A short blog on Gardening Scotland 2013.

Many thanks for posting this, Scotsgran, it is lovely to see pics of the stands. I particularly liked the way they used the lowley Fairy Foxglove to fill in the crevices. It is just amazing how these stands are created and every exhibitor uses similar methods.

Thankyou I shall be going tomorrow to see it SG.

Lovely photos Scotsgran...thanks for letting us all see it.....and you can not only say 'I was there' but, also.....'I did that!'

thanks SG Looking forward to going tomorrow. should have been there today but OH was in hospital but we will be fit for tomorrow .:-))

Many thanks SG, this is the 2nd year we have not been part of the team and I do miss it - ah well next year maybe :-)

Just watched the coverage of the show on Beechgrove garden on iPlayer. A superb show overall and well covered by the Beechgrove team.

I was there Friday SG, brilliant show as usual. The weather made it on Friday! Thanks for sharing the "behind the scenes" view.

Thank you all for the lovely comments. All fingers crossed for you Moongrower. I'll try and find time to photograph your beloved arisaemas. Many of our Goy members appreciate the help you give us on here but they should also know you do a great job as National Secretary (a huge job) of the SRGC. I watched Beechgrove on iplayer today too Bb. They did do a very good job of covering the show but for those of you going tomorrow please bring your cameras and share your memories with us. I was on the Pallet Garden Competition on Friday from 12 -2pm so we might have seen you each other there without knowing. Scotkat and Helen I will be there again from 10am - mid day tomorrow Sunday and will be very happy to meet you and any other members who are coming along. We are outside just along from the Loch Fyne stand. If you are bringing a packed lunch there are lots of places to sit and eat.

Sheila - thanks for posting. I will be making sure I'm there next year.
I read on Binny's facebook page that they had won medals here and at Chelsea too!
You and the other members worked very hard to get the display ready. I didn't realise that the plants were all donated by members. What a super experience.
Rona (Binnys) was telling me just how difficult a year it was for them and I saw all theirs stocked up in the polytunnels. I amazes me how it seems to come together.
By the time you read this you will have been at the show tomorrow - I'm sure it was a great day.
I haven't seen Beechgrove yet, sky+ didn't work on Friday so have set record for tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing this display Sunday BBC2 at
9.30 a.m Sheila. Thank you for taking the trouble to post these wonderful pictures for us all, when you had so much to do. I love that 'mountain'. A wonderful effort.

Thank you Diane. I'm off out to do some watering before the sun comes up and burns up all my seedlings.

Watched the presentation this morning. Absolutely wonderful. Much better than Chelsea.

What a fascinating blog, Sheila, and what a fantastic display from the SRGC. You must be so proud to have been part of it. How good to think of the plants being donated from all over the country - it makes the achievement all the more exciting.

The plants do get returned to their mummies and daddies unless they choose to donate them Melchisedec.

Oh good! It's still very impressive though, and must involve a lot of organization.

A huge amount of organisation, the team will start planning the next stand in a couple of months.

If you multiply that by the number of stands at a show, an overview of all the planning across the country would be quite startling.

Thanks for explaining Mg. Mel some of the plants are so rare you would not be able to buy them anywhere and some of them are several years old and the pride and joy of their owners. It is typical and very generous of the experienced members to want to share their knowledge and enthusiasm with anyone who wants to listen.The judges like plants to be mature and of the correct height and shape of their wild counterparts. The SRGC only do one stand at this show but nurseries like Binny Plants, Kevock and MacPlants who have their own stands all have owners who are very active members of the Edinburgh Group. Scottish was saying above that she had been in Binny and they had polytunnels full of plants. They are a nursery with 27 staff. Its not unusual to see the traders bring several van loads of plants because they do sell plants. The volunteers in the plant creches are kept busy looking after new purchases for people not wanting to lug their new plants around all day or leave them in cars in full sunshine. I did not see Vicky and Richard on the Plantagogo stand but they must be super organisers too, to come from Gold at Chelsea and produce a stand like they always do.

Here at Southport there are always vanloads of plants at the Flower Show. Some of the stands are huge, and the displays very impressive. Exhibitors start arriving long before the show day, and of course the show gardens have to be built in the days running up to the show. It is a large show and there are lots of other tradespeople apart from gardeners - clothing, leather goods and food. There's always a marquee with "local" food - cheese, sausages, bakery etc.

It seems almost every type of plant is represented by a specialist - sweet peas, hostas, cacti, roses (not so many of those, actually. I don't think late August is the best time for them), Alpines, fuchsias etc. The vegetable displays are pretty impressive too, but then we are on the edge of a big market gardening area.

We do get all those specialist plant growers as well as garden furniture, gazebos, designer gardens and an Arts and craft tent then lots of food stands offering demonstrations and a potato merchant who was trying to beat the last largest collection of seed potatoes. He had 80 extra varieties I think. We also had entertainment from singers, Highland dancers and Pipe Bands as well as country and western etc. Its all go. Too much to see properly in one day. I was very impressed by a Cumbrian company who make a wool and fern compost which is acid and therefore a good peat substitute but its also high in potash so a good alternative to commercial products. They were short listed for the new product of the year at Chelsea but lost out to a big commercial company. Cr what product they had but it did not sound as innovative as this one.

I have found five minutes to add some photos of the pallet garden competition, arisaemas for MG, Cacti for Hywel. Enjoy.

Thank you for the Arisaema pics much appreciated - looking forward to seeing John & Helen at the Discussion Weekend at Grantown in October.

I'm disappointed I can't go as we are doing something else that weekend. I could have done a second blog but thought I only had a few pics suitable for posting. I'm pleased you like them. Since I heard him speak at Dunblane I see the arisaemas in a different light. I loved his river of pleiones on this stand.

I hadn't realised that the SRGC stand was on the floor, I had thought it was raised on a plinth. Not sure which I would have prefered but thanks for the extra pics anyway.

Sorry you aren't able to come to the weekend - John caused us to fall in love with arisaemas many years ago now.

Bb it was raised except for the last bit with the meconopsis in it. There was several sections in the raised part. The top of the mountain having been raised higher than the surrounding pieces. It was very cleverly done. The extension on the floor was an extension on the space we had last year. If you can imagine last years stand with the extension on the south side. It was made to look as if the dry river bed came down over a waterfall to continue on its way. The water would have come from a spring near the top. Graham placed stone to hide the frame and then the plants were added and either stone or bark to hide the pots. The labourers, me included, put compost in to each section so that the pots could be placed in it. Depending on how big or small the pots were , the planting experts raised or lowered the compost under the pots. When it was all planted up and the containers used to bring the pots to the show were neatly tucked away under the raised part, a black cloth was draped around the sides. You can see the different heights in the last photo of the stand. Mg he certainly has some stunning plants.

Yes John has some amazing plants... I have always liked the weird and wonderful!