WOW! What a Show!

The Spring Show in April was an absolute delight. We were blessed with a fine, mainly sunny day which helped bring out crowds of locals and members to enjoy the afternoon – it was the busiest show since Covid. The weather had been dry for a couple of days in the lead-up to the show, allowing our exhibitors to gather together all their exhibits in top condition.  The Hall was a kaleidoscope of colour, and it was amazing to see how very many delicate-looking tulips and narcissi had survived all the wind and rain that the past several months has thrown at them – and us too!

Without exhibits there simply wouldn’t be a show … so many, many thanks to everyone who entered. There were 227 exhibits spread over the 60 classes. The refreshments team provided a wonderful spread of homemade cakes for visitors to enjoy… the only problem was which slice to choose? They all looked absolutely delicious. Jan’s plant sale was very popular indeed as was the tombola. A great time was had by all.

Organising and staging such a show is no mean feat. However, the smooth running of a show hides the huge amount of work that takes place behind the scenes both in the run-up and also on the day. So, our grateful thanks go to Pamela and the Show Committee for all that they do.

The finale of the show is always the presentation of the cups. Many congratulations to the following: 

And here are some memories from the day:

In what has become a bit of a tradition, Grayshott Gardeners went out into their gardens at the beginning of January to count as many blooms as they could find.

The very cold spell we had before Christmas (down to -10 in this chilly garden) and the lack of sunshine since then, meant that the pickings this year were slim.  None of the summer flowerers had held on to their blooms from last season, as we saw in previous years.  And the inclement conditions meant that many of the winter performers had yet to really get into their stride.

But that doesn’t mean that our gardeners came back in with empty lists.  They may have been shorter lists than in previous years, but some plants were still braving the elements, and between us we racked up a total of 34 species.  And how heart lifting those diminutive flowers were.  A tiny reminder that spring is on its way …..

A great way to mark the beginning of a New Year is to get out in your garden and see what is flowering.  That is what a group of Grayshott Gardeners did this year, counting flowers that were fully open on the first day of January 2022. 

Our clever gardeners have planted their gardens so there is a bit of interest in every season, so many of the flowers found were winter favourites – with lots of viburnums, witch hazels, mahonias and pansies (if the deer haven’t treated themselves to a flowery delicacy and pinched all the blooms).  It’s been a mild year so far, so it was interesting to see that some plants were still hanging onto their flowers from the summer.  But perhaps more surprising were the plants that were getting a headstart for the coming season – with one brave pink rhododendron stealing the show.

Here is the list of what they found – hundreds of flowers counted in total, and 53 distinct species.

Firstly, a very big thank you to everyone who entered our virtual Summer Show.

In total there were 99 entries across the eight classes, and the quality of the entries was very high.  The judges had a hard task to agree the placings, as you will no doubt see from the photos – which are displayed here  Shows | Grayshott Gardeners

There were some very interesting and unusual plants entered – if you would like to know what a particular plant is, please email shows@grayshottgardeners.net, and we will contact the entrant and let you know.

This year there were 12 entries, far more than we would normally expect to see at a Summer Show in the Village Hall.  There was a wide range of interpretations of the brief “A Cosy Corner”.

Once again, Kathleen Bird, President of the Ludshott Photographic Club, kindly agreed to judge the entries.  Kathleen chose the photograph of Karen Cozens of a snake tucked away in the corner of her little pond as the winner.

Kathleen said that it fitted the brief perfectly and was the most imaginative of all the entries.  It would have been difficult to capture that instant, but it had been well done.  The photograph was well exposed and composed.  The snake eyeing the fly on the rock made it! Karen wins the £20 first prize.

Kathleen also highly commended:

2nd Place: Liz Munson’s “Cat amongst the Fuchsias”

3rd Place: Sheila Aitken’s “A Cosy Garden Scene”

4th Place: Carol Wass’s “Squirrel in the Feeder”

Highly Commended: Lynne Callender

Thanks to all that entered – it is much appreciated.

Gordon Rae thanked everyone who entered the competition and was delighted with the results. Grayshott Gardeners excelled themselves. There were 19 entries out of the 25 who collected their seed potatoes in February, more than any previous year. One more and they would not have fitted on Paul Coleman’s table!

As we were unable to hold a Summer Show in the Village Hall, undaunted, we held the potato competition out of the rain, in the garage.

