RNRS  SPRING  SHOW  MALVERN 

7, 8, 9 May 2010

What a welcome Malvern Spring Show was this year.  After the prolonged cold Winter we had endured it was a delight to see those bright clean blooms on the show bench.

It had been a difficult season with low light levels and northerly winds slowing the growth of our Spring roses.  The lengthening days and warmer conditions immediately before the show however, resulted in some fine miniature blooms.

Large and cluster flowered roses though were in short supply for they take longer to develop and entries in these classes were well down on previous years.

I counted seventy one entries actually staged on the show bench in all classes this year – down from ninety three in 2009.  The whole effect still looked good despite one or two gaps.  Getting clusters of blooms had been difficult for they take longer to develop.

The Best Bloom in Show was awarded to Gareth Davis, gaining him a Premier Show Medal.  The bloom, Jon Guest, a perfect deep pink and yellow rose was a worthy winner.

Bill Heath of Newbury was the most successful exhibitor in the large flowered roses.  His bowl of five large flowered looked particularly good. He gained several firsts to win this section with most points and was awarded the Gregory Challenge Cup.

Pauline Naylor won the large flowered rose in a picture frame with a bright fresh bloom of Grandpa Dickson.

Pauline was one of the lucky ones, or unlucky depending on which way you look at it.  The Grandpa Dickson was the only large flowered bloom she staged.  She told us that all her other large flowered roses had come and gone over well before the show, whereas most of us had none to stage at all because of the late season.

Pauline was also successful with Hakuun, the lovely pale lemon cluster flowered rose which does come consistently early with good trusses under glass.  She did not have the usual abundance of blooms but still achieved two firsts.

Her best entry, however, I felt was the winning bowl of Mini Pearl and Jilly Jewel which won the bowl of cluster flowered miniature roses.

Dave Weatherby brought his usual high quality blooms but like other exhibitors he was short of large flowered blooms.  His basket of miniature HT type contained 40 stems of Luis Desamero, it was a worthy winner of the Premier Show Medal for Best Exhibit in Show.  Dave had several other red cards but was unable to repeat last year’s success of winning the Spring Championship.

Ray and Pauline Martin have been at the forefront of promoting the Spring Roses Competition and have had considerable success in recent years.  They were very disappointed this year, for despite all their efforts and experience their roses failed to bloom in time.  They did manage to find a few miniature blooms and gained a couple of firsts with them.

Amongst the other WMRS exhibitors was Dave Bryant from Burnham on Sea.  Dave was staging Spring roses for the first time.  He had little success but hopes to be back next year with more blooms.

For my part I was unable to stage any large flowered roses, for they were not in bloom in time this year.

Miniature roses however consistently flower more quickly under glass.  Three weeks before the show I was not expecting very much bloom, but the better conditions of late April did bring my roses forward.  I was able to cut about half to two thirds of which I normally expect, but with very little in the way of clusters.

Yellow is the predominant colour in Spring and so it appears to be with roses grown under glass.

This year Amber Star excelled for me.  This bright yellow rose is tinged with red outdoors but under glass it tends to lose the amber colour.

I was able to cut approximately forty stems of this variety and along with June Laver the most early flowering of miniatures, the two varieties gave me several winning entries.  I was particularly pleased with the winning bowl containing approximately 25 blooms (a picture of this is on the back cover of this Newsletter).

In the box of twelve miniature HT type I used Hot Tamale, Ruby Baby and June Laver to gain the first prize.

So despite a lot of early doubts the Show turned out to be successful for me, from some twenty five entries I gained ten firsts and took the Spring Championship along with the most points in the Miniature Roses section.

The Show was the first to be held without Ron and Ann Niblett organising the event.  So wearing my other hat, as RNRS Show Chairman, I must thank Ray Martin for his arrangements and doing all the paperwork to ensure all went as smoothly as it did.

And to all West Midlands colleagues who so ably volunteered to help with the setting up and break down, along with Gareth and Mike.

To everyone who gave time on the Membership and Advice Bureau, we all enjoyed it.  It was very worthwhile, and not forgetting Pauline Naylor a stalwart at Malvern, thanks for the afternoon tea and cake.

We look forward to doing it all again next year with lots more roses!!

                                                                           John Anthony

Congratulations John from all WMRS members.

RNRS  AUTUMN  SHOW,  HARROGATE

The Society’s autumn competition fared well, despite the wet indifferent summer, for the drier warm September weather ensured a fine crop of autumn blooms.  There were 185 exhibits staged on the show bench, which was up on 2008.

