Malvern flower show and last one of the season

Considering it has been a terrible summer weather wise it has been a good one for awards. We have now completed the flower show season with a perfect score and to round it off nicely awarded "Best in Show' at Malvern. If you are near the show ground this weekend come and have a look around. After this it will be homeward bound to put the plants in the nursery for the winter and have some time for potting on and checking them over for 'pups' to grow on. Going to the shows is hard work but very enjoyable, you meet some interesting people and it is nice when customers come back to you to buy more and have a chat.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/Malvern-Autumn-Show/2012 http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/Malvern-Autumn-Show/2012

Southport Flower Show

Southport is the one show we can build a whole new environment. The stand is bigger, 7m x7m and we added more water, created bridges and built an Island. Comments ranged from "It looks like the land that time forgot" to "I like the way you added the spider up at the top" What spider? well the spider liked it so much it wove a big web right at the top of the design and spent all week there. A not so welcome visitor were the midges dancing in and around the water features. We added a crocodile for good measure too. Not a real one but it was tempting. Follow the link below to see a character from Coronation street who posed by the stand.


/http://www.flickr.com/photos/officialsouthportflowershow/7896705994/

Tatton Show

Every Picture transfers to the delights of Cheshire and the entertaining Tatton Flower Show. We are in the Floral Marquee and ready for the next few days with the prospect of some fine weather, hooray! Most exhibitors including all the trade stands who have pitches outside would welcome a bit of dry ground. Pleased to say we have another Gold medal for the Bromeliads and tropical plants and hope to continue are run of Golds. We are displaying a full range of Bromeliads, from Tillandsias, commonly known as air plants but we are not just air plants, we have large and amazingly colourful Aechmeas and Neoregelia, Guzmania and Vriesea. Introducing the wonderful Tillandsia Samantha with a pink and green colouring that has been a popular mail order item from the website.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/RHS-Show-Tatton-Park/2012 

Cumbrian delights

Holker show is one of the first that we ever did so we like to do this one. The weather has been pretty poor and knowing what it can be like in the lakes the waterproofs and wellies were at the ready. As it turned out all the dismal reports from the weather reports turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. Yes it was wet but it wasn't 'don't go out or you will regret it' as they were having it. For the three days of the show it was a bit nippy but not too wet. We were happy with our large Gold and yet again managed to come away without any sticky toffee pudding. The stalls that sell hot food were probably the best place to be and I can recommend a bacon roll to set you up for the day.
The plant sales were fair and we were glad we were not at a show down south or in Wales as we would have seen trays of plants go sailing past on a tidal wave.
We come home to a lawn a foot high practically and no chance of doing anything about it as it was a quick turn around and off again.

Chelsea Part 2, or the unglamorous side

One of the worst parts of doing the shows is the taking it down. Given we took our time and spent three days putting it together, working out what should go where and then moving it a nano breath to the right or whatever the snipping off the branches and gathering up moss that is worth saving can be back braking work. Then there is the lottery of when the trucks can come on the site and where will we get parked. After we put the last piece in the van and shut the doors it was nearly 10pm and the most pressing thought was will we get back in time to have something to eat in a local little restaurant. As luck would have it we fell through the door and a sympathetic waitress brought several beers with a "had a busy day then?" After a plate full of pasta and pudding and complementary nightcap we staggered home to fall asleep within minutes only to wake up with the feeling of I know what an anaconda feels like when it has eaten a sheep. Where were those rennies?...

Chelsea Gold part 1

There is no place like Chelsea Flower Show that's for sure. We took our time and set up over three days, making sure that all the plants on display were in pristine condition. This was our first time here and we were aiming to put on a good display. Awards are given on Tuesday morning and Monday is given over to press and visits from HRH Queen Elizabeth and other members of the royal family in the evening and celebrities during the day. We have received hundreds of complimentary comments on the stand from visitors which is very rewarding and makes the hard work worth it. Very early on Tuesday a phone call to come in for some filming gave us hope that we had been awarded a good medal. There it was gleaming gold and a media frenzy (well for us anyway) continued all day. One of our plants entered into the Plant of the Year was shortlisted to the final 20 which was a bonus. Have a look on the website - Tillandsia Samanatha, www.every-picture.com see what you think.

Malvern highlights

First two days of the show was soggy as previously reported but at last the sun came out and dried the ground. The weekend was much better for visitors and after a very tiring set up, not least caused by also having to get the van repaired (Three cheers for the RAC by the way!) was also brightened by getting another Gold Medal award. Having the display set up also gave us the opportunity to work out final details for Chelsea and for any improvements in the lay out. Packing up the stand on Sunday was done quite carefully to prevent damage to the plants on the trip home. Plenty still to do though and endless list making before we set off for London.