. taurica. Geoff’s Androsace muscoidea was awarded a Certificate of Merit. The Narcissus Salver was awarded to Narcissus rupicola subsp. watieri shown by Clare Oates. The Chatsworth Trophy for the best bulbous entry went to Diane Clement for a group of Fritillaria wendelboi and she also won the Fieldhouse Trophy for three pans of rock plants in flower, grown from seed. The Steve Furness Trophy for a miniature garden without accessories was won by Peter Hood. The Open Section aggregate was won by Don Peace, the Intermediate by Brenda Nickels and the Novice by Sue Spells.

Our thanks for organising the show and for giving everyone the opportunity to enjoy the range of plants on view must go to Chris Lilley as show director, to Raymond Hurd for accepting the entries, to Geoff Mawson for organising the judging, and to the team from the Local Group for all their hard work in setting up and taking down a successful, enjoyable show. Thanks as well to all the exhibitors for growing the plants and travelling to the Arkwright Centre, in these days of high fuel costs, to display the results of their labours.

Saxifraga quadrifaria (Mark Childerhouse) is native to south-eastern Tibet, Nepal and south-western China from 2,200-5,000m. First described by Engler and Irmscher in 1919, it was collected by George Smith in the late 1970s and some plants were grown on by Duncan Lowe in the early 1980s, before a reintroduction by Tim Roberts. The grower described it as similar to sessile-flowered S. georgei but with pedicels c. 5mm and stamens dusted with brown pollen. It is classified in Series Tetrameridium, Section Porphyrion, subsection Porophyllum. Grown in a lime-free compost, it needs to be kept cool and moist when in active growth, when a position out of direct sun, with no glass protection is preferred.

Mark also exhibited the seldom grown Saxifraga pulchra in the class for a plant new or rare in cultivation. Obtained from Malcolm McGregor as a small cutting, it has proven extremely slow growing but at length forming a small, very hard cushion. The flowers are long-lasting but this plant has failed to set seed. Also in Section Porphyrion, this Chinese representative has been recorded from Abies forests, scrub and rocks between 2,500-4,600m over a wide area of western Sichuan, Xizang and north-west Yunnan. Found on the steep limestone cliffs of the Gang Ho Ba at 3,450m in October 1994 by members of the ACE expedition, plants from this source require a well-drained compost with light shade in summer.

Another Chinese plant, Berneuxia thibetica (Lionel Clarkson), a member of the Diapensiaceae, comes from Abies and broadleaved forests at 1,700-3,500m in Sichuan, south-east Xizang, north-western Guizhou and northern Yunnan. Its synonyms include Shortia thibetica and Shortia davidii. Obtained from Ian Christie’s Angus nursery four years ago, it was entered in the same class as the saxifrage. Not easy to grow and prone to vine weevil attacks, it needs an acid, well-drained but moist soil. Some suggest that it needs a mycorrhizal fungus to thrive. Gently rhizomatous when suited (and best propagated by division), it will also produce seed, the fruiting head hidden by the persistent sepals. There is a watercolour in the RBGE collection, painted by Reginald Farrer and presented by his family in 1920, following his death.

Calanthe is a genus of some 220 species of hardy and half-hardy terrestrial orchids, mostly from Japan, Korea and China, although there are a few species in Australia and even Central America. Calanthe ‘Takane’, shown by Steve Clements, is a vigorous selection of the hybrid C. sieboldii x C. discolor and spreads modestly by offsets. Suitable for a shade or woodland garden, it is hardy down to -10C but benefits if mulched with composted bark in the winter. It seems to be virtually disease free, but watch out for slugs and snails! The example seen was bought as a single stem and fed regularly with a half-strength tomato feed to boost flowering. Constant moisture is essential: Steve stands it in water all the time, using Growbags on trays.

From eastern Asia to eastern Turkey: in the family Brassicaceae, Draba rosularis is found on mountainous rocks in eastern Turkey at 2,400-3,200m. The scapes are slightly longer than closely-related Draba cappadocica and each carrying up to 28 flowers. It was first described by Pierre Edmund Boissier in 1842. Best given cold glass protection, it prefers a sunny situation and a gritty, sandy substrate. It is extremely hardy, tolerating temperatures down to –23C. John Richards staged two plants, grown from SRGC seed and selected from the original four plants raised. Repotting takes place annually, in late spring or very early summer.

White there are close to 400 species of Draba worldwide, European Soldanella numbers just fifteen. Less frequently exhibited than their many admirers would wish, in my experience even the readily raised from fresh seed Soldanella carpatica, shown here by Clare Oates, is not easy to grow, at least to the standard of this fine example. It can be a martyr to slugs, snails and aphids: Clare administers a dose of systemic insecticide at the start of the season. Native to Slovakia and Poland, growing in damp meadows, in sun or partial shade at altitudes from 500-3,000m, the Carpathian Snowbell, as it has been popularly dubbed, is tolerant of most soils – acid, alkaline or neutral. In cultivation it is best shaded from midday sun, in a cool, damp spot, and regularly divided to maintain its vigour. Clare uses an open mix with plenty of perlite, keeping her eight-year-old plant in a shaded frame and watering frequently.

Another eastern European member of the Primulaceae, Primula frondosa (exhibited by Henry Fletcher), is restricted to a small area of the Bulgarian Stara Planina. Similar to the perhaps better known – but far less easy to maintain in gardens – P. farinosa, the Birds Eye Primrose, it is a short-lived perennial best given a well-drained but moist, acid compost. Henry exhibited an exceptional example, almost overlapping its 19cm pot, full of flower, and (where they could be seen) with the farinose leaves in pristine condition. His plant was obtained from Steve Furness’s The Alpine Plant Centre Derbyshire nursery three years ago, and grown in a gritty John Innes 1-based compost with regular waterings of a dilute tomato feed, i.e., a high potash feed, after flowering and through to midsummer.

Primula ‘Jackie Richards’, a vigorous, free-flowering Primula allionii hybrid, was one of the plants that helped Sue Spells to win the Novice Section aggregate. It likes part-shade, enjoying morning and evening sun, and a well-drained soil such as three parts of John Innes no. 2, two parts of leafmould, one of grit sand and one of grit. Usually grown in an alpine house, it can also be grown outside if sheltered from rain. If the cushion is soaked, especially in winter, rot will set in. She also displayed a small example of the demanding P. clarkei, which is always lovely to see. Plants require frequent division and fresh compost to remain in good health.

Pleione Ueli Wackernagel gx ‘Enigma’, shown by Don Peace, is a fine selection of the cross P. aurita x formosana. It received an Award of Merit from the RHS Joint Rock Garden Plant Committee at the Hexham show in 2019 and was subsequently registered under the name ‘Enigma’. Don grows it in a Multipurpose compost and perlite. The plants are not watered after October but stored in his garage from November to early February. After flowering, once any danger of hard frosts is over, the pans are happy outdoors in a shady position, receiving ample moisture (rain, not tap water) over the summer. The pseudobulbs are re-potted annually in late winter and, as a precaution against Brevipalpus mite, dipped in Neem Oil beforehand.

Reporter: Dave Mountfort

Photographer: Don Peace