The Autumn Champion, winner of the Cant Trophy was Tony Bracegirdle, ably assisted by Alice.  They had many fine exhibits, but it was with cluster flowered roses where they excelled.  Their bowl of nine stems of Sally Holmes with lovely clean cream blooms was awarded a Premier Show Medal for Best Exhibit in Show.  In class 18 a bowl of 12 stems cluster flowered, they were awarded a Show Rosette for another fine exhibit using Fred Loads, Grace Abounding, Sea of Fire and one of Tony’s seedlings.  A bloom of the yellow hybrid tea rose Selfridges won them a further medal by winning the Premier Bloom Class.

The section of our shows for growers of not more than 250 bushes is now consistently the most strongly contested and so it was again.  In class 23 for a bowl of 12 stems large flowered roses, there were eight entries,.  John Bell of Ulverston won, using three blooms of Wimi, three Selfridges and six Andrea Seltzer.  This fine exhibit was awarded a Show Rosette for the Best Large Flowered Exhibit in show.

In class 22, David Parker of Alnwick won with six specimen blooms, using the Wainwright Rose, Mike Thompson, Debbie Thomas, Bobby Charlton and Pedrus Aquarius.

Neil Duncan is a newer competitor in the 250’s section.  He travelled from his home in Andover to win class 24 for a vase of six large flowered roses.  He had six fine blooms of Red Devil.  In class 25 it was Ian Graham of Cleator Moor who was successful with three stems  large flowered distinct varieties using Selfridges, Racey Lady and Perception.

Despite this strong competition with seven or eight entries in each class of the 250’s section, it was John Bell of Ulverston who won the most points in section and was awarded the Franklin Dennison cup.

In the section for growers of 100 bushes or less, Mark Hewertson of Beckermet won the most points, being awarded the Bank of England cup.  His oval box of six specimen blooms of Die Welt made a bright splash of orange and gold and won him a first prize.

Brian Schofield won the palette of open blooms in the Open to All section with some very clean blooms using Romance, Ainsley Dickson, Grace Abounding, Satchmo, Dancing Pink and the very new Absolutely Fabulous.  The Charlotte Bowern Salver for the most points in the Open Miniature Roses Section was awarded to David Parker of Alnwick.  His basket of Glowing Amber with red and gold blooms being quite outstanding was awarded the Show Rosette for the Best Miniature Roses Exhibit in show.

The presentation of the National Amateur Championships for 2009 were made on the completion of judging.  The Dean Hole Cup awarded to the National Amateur Champion Mr & Mrs A J Bracegirdle of Ramsbottom.  The Queen Mary Cup awarded to the 250’s Champion Mr D Bryant of Burnham on Sea.  The Gardeners’ Company Challenge Cup awarded to the 100’s Champion Mr R P Bathe of Great Amwell. 

This year, however, the presentations were not over for it was time to say Thank You to Ron and Ann Niblett.  Ron, along with considerable support and assistance from Ann, has been Amateur Shows Secretary for 12 years.They had announced their retirement from the position at the end of the 2009 season in the Spring.

They have performed enthusiastically, ensuring the Society’s shows ran smoothly by transporting equipment, setting up staging, taking entries, setting up an information bureau and clearing up and storing the equipment until the next event, often being away from home for several days.

All these tasks and all other activities encountered organising our shows have been appreciated by the exhibitors and judges alike who made generous donations.  The presentation was made by Ann Bird as President of the RNRS.  She said we were indebted to Ron and Ann for their hard work in keeping the shows going over the years.  The Board of Trustees had donated a Waitrose Gift Voucher, a Garden Clock, a Cut Glass Dish along with a considerable cheque for the balance which all came from the donations.

The final act, however, was to cut a Presentation Cake, give them a basket of fruit and wish them well for the future.

                                                                                    John Anthony

RNRS  AUTUMN  SHOW,  HARROGATE

For my part I mostly exhibited in the Miniature Roses classes.

In the Novelty section I gained three firsts winning the Large Flowered Picture Frame class with a good bloom of the primrose yellow rose Elina.

Make a Wish, the pink rosette shaped bloom was successful in the floating miniature bloom class.  The other first came with the “Trifle” class using spare blooms, amongst them the red Peter Pan and the pink Stacey Sue.

