Show

Alpine Garden Society Pershore show, the first of the year.   Lots of spring bulbs, cushion plants and much more.   I may have bought a few nice plants at the sales tables too :-)

As last year, it was the hepaticas which stole the show for me.   This Hepatica japonica was raised from seed sown ten years ago.  My fav plant of the show.   Best in show was awarded to Corydalis nariniana, bottom left in the group of three in extra pics.   There were lots of amazing dionysias, which form cushions in often vertical rock faces in the wild in Iran and Afghanistan.   There is a dwindling band of expert growers keeping them going in cultivation, often raising new hybrids from home produced seed.  One such, Monika, features in a second extra.  I used to grow them quite well before the children came along but they need a lot of looking after and here in Wales the coastal humidity is not good for them.  I am trying a couple, bought last year but they're not doing anything like as well as the show plants!

A nice afternoon with Ruth, we caught up with last week's pottery throwdown, then a very wet drive back to Wales, the local roads awash.  Home safe.   It's good to be home.