Events

RHS London january Flower Show

Great start to the year

Report & images: Tim Sandall

On a cold and wet January morning it was a real treat to be at the first London Flower Show in 2004.

In the Lawrence Hall, Westminster there was a definite promise of spring. Twenty four nurseries from all over the country converged on London and displayed some wonderful exhibits. The most spectacular was a superb display of hellebores by Ashwoods Nurseries which the judges awarded one of the three Gold Medals given at the show.

There where also Golds for Lincluden Nurseries' display of conifers and Broadleigh Gardens' display of snowdrops, cyclamen and other flowering bulbs.

To accompany the exciting plants which ranged from crocus to tropical floral arrangements, show visitors where treated to a great display of botanical art.

All in all this was a marvellous start to the RHS flower show season.

	This Gold Medal winning display from Ashwood Nurseries was the centrepiece of the show
	Part of the Gold Medal winning display from Broadleigh Gardens of snowdrops, cyclamen and other early flowering bulbs
	Colourful conifers filled the Lincluden Nurseries Gold Medal winning stand

	Helleborus 'Briar Rose' - just one of the many colourful cultivars from Ashwood Nurseries
	One of the spectacular plants in the range of Helleborus x hybridus Ashwood Garden hybrids
	Ipheion uniflorum 'Charlotte Bishop' was one of the more unusual treasures displayed by W E Th Ingwersen

Here are the winning results

Gold

Ashwood Nurseries: Hybrid & species hellebores
Broadleigh Gardens: Snowdrops, cyclamen & other early flowering bulbs
Lincluden Nursery: Conifers

Silver-Gilt Flora

Dibleys Nurseries: Foliage begonias, gesneriads & other houseplants
Harveys Garden Plants: Hellebores, anemone, complementary trees, cornus & other perennials of winter interest
P W Plants: Bamboo & other woody plants
Pembroke Farm Nursery: Cacti & succulents
Potash Nursery: Primroses
Somerset Postal Flowers: Temperate & tropical floral arrangements

Silver Flora

Avon Bulbs Ltd: Early spring flowering bulbs
Bluebell Arboretum & Nursery: Trees & shrubs
The Botanic Nursery: Lime tolerant trees & shrubs
Choice Landscapes: Conifers
Fibrex Nurseries Ltd: Hederas, hellebores & ferns
Foxgrove Plants: Ornamental grasses in terracotta containers
Long Acre Plants: Spring flowers in a woodland setting
Pazuzu Extreme Flora: Bromeliads & other exotics
Rougham Hall Nurseries: Cut flower hardy perennials
Southcombe Gardens: Mixed shrubs, willows, evergreens, early herbaceous plants, grasses & ferns

Bronze Flora

W E Th Ingwersen Ltd: Dwarf & slow growing conifers & other seasonal plants
Pennard Plants: Shrubs, bamboos & grasses for foliage & stem colour in winter
Topiary Arts: Topiary in a small garden setting
Wilford Bulb Co Ltd: Lilies

Botanical Art Exhibits

Gold

Sarah Adams: Rhododendrons in watercolour
Celia Hegedus: English florists' tulips in watercolour on vellum
Doreen Jones: Cotoneasters in watercolour
Rachel Pedder-Smith: Leguminosae fruits in watercolour
Lizzie Sanders: Pictures of Vanilla imperialis
Bronwyn Van de Graaff: Grapes in watercolour & gouache

Silver-Gilt Grenfell

Liz Fraser: Flora capensis in watercolour & acrylic
Sylvia Sutton: Coloured pencil drawings of cultivated orchids
Julia Trickey: Fungi in watercolour
Amanda Jayne Willoughby: Wildflowers of arable land in coloured pencil, watercolour & ink

Silver Grenfell

Valerie Dugan: Leaves in watercolour
Wendy Gibson: Hellebores in watercolour & pencil
Mrs Jane Howell: Plants & shrubs from a Nottinghamshire garden in watercolour
Anna Lu: Watercolour paintings of orchids
Sandrine Maugy: Watercolours of a plantsman's garden
John Pastoriza Pinol: Arisaemas & other unusual aroids in watercolour
Masumi Yamanaka: Lilies in watercolour

Bronze Grenfell

Beth Barnes: Pictures of Hippeastrum
Janet Callender: Pictures of fruiting cones of Magnoliaceae