As spring gets into its stride in the UK it is a great time to watch as plants come into flower, and especially here as they are shown off and exhibited. This was prompted for me by some displays put on by the local AGS Groups at the Hillside Centre at RHS Wisley. These, organised by Jon Evans (one of the finest photographers in the Society) and other members, were aimed at showing gardeners the wonders of alpine plants. At the same time a fascinating variety of plants are flowering in and around the alpine houses at Wisley, making a great day out.
I was especially interested in the Fish Box troughs, discussed earlier on, and there were some nice examples of these. Also, one exhibitor in particular, David Philbey, specialises in growing choice alpines in tufa, and here is a fine example. If you are not so well off what about an old pair of boots!
There were displays of photographs showing all aspects of alpines, in the wild, in gardens, behind the scenes at Kew, and simply as very fine portraits, at which Jon excels. I found some of these of great historical significance; hence a picture of raised beds in Keith Lamb's garden in Ireland (Keith Lamb was an eminent horticulturist and involved in research into the propagation of plants), and the Doone Valley garden from the 1960's.
