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Highlights from the Malvern Spring Gardening Show 2008

The sun was out at Malvern for the 2008 Spring Gardening Show. With show gardens, the plant marquee and the popular trade stalls, all the visitors were kept entertaines. Here are some of the highlights.

Jack Dunkley's Bronze medal winning garden Best in show by Sue Jollans

Lindsay Anglin from Bristol was the lucky designer chosen to take part in the year-long Chris Beardshaw Mentoring Scholarship. Her garden ‘A Twist in the Tale’, won a Silver Flora medal and was one of 12 designed by finalists shortlisted for the scholarship.

 This is part of Jack Dunkley’s garden ‘Ornamental Hurst’. At 15 he was the youngest to apply for Chris Beardshaw's scholarship. His efforts were rewarded with a Bronze medal and the opportunity to design and build a garden at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show in 2009. ‘Susie’s Garden’ by Sue Jollans won a Gold medal and was judged Best in Show in show garden category. Her garden for children was designed around a central trampoline surrounded by a grassy mound.
Paeonia obovata var. alba White double aquilegia
Edrom Nursery in Berwickshire took a Gold medal and was Best in Show in the Malvern Floral Marquee with its exquisite display of woodland plants. It included Paeonia obovata var. alba not often seen at flower shows but said to be relatively easy to grow being quick to multiply with good seed germination. Double flowered aquilegia are being bred and selected by Graeme Iddon of Marsh Road Nursery in Preston, Lancashire. The white has upward facing blooms and is the only dwarf cultivar amongst those on display. Polygonatum x hybridum ‘Betberg’, a purple form of Solomon’s Seal stood out on the stand of Avon Bulbs, Somerset. The display won a Gold medal and included a pink flowering Camassia leichtlinii hybrid.
Princess Canarina Princess Petrina Giant trug by The Cottage Herbery

New alstromeria in the Princess series from the collection of the late Peter J Smith were displayed by Southcombe Gardens in Exeter.'Princess Canarina' is a bold canary yellow and 'Princess Petrina' a red flowered form with gold variegated leaves were two of the four being launched this year. The other two are the orange flowered Princess Amber and Princess Tania a vivid orange-red.

A giant trug created by The Cottage Herbery, Tenbury Wells, was five times the size of a standard trug. Filled with herbs and other edibles, it was a welcome site at one of the floral marquee entrances.