However, I thought my best exhibit was a vase of six stems of Erin Alonso in the Open Miniature section.  This variety is a golden  yellow sport of Bees Knees, but it was only awarded a second prize.

Congratulations to the members of our Society, Tony and Alice Bracegirdle, Dave Bryant and Neil Duncan for their successes at this show.

John Anthony

KINGS  HEATH  SHOW, SEPTEMBER 2009

Rain, a few days before the show had turned the ground in front of the Rose Show Stand into a mud bath but with the help of loads of bark laid down by the organisers, visitors to the Show were at least able to keep upright and enjoy the sight and perfume of the seventy seven exhibits on the Show bench.

Tony and Alice Bracegirdle and Ken Ellis and his wife made the journey down from Ramsbottom,  Paul Evans came from Ruabon and two new exhibitors to our show Richard and Valerie Bathe came from Great Amwell to join with West Midlands members to put on a very colourful show.

Tony and Alice won the Jenny Birch Salver for their bowl of large flowered roses using Silver Anniversary, Selfridges, Wenchie, Brandenburg Gate, Golden Fashion, Admiral Rodney, a sport of Gary Player and a seedling of Lionel Poole.  Paul won the Box of Six blooms with a glowing display of Die Welt, Andrea Stelzer and Selfridges and came second to Tony and Alice with a vase of the beautiful cerise rose Signature, with Tony showing one of his favourite roses, Selfridges.  Paul’s Gemini, a pale cream rose with pink edges to the petals won the Best Bloom in Show award and gained him the RNRS Bronze Medal, but Tony and Alice came back to take six other first prizes including Best Exhibit in the Open Classes with their bowl of cluster flowered roses with Paul gaining two more firsts and Ken Ellis and John Anthony sharing the third places.

In the Mini Roses section John came into his own with several first prizes including his bowl of Irresistible, Ruby Baby, June Laver, Hot Tomale, Astra, Fired Up, Bees Knees and Amber Sunset and won the Fred Staples Trophy for his vase of six stems which included Little Jackie, Hot Tomale, Incognito, Irresistible and Ruby Baby.  In the three stems class I managed a first for my three stems of Marry Me with Tony and Alice coming second and John third.  John had a colourful Artist’s Palette with Make a Wish, Irresistible, Hot Tomale, Chelsea Belle, Behold, Bees Knees and Incognito while Paul picked up a first for his box of six mini roses.

The picture frame exhibits drew a lot of attention from the visitors, the one for miniature roses being won by John with Astra and new comers Richard and Valerie coming second but in the large picture frame class Richard and Valerie came first with a lovely exhibit of Gemini.  They also won the Best Exhibit prize in the Restricted classes with a vase of Irresistible and gained one of the new Paperweight prizes.  We hope to see them again next year.

The Fragrance Competition again attracted many visitors and we must thank the friends and members of the Society who helped with this.  A total of £121.00 was raised over the two days which went a long way towards the prize money.  The winner was a lady from Nuneaton who picked rose number three, Admiral Rodney, and as it was her birthday on the Sunday she was very pleased.  

Again, many thanks to the members who spent time setting up the Show Bench, manning the Information Stand, judging the exhibits, selling the Fragrance Tickets, selling off the roses and clearing up at the end of the show.  We could not run the Show without you.

                                                                                                Jean

P.S.  Can you all do it again next year?

NEW  ROSES  AT  HAMPTON  COURT  SHOW

(Taken from Garden News 14 July 2009)

Super Trooper from Fryers Roses has been crowned Novelty Rose for 2010.  The flowers are an almost luminous orange and really stand out from a distance when seen in the flesh.  The flowers have a good scent and keep their colour whatever the weather.  It reaches a height of around 3ft.  If planting  in groups plant 2ft apart. It is available from Fryers Roses 01565 755455 price £8.95 for November delivery.

New from Peter Beales Roses is Archbishop Desmond Tutu.  The colour of the scented flowers is said to resemble the Archbishop’s cloak. It is a shrub rose that flowers  all summer and it has been named in conjunction with the Tutu Foundation, which will benefit from the sales.  Height is 4ft but can be pruned to fit in with whatever height you want. From Peter Beales Roses 0845 481277 price £15 for November delivery.

SUMMER  SHOW,  SHUGBOROUGH

27 June, 2009

Our main show this year was again held in the beautiful grounds of Shugborough Hall, in conjunction with a Vintage Steam Fair.  This was not ideal “company” for a Rose Show but the Gardeners Weekend had been held too early for our purposes.  Attendances and visitors to our show were disappointing, especially as we had our finest show for many years.

