| In 1999, the Royal Horticultural
Society moved its Northern Show to Tatton Park and an exhibit of troughs
was displayed on behalf of the AGS by Frank Bennion of the North Staffordshire
and South Cheshire Group.
Due to prior commitments, Frank
was unable to participate this year and Bill Simpson, General Secretary
of the AGS asked John Dower, the East Lancs group Chairman, to take
over. Those who know John, are aware of how literally he interprets things
and 'take over' he most certainly did.
Having put the proposal forward
to the EL committee, John assumed responsibility for the task in hand and
with his team of helpers, began the preparation for what was to become
one of the most successful and admired exhibits at the show.
In this exhibit, John has retained
the trough theme but has extended the overall interest by adding raised
beds, show plants and an Australasian garden setting. These together with
a millstone of gargantuan proportions, formed the basis upon which
the exhibit was to be created.
The stone was supplied by AGS
member Peter Radcliffe of the Hard Rock Quarry in Lancashire, who
generously allowed the group to 'practice' the layout on a piece of spare
ground at the quarry and after several attempts, the basic idea was formulated.
Plants were "begged, bought and
borrowed" from AGS members, Ness Botanic Gardens and local nurseries. (Many
of the plants in the exhibit, the sedums, the grasses etc. were very moderately
priced and of course are readily available to those who expressed an interest).
On the Sunday prior to the commencement
of the show, the rock was delivered to the marquee and a full day was spent
in assembling the raised beds to the original plan....with one or two modifications
as required.
Another day was spent planting
the beds and a third day taken to dress the exhibit, place the troughs
and pots and add the finishing touches.
John, I am sure, will be the first
to acknowledge the help he received from the many AGS members who, though
too numerous to mention here, were unstinting in their dedication to put
on an exhibit to charm the many visitors to the show. And charm them it
did. On the four days of the show, the exhibit was a constant source of
interest to not only amateur gardeners but to professionals, TV personalities,
gardening correspondents and those who previously had little or no interest
in alpine plants. So much so, that by 5pm on Saturday, the AGS had taken
86 subscriptions for membership.....an amazing achievement, outshining
even Chelsea !!!
Having been there and witnessed
the plaudits heaped upon John and his team, I just wanted to share some
of the facets of the exhibit with you and invite you to see for yourselves
at Tatton 2001. |
