Croeso I sioe De Cymru. A very definite ‘welcome’ greeted you at the entrance to the venue as, from a single vantage point, the whole show is immediately laid out in front. Ample parking is within a short distance of the benches – also most welcomed.  Now in its second year at this spacious, well-lit venue, this show starts the season off with a bang! The topic of the weather could form the bulk of many show reports this year but let’s just park the topic by saying the last few months have been ‘challenging’. Undeterred, our many talented (and resilient) exhibitors still managed to provide a spectacle for seasoned members and new first-time visitors alike; the show-secretaries had made special efforts by way of advertising the show locally and by the results it is a practice worth investigating by others.

As with most early shows, Galanthus formed a major part of the flora on show and one of note from the Novice section, shown by Mike Acton, was Galanthus elwesii  ‘By Gate’,  a lovely Imperial group clone, with large flowers on noticeably long pedicels with a broad marking at the apex of the inner segment, this was just one of the plants that helped Mike win the Caerleon Cup for the most first prize points in the section.

David Carver has been showing for a relatively short time but he is already proving that he will be stiff competition in the not-to-distant future. He dominated the intermediate section with, amongst many others, a number of top-quality miniature Narcissi, the pick of the bunch being Narcissus ‘Trumpet Voluntary’, an Anne Wright selection, originally sown as N. eugeniae which has proven to be a sterile hybrid. This helped him win the Gwent Trophy (most points, Intermediate section).

The Crocus award went to a plant in a 13cm pot, which was selected from a number of large contenders, such was its quality. Crocus pestalozzae in its violet-blue colour form (often referred to as var. caeruleus, though this has not been formally published), was shown to perfection by a local exhibitor, George Elder, with every bud open and in tip-top condition. It is best grown under cold glass in a frame or alpine house and kept quite dry during the summer months. It usually makes a good quantity of seed which should flower in its third year.

The Mary Bing award, for the best plant in a pot not exceeding 19cms was hotly contested, with six potentially worthy winners, though Paul and Gill Ranson’s delightful Dionysia ‘Zdenek Zvolanek’, MK9801/14 was the unanimous choice of the whole judging panel. An F1 hybrid from D.afghanica out of the stables of Michael Kammerlander, this exhibit was just one of their overwhelming number of red stickers, which contributed to them being awarded the Isca Prize for the Open section aggregate.

Three certificates of merit were awarded on the day; these go to plants or exhibits which are deemed to be of outstanding merit, not just at the show at which it is awarded but must have reached a certain standard which covers the entire showing season. The first went to a venerable plant of Cyclamen parviflorum, shown by an expert in the field, Ian Robertson. No stranger to the show-bench but still in first-class condition and presentation, this is a species requiring fairly specific treatment to attain a degree of success.

The second went to an Aylostera heliosa, a member of the Cactaceae, shown by Anne Vale. Once known as Rebutia heliosa, this is a plant of unquestionable suitability for the AGS show-bench. Shown here as a beautifully architectural exhibit which, later in the season, rewards the exhibitor with a number of beautiful, large orange blooms. Grown in 50/50 JI No2 and grit, kept very dry between October and March, under cold glass.

The third formed part of the winning AGS medal class (class 35).  This was Muscari inconstrictum in its Cypriot form; this typically has shorter, rounder flowers, with more slender leaves than the nominate type and as such should probably be at a subspecific level.  It has been shown before on several occasions but this time the pan was a mass of these tiny, two-tone ‘grapes’ shown by Bob and Rannveig Wallis.

Their six-pan also included another Snowdrop that caught the eye, this was G. nivalis ‘Lovesgrove’, a beautiful, squat poculiform with crystalline white petals, selected by Rannveig from amongst a host of plants from her sister’s property of the said name.

Not only do Bob and Rannveig have an eye for good selections but they also grow them exceptionally well, as testified by the award of the Galanthus Goblet for the best pan of Galanthus in the show, not to one of the big, blousy hybrids or distinct(?) clones but to a well grown, unassuming potful of G. angustifolius (bigger isn’t always better!).

To round the day off, they were also awarded the Farrer medal for an attractive plant of Scilla mischtschenkoana, winner of a certificate of merit last year, now bumped-up to the premier award. This easily acquired and cultivated species comes from Northern Iran and the South Caucasus and can be found in many collections under the synonm S. tubergeniana – the much easier to pronounce name which it goes by in the trade (this name was incorrectly attached by J.Hoog in 1936 to the plant which had already been described by A. Grossheim as S. mischtschenkoana  in 1927). Some variation does occur in the species, from small-flowered wishy-washy, whitish/blue flowered plants to the large, floriferous, markedly blue-striped flowered form more associated in the trade as Scilla mischtschenkoana ‘Tubergeniana’, albeit invalid taxonomically. The form called ‘Zwanenburg’ has white flowers with a very pale blue mid-rib. Equally at home in the garden or in a pot.

Sometimes plants appear on the bench and pass unnoticed, as they don’t call out with flamboyant colours or huge potsful of blooms, but they are there because their custodians think they are worthy of wider exposure to those that would otherwise never see them. Such was the case with Peter Furneaux’s Eranthis longistipitata. Sown from Holubec seed in 2008, this is probably the least attractive species in the genus but, as some would testify, can be one of the most challenging to grow, so keeping this in good condition for 15 years is worthy of some note. Grown in a standard 1/1/1 alpine mix (JI /peat substitute and grit), the pot is housed in an open-sided frame, kept quite dry during the summer months.

I mentioned the visual welcome one received on entering the hall, part of this was due to an incredible collection of photographs displayed by Jon Evans (for those unaware, he takes the majority of the official AGS photographs at shows, etc.). Not only in the entrance area but also around most of the available wall-space in the show hall and beyond. The displayed photos were a collection spanning around 15 years and composed of close to 300 individually mounted pieces. The exhibit was entitled ‘Alpines in close-up’ and, as the title suggests, shows close-up imagery of alpine plants from a multitude of genera, supported by a number of explanatory boards explaining the equipment and methodology employed by Jon. Unsurprisingly, this received a Large Gold Award.

With a healthy number of non-members through the door, an increase in exhibitor numbers, including in the Novice section, it seems obvious that the ‘show-scene’ is quite healthy in South Wales… hywl fawr.

Ray Drew