There was a wide range of shapes and sizes. Helen Deighan’s were the largest by far and looked as though they had been fed on steroids and Helen Sanderson’s were very close behind.

That said our judge, Mavis Hallt, the wife of the late Mike Hallt, after whom the cup for class 49 is named, arrived armed with her list of ‘Judging Criteria and Staging Hints’, ready to make some difficult decisions. Mavis used the following guidance to come to her final decision.

The three potatoes exhibited should :-

• Be carefully washed
• Be shallow eyed
• Be of uniform size
• Be similarly sized as this is more desirable than being the largest/heaviest.
• Have clean unbroken skins
• Have no sign of disease or scab
• Be of a good size

After considerable deliberation, sorting and re-sorting, Mavis delivered the result.

First Prize and the Mike Hallt Cup     Andy Karayianni

Second Prize                                      Dick Smith

Third prize                                           Gordon Rae

Fourth Prize                                        Mary Herbert

Mavis considered that Andy’s potatoes, taking into account and balancing all the above criteria were worthy winners of the First Prize and the Mike Hallt Cup.

The cup will be presented to Andy, by the chairman Anne Waddell, at the first meeting we are able to hold back in the Village Hall.

Thanks once again to everyone who entered what is a fun competition when the GGs cannot hold a proper show.

There are particular thanks from the President and ‘Mrs President’ who have several fine boilings of exhibition spuds!

We’re delighted to announce that we will be holding a virtual Summer Show this year!

This is just for fun and there are no prizes, but we do  hope you will get a lot of pleasure out of going round your garden to take your photos and then deciding which ones to enter. If nothing else you will have a wonderful record of your garden this summer.

The deadline for sending in your photos is 5pm on Friday 9^th July, and the classes are:

You can enter one photo for each class, and you can send your entries separately.  You cannot enter a class more than once, and members are asked that the photos have been taken in the month leading up to 9^th July.

Please send your entries to:

Shows@grayshottgardeners.net

Emails should have the subject line “Show entry from (your name)”, and  your attached photos should be named with “Your name and class being entered”.

If you have any queries regarding taking photos of your entries, please contact John Price.

The judging will be undertaken by members of the Show Committee, and results will be published on the website.

Please do enter – and enjoy!

Unfortunately our Spring Show was cancelled this year. Gordon Rae stepped into the breach, once again, and organised a photographic competition.

KathleenBird LRPS, CPAGB, and past chairman of Ludshott PC kindly agreed to be the judge for this competition.

Kathleen was impressed by the number of members who had entered and by the wide range of interpretations of the theme ‘It looks like Spring’.

First place ‘My Garden’ by Carol Wass.

The Judge said that this totally filled the brief with Spring colour. Well balanced and the cock pheasant made it!

Second Place ‘It Looks Like Spring’ by Liz Munson

Kathleen loved the soft colours offprint, soft Spring blossom and blue sky and the smiling face which added some ‘happiness’ to the photo.

Third place ‘Spring Colour’ by Alex Anderson

An imaginative interpretation of the brief. The repetition of red and yellow across the photo was well seen by the photographer. The single figure added further interest to the photo.

Highly commended ‘Spring Iris’ by Sue Wheeler

Gorgeous colour which just shouted ‘Spring”!

We had asked for a touch of humour if possible. These two photographs were chosen for their originality.

‘Rhubarb and Custard’ by Jan Bebbington

‘Spring has Sprung’ by Karen Cozens

Thank you to everyone who entered. There were 21 entries. Normally we would have received about 4 or 5 maximum at the Spring Flower Show.

Grayshott’s recent snowfall had us rushing for our cameras to capture a world transformed by the White Stuff. Here are some of the scenes photographed by our members to remind you of those frosty days. Brrrrrrr !!!

Grayshott Gardeners started off 2021 with our very own Flower Count.  Our members wandered round their gardens on New Year’s Day and counted all the different flowers they could find, where flowers were fully open, and not just in bud. 

The results surprised us all.  There were a grand total of 66 different plant species in flower, all in Grayshott gardens in January.  Some flowers were obvious for all to see, some needed more detective work to spot.  Some were hanging on from last season, whilst some were braving the icy temperatures to start this year’s display.  But all brought a smile to our faces, not least of which the Hebe ‘Midsummer Beauty’, which is clearly one very confused plant.

The full list (English and Latin names) is below:

So why don’t you have a look round your garden and start flower hunting? There may be more happening out there than you think.