The Great British weather often conspires against staging a garden show. In previous years gardeners have faced an absolute deluge in the run-up to the show. This year however, we had the complete opposite with weeks of dry, sunny weather playing havoc with potential exhibits.
As I’ve said before, gardeners are a hardy, resilient bunch and were we put off entering? Absolutely not! In fact, I’m very delighted to say that there were 256 exhibits from 29 entrants. Of those, seven were new entrants, the majority of whom were placed in at least one of the classes they entered, with some winners. Absolutely brilliant! Many, many thanks to them for ‘being brave’ and entering. I do hope they enjoyed the whole experience and will enter once again next year.
A quote from a club member: “Well done to the winners, think anyone who enters is a winner though, and so nice to see new entrants this show”
Feedback from the judges: “Wow, what a great show given the weather. There were some lovely exhibits, and a great variety of classes, as usual”.
A huge thank you to all our exhibitors and to everyone who came along to enjoy and support our club show. Many thanks too to our Judges who were: Sheila Rapley (Plants, Flowers and Vegetables); Jackie Squance (Floral arrangements) and Jill Arthur (Home Produce).
Summer Show Prize Winners Trophies are awarded to the exhibitor with the highest number of points in the relevant classes.
| Home Produce Cup | Janet Hall |
| Floral Arrangement Trophy | Sue Erler |
| Photography Prize | Karen Cozens |
| Mike Hallt Cup (The Potato Championship – growing the three potatoes supplied by the club) | Janet Hall |
| Davies Rose Cup | Viki Cresswell |
| Smith Cup (Plants and Flowers) | Gill Purkiss |
| Davies Tankard (Fruit and vegetables) | Alan and Pamela Wright |
| Novice Cup | Janet Hall |
| Littlejohn Rose Bowl (Plants, Flowers, Fruit and vegetables) | Alan and Pamela Wright |
| Banksian Medal * | Alan and Pamela Wright |
| Best in Show Plate ** | Gill Purkiss |
The prizes were hotly contested with some very close runners-up:
• Home produce: Amanda Dowden came second, with one point less than Janet
• Photography: Gill Foster came second, with one point less than Karen
• Smith Cup: Viki Cresswell came second, with one point less than Gill; while Ann Haussauer came third, with one point less than Viki!
• Davies Tankard: Bronwyn Pennington came second, with one point less than Alan and Pamela
In 1820 the Banksian medal was instituted in honour of Sir Joseph Banks, one of the founders of the RHS. Initially it was awarded to exhibitors of objects brought to general meetings but, by the late nineteenth century, was given to societies for distribution at their local exhibitions. Today, RHS Affiliated Societies who hold an annual show receive a replica of the original Banksian medal, which is awarded to the person who receives the most points in a show’s horticultural classes – fruit, flowers and vegetables.
A special mention for
Gill Purkiss who has been a wonderful exhibitor for many years, and has won almost every award previously, both in the Spring and Summer Shows. This was her first Best in Show for the Summer Show, and it was awarded for three hydrangeas of the same type (class 21b).
Finally, special thanks to the Show Committee who stage these events on our behalf. Each show brings its own challenges and all require great teamwork, attention to detail and sheer hard work. Without their dedication there just wouldn’t be the shows for us, and the local community to enjoy. So, on behalf of all Grayshott Gardeners – Thank you all!
L-R: A Waddell, J Rae, K Cozens, P Wright, A Dowden, L Munson, S Erler
Here are some more photos from the Summer Show 2025:
