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 competitive plant section.

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

Congratulations to last year's winners:

The Bedfordshire Times Cup - John and Jean Morris The Society Cup - Colin and Sue Buxton
AGS Group Medal (B) - Roger Cove
The Novice Cup - David and Liz Livermore
AGS Group Medal (C) - David and Liz Livermore
The Photographic Cup - Roger Gray
The Art Cup - Cecil Tanner
The Peter Jones Trophy - Jean Morris
The Morris Bowl - Jean Morris
The Public's Choice Award - Robert Amos
The Bedfordshire Group Plate - Peter Hurren

Certificates of Merit were awarded to: Colin and Sue Buxton, Barbara Hook, Tony Hale and Jean Morris.

Two changes to the schedule have been made following the 2010 Show:

  1. A new rule has been added - "Only species are elligble for the geographical classes" - This affects classes 9, 16, 33 and 58.
  2. Class 19 (One pan Fritillaria) has been changed to Three pans Saxifragaceae 

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