The 2010 Show:

AGS Bedfordshire Group's Annual Show - Saturday 13th March 2010

The 2010 Show is fast approaching and the show secretaries are busily making sure everything is prepared. Show schedules have been sent out to all members and are available on request.The rotas will be out at both the February and March meetings so please put your name down and volunteer. The Show involves a huge amount of work and we are always grateful for the support we receive. We will also need help setting up on the Friday evening before and taking down afterwards.

Our judges this year are Ray Drew, an assistant show director of the AGS and Arthur Nicholls, who is an experience grower and traveller. In addition to the competitive exhibit there will be non-competitve artistic displays.

Refreshments and a raffle will be available throughout the day, as well as a members' plant stall and a professional nurseryman. The plant stall will be run on a 50/50 basis; so the more plants you bring, the more we can sell and the more money both you and the Group makes! Please remember to double-label your plants; one label with the name of the plant and the other with your initials and the price.

What's New for 2010?

Show Offer - Anyone who joins at our Show, the Biggleswade Gardening Club Show (Sunday 4th April), or at our April meeting (Monday 5th April) will not have to pay the subscription fee until October. This gives them six months free membership! (The monthly capitation fee of £2 will still be required).

Children's Art Display - This year the children of Wilstead Lower School will be displaying their pictures of plants and flowers. Every picture will receive a small prize, with something extra for first, second and third in the two age groups. Barbara Hook, a member of the Group and a very experienced artist, will be judging the pictures. Barbara has won a huge number of awards on a national level for her art.

The Public's Choice Award - This award takes the decisions away from the judges! Every visitor to the show can vote for the plant that they like the best in the competitive classes. Exhibitors can vote, but may not vote for their own plants. It will be interesting to see whether or not the public thinks the judges have got it right!

Show Rota: Please put your name down and volunteer. Help will also be required setting up on the Friday before the Show, from 7:30p.m and packing away afterwards. We would also appreciate donations of refreshments, raffle prizes and plants for the members' stall. Please remember to double label any plants; one with your initials and the price and one with the name of the plant. The stall will be run on a 50/50 basis.

12p.m. - 2p.m.

2p.m. - 3p.m.

3p.m. - 4p.m.

Entrance and Raffle (Two People)

David and Liz Livermore

Kitchen (Two People)

Sally Petitt

Members' Plants Stall

Tony Hale

Tony Hale

Tony Hale

  • Stewarding - Elsie and Sue
  • Recording Results - Peter and Sally

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The highlight of our calendar is the Annual Show, which takes place during the spring. As you can see from the photos below, the hall is always full and every year is a constant battle to fit everything in! Nevertheless, we always encourage our members to bring along their exhibits and the Show goes from strength to strength every year.

It is not just plants on display; many of our members are keen artists and photographers and as well as enter their work in the Show, they also delight us with their non-competitive displays of art, photos and needlework. Often these displays are awarded well deserved Certificates of Merit by our judges.

The Show is open to the public from 12:00, after all of the exhibits have been judged. A raffle and refreshments, both sweet and savoury, are on offer throughout the day and we have a members' plants stall as well as a professional nurseryman. Presentations are given at 14:30 and the Show closes at 16:00.

Our judges for the past few years have been Arthur Nicholls and Ray Drew, one of the Society's Assistant Director of Shows and both have commented on the high standard of our Show.

A huge amount of work is involved in running the Show and we couldn't do it without the help of a few dedicated volunteers. Without their help, we would not be able to run such a successful Show.

The show schedule will be sent out with the February newsletter, as well as published online. Entries can be made via post, phone or email.

Sections:

Open Section :
Open to all members of the Alpine Garden Society, not restricted to members of the Bedfordshire Group

Section B :
Open to all members of the Bedfordshire Group who have not gained fifteen firsts at the annual show in the Open Section or Section B

Section C :
Open to all members of the Bedfordshire Group who have not gained ten firsts at the annual show in any section


Awards:

Open Section :
The 'Bedfordshire Times Cup' for the highest aggregate in the section

Section B :
The 'Society Cup' for the aggregate in this section
An AGS Group Medal for the best plant in the section

Section C :
The 'Novice Cup' for the aggregate in this section
An AGS Group Medal for the best plant in the section

Artistic Section :
The 'Photographic Cup' for the aggregate in the Photographic classes
The 'Art Cup' for the aggregate in the Painting / Drawing classes
The 'Peter Jones Trophy' for the aggregate in the Needlework classes

Floral Art :
The 'Morris Bowl' for the aggregate in the Floral Art classes

The 'Public's Choice Award' will be awarded to the plant that receives most votes from the public. This can come from any section (New award for 2010)

The 'Bedfordshire Group Plate' will be awarded to the best plant in the show

Congratulations to last year's winners:

The Bedfordshire Times Cup - Tony Hale
The Society Cup - Robert Amos
AGS Group Medal (B) - Roger Cove
The Novice Cup - Colin and Sue Buxton
AGS Group Medal (C) - Colin and Sue Buxton
The Photographic Cup - Robert Amos
The Art Cup - Cecil Tanner
The Peter Jones Trophy - Jean Morris
The Morris Bowl - Jean Morris
The Public's Choice Award - New for 2010
The Bedfordshire Group Plate - Peter Hurren

Certificates of Merit were awarded to: Roger Cove, Barbara Hook and Cecil Tanner

No amendments have been made to the schedule following the 2009 Show.

 

Annual Show Rules:

1. Exhibitors shall, as eligible, be allowed to enter a maximum of two entries in each class of sections B, C and the artistic sections, but only one entry in the Open and Floral Art sections.

2. Entries to the show secretaries should be in no later than the Wednesday prior to the show. Entries can be made by telephone, post or email. Late entries will be accepted at the discretion of the show secretaries.

3. Points shall be awarded as follows:

 

Three Pan Classes

One Pan Classes

1st

12 points

4 points

2nd

8 points

3 points

3rd

4 points

2 points

 4. For aggregate awards in the Open Section, Section B and Section C, the trophy will be awarded to the exhibitor with the most first prize points in each section. In the event of a tie, the winner with most second prize points will be awarded the trophy. The same applies for all artistic sections; Photographic, Art, Floral Art and Needlework.

5. All exhibits shall be staged between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. on the day of the show. At 10:30, all exhibitors, unless required for official duties MUST leave the hall.

6. All plants exhibited must be the property of the exhibitor and on the day of the show and must have been in their possession for at least six months.

7. No exhibit may be removed until the show has been declared closed, except by permission of the show secretaries

8. Bulbous plants shall include bulbs, corms, tubers and pseudo-bulbs.

9. Cushion plants shall be grown for natural effect or for perfection of form. The fact that they may be in flower is of secondary importance.

10. Photographs may be in colour or monochrome. They may show plants growing in pots, in the garden, or in the wild.

11. Paintings and drawings of alpines may be in any medium, unless of otherwise stated.

12. Any photograph, painting or drawing, which has previously won a prize, be it a 1st, 2nd or 3rd, at the AGS Bedfordshire Group Annual Show will not be acceptable in the competitive classes.

13. In Class 1, 'Three pans rock plants distinct', no more than one plant is to be bulbous.

14. Unless covered by the above, the rules contained in the current issue of the Alpine Garden Society Show Book shall apply.

 

Photos: Scenes from the 2008 Show, taken by Robert