After a very warm and unseasonal two months
the garden is somewhat devoid of interest, so rather than bore you with
falling leaves and soggy borders let me treat you to a visit to the
Harrogate Spring Flower Show. Just the thing to fire up the imagination
for next years plans.
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This was my fourth trip to this show, which I
have to say gets better every year. I defy any gardener to go there and
not come away with some sought after treasure, along with bags full of
impulse "I have no where to plant it" purchases. The above
photograph is a view along one of the paths between trade stands, covering
such things as irrigation systems for greenhouses, ornamental copper
fountain sculptures, and, as you can see, some very nice period outdoor
lamps. The range of items on offer is bewildering as is the variety of
plant material. I usually go there looking for one or two specific plants
and come away with a couple of dozen others. I did buy a cedar wood
greenhouse there one year making it a very expensive day out.
The plant stalls are as always the real
attractions and with such crowds of people it can be difficult to examine
them all in detail, to make sure you haven't missed that once in a life
time treasure. One thing is certain these days, mainly due to the
influence of the growing number of TV programmes devoted to gardening, and
that is, that gardening is now as much dictated by fashion as the clothes
industry. Each year certain plants are more popular than others and
usually because they have been featured in garden makeovers and suchlike.
The main exhibitions are in large marquees which is just as well as
most years the show has more than it's fair share of rain. The displays
this year were well up to standard with many surpassing all that had gone
before. I do however have one major criticism I know is shared by many
other visitors, that being the terrible lighting in the main permanent
exhibition hall. The one thing you do need to appreciate the beauty of
plants is good lighting. In some areas it was so bad that plants could not
even be identified, but this was only one section of an otherwise well
organised and displayed show.
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Azaleas in profusion and what a colour
range, even though the yellow clashes with the pink and would have been
better separated from it with the white. These displays are even more
surprising in their excellence when you consider how short the life of
each bloom is. I can't see a faded one can you?
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Now much as I love gardening and
can appreciate the beauty in good flower arrangements I am not a big fan
of exhibition blooms in vases. That is I was not a big fan, but this years
display of Daffodils was breath taking. I just stood there and looked at
row upon row of the most outstanding flowers, certainly the best I have
ever seen, and that includes the ones at previous shows. They now come in
almost every shape size and colour. O. K. so no blue ones "yet",
but every shade of cream, yellow, pink, orange, red and white and every
combination of those colours.
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To get a feel for the scale of the display
imagine the view above x 300. I could not even start to try to pick a
favourite from such a bewildering array, but the pink edged one to the
right would have been in the running. It wouldn't look the same though
after a night with my slugs. You have to admire the dedication of the
people who grow to this standard of perfection. It is not my style of
gardening, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the work involved and
the beauty of the end product.
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The Alpine Society has it's own marquee
and this year it was packed with every choice species I have ever seen
and read about, plus maybe as many again that I had no idea existed.
Last year for some reason they did not have a display but that was more
than compensated for this time. Once again the quality of the exhibits
was first class, particularly when you remember that many of the plants
on display are more than a little challenging to grow, let alone reach
flowering perfection.
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The problem with a show like this is each
section you pass through tempts you to rip out your garden and redesign
it to display the type of plants that you are observing. Then you move
on to the next section and the plans change. There are of course garden
designers on hand who would be more than happy to help you with your
plans, for a fee of course. This is another growth industry powered
along by the growing number of garden makeovers on TV. I can understand
the desire for a "designed" garden after seeing some of the
better ones on display, but for me the pleasure is in the planning and
planting as much as the sitting on the patio with a glass of wine
appreciating the outcome.
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The plant on the left is a little
Anemone with the most exquisite green flower heads. What a
treasure to find peeping out of the ground in a woodland section of the
garden. Sorry I didn't make a note of the name, but there were too many
temptations to draw me on.
The show continues in the Photos
section.
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 These are
November Photographs
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 These
are November Notes
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