Events
RHS January London Flower Show
15-16 January 2008
Theme: Winter colour
Words: Phil Clayton
Images: Tim Sandall
Providing a retreat for visitors from deluging rain and seemingly eternal grey skies, the January London Show kicked off the new year’s show programme.
A seasonal note was struck by the display from Avon Bulbs of Somerset. Early snowdrops and even some daffodils mingled with forms of Iris unguicularis such as choice, dark purple ‘Abington Purple’ rich purple ‘Mary Barnard’ and providing contrast, white and yellow ‘Alba’. Various selections of Arum such as A. subsp. italicum ‘Splish Splash’ with its mottled foliage provided a good leafy foil.
Foxgrove plants also had snowdrops on display. One that stood out was Galanthus elwesii ‘Mary Biddolph’, a selection with large, well-formed blooms held above grey-green leaves
Ashwood Nursery of the West Midlands displayed a dazzling collection of hellebores – most were H. x hybridus Ashwood Garden hybrids in all manner of hues- some single in flower, with or without spots, others double or anemone centred. Among the most interesting was a hybrid between these hybrids and the charming species Helleborus thibetanus. The flowers were of a delicate soft pink, much like H. thibetanus, but of a size and shape much closer to H. x hybridus. A good display of Cyclamen complimented the hellebores, blooming at a lower level and carpeting the stand.
Some selections of camellia begin to bloom at this time of year, and a good range were displayed by Trehane Camellia Nursery of Dorset. Particularly charming was Camellia transnokoensis, a species with small but most attractive white blooms, held amid rich green foliage. C. x vernalis ‘Yuletide' displayed single red blooms with golden stamens, the flowers held clear of the dense, dark-green foliage. With double dark red blooms, held on a more open shrub, C. ‘Takanini’ proved particularly eye-catching.
Wilford Bulb Co. Ltd provided unseasonal colour and scent with its beautiful displays of lilies. A new selection for 2008 was Lillium ‘Trebianco’ with bright, greenish yellow blooms. Others on show included double white L. ‘Miss Lucy’ and dramatic orange and red L. ‘Black Out’.
One of the more unusual plants on display was shown by Aldo Airplants, specialists in bromeliads, in particular Tillandsia - species of airplant. T. ixioides is of particular note due to its pendent flowerheads of bright yellow blooms. It is naturally winter flowering, the flowers produced from stiff, spiky rosettes of silvery foliage. It needs a position indoors in good, strong light.
Award winners
Gold
Ashwood Nurseries: Hellebores & cyclamen
Silver-Gilt Flora
Aldo Airplants: Airplants
Avon Bulbs: Spring flowering bulbs
HW Hyde & Son: Lilies
The Old Walled Garden: Shrubs & climbers from the Southern Hemisphere
Trehane Camellia Nursery: Camellias
Silver Flora
Jacques Amand International: Early flowering bulbs
The Botanic Nursery: Lime tolerant, evergreen & winter flowering woody plants
Richard & Sheena Drane: Succulents & exotics
Fibrex Nurseries: Hederas, ferns & hellebores
Foxgrove Plants: Ornamental grasses
Pennard Plants: Shrubs & plants from the Southern Hemisphere
Potash Nursery: Primroses
Southcombe Gardens: Cut willow & underplanting
Wilford Bulb Co: Lilies
Botanical Art Awards
Gold
David Pethers: Watercolour tree bark studies
Silver-Gilt Grenfell
Yvonne Edwards: Watercolour plants grown for their roots
Elaine Searle: Watercolour & graphite pencil succulents
Masumi Yamanaka: Camellia in watercolour
Silver Grenfell
Irene Barkmann: Botanical paintings
Keiko Fujii: Watercolour Japanese labiatae
Yuriko Kojima: Watercolour lillium
David Pearson: Watercolour dianthus
Mizue Takahata: Watercolour conifers
Meriel Thurstan: Fungi found at the Eden Project (Silver Lindley)
Bronze Grenfell
Jenifer Brooke-Smith: Watercolour flowers from an Essex garden
Olivia Chalmers: Watercolour flowers, fruit & vegetables
Peggy Dawe: Watercolour & pencil alpine flowers of the Dolomites