We were fortunate in having National Champion Tony Bracegirdle staging in the Open Classes. Staging in every class where competition was very strong.  In the main class for two bowls of roses, one large flowered and one cluster flowered, Tony staged excellent blooms of Silver Anniversary, My Joy, Ravenswood Village and Tom Foster and clusters of Escapade, Sea of Fire and the unusual variety Topsy Turvey.

Second in this class was Paul Evans, and although his large flowered blooms were young, his cluster flowered bowl as always was outstanding.  Paul had staged a colourful bowl to perfection with varieties Iceberg, Princess of Wales, Trumpeter, Rhapsody in Blue, Sexy Rexy, Clarinda and Laughter Lines, all in lovely condition.

Tony Bracegirdle was a clear winner in both Box classes for twelve and six specimen blooms respectively using varieties Silver Anniversary, Admiral Rodney, Selfridges and Irene’s Delight to great effect.  He also used the cream sport of Gary Player in both boxes and in several other classes.  In the class for six large flowered roses he staged five blooms of the excellent pink variety Andrea Stelzer and one of the old favourites Bonsoir, which was judged to be the Best Bloom in Show.  Tony followed this win with another one in the class for a bowl of nine large flowered blooms.  Here he staged the bright yellow variety Selfridges to near perfection, and this was a worthy winner of the trophy for the Best Exhibit in Show.

North West exhibitor Ken Ellis staged an excellent winning vase of the cluster flowered rose Escapade, a lovely pale lilac colour with bright yellow stamens, whilst in the class for a bowl of nine stems of cluster flowered roses Brian Schofield from Lincolnshire won with a sparkling bowl comprising the brilliant Dancing Pink, Liverpool Echo and Fifi.  Brian was also the winner of the George Mayne Plaque with a vase of large flowered Admiral Rodney, Silver Anniversary and Gary Player and cluster flowered Red Splendour and Satchmo.

The large palette class is always well contested and gains a lot of attention because of the unusual varieties used.  Here we saw the deep purple Forever Royal, cream and pink striped Summer Magic, pink on pink Shadow Dancer and the deep scarlet Austin rose Darell Bussell.

There was a great deal of interest in the classes for Old or Modern Shrub roses.  The vase of three stems was won by John Windsor with the outstanding David Austin variety Graham Thomas (since voted the World’s No.1 Rose by the World Federation of Rose Societies in Vancouver).

In the Bowl class there were three exceptional exhibits.  Varieties used were Madame Hardy, Tuscany Superb, Ferdinand Pichard and Rose Gallica Officinallis.  The winning bowl staged by Paul Evans was considered to be the Best Exhibit on the second day.

There were fewer miniature exhibits this year but those staged were of excellent quality with John Anthony winning the trophy for the Best Exhibit in Section, and also for the most points in the Section.  John also staged the winning exhibit in the class for a Bowl of Roses and other Flowers.  His large arrangement was quite spectacular.  With the roses he used yellow Alstromeria, Lychnis  and varieties of Astrantia, all in first class condition.

The class for Junior Exhibitors was a “family affair” with Laura Smith’s vertical pink arrangement beating a red and yellow arrangement in a cup and saucer by brother Alex.

It was interesting after judging on the first day to make my notes for this report on the Sunday and to see the changes in the exhibits, some for the better but others unfortunately not so.   Those I noted in particular were the bowl of large flowered roses staged by Paul Evans in the two bowl class, young when judged on the Saturday these had “grown” and were now excellent.  I also noted two huge blooms of the dark magenta rose Buxom Beauty both staged by Brian Schofield.  On the blown-side Tony Bracegirdle’s bowl of Selfridges – best exhibit in show on the Saturday, but by Sunday every bloom had “blown”, an excellent variety which can be quite fleeting and as we know it is at the time of judging that is most important.  Incidentally, Tony’s best bloom still looked good at the end of the show.

Again, all those present I am sure enjoyed the weekend and we thank all those members and friends who spent time manning the Tombola and the Fragrance Competition.  We would have liked more people through to see our excellent display, but I am sure those that did enjoyed what they saw.  The Show finished with a bang with the sale of blooms with everyone chasing round the marquee putting together bunches of roses for many happy customers.

Finally, we must thank the Organisers of the Show for providing us with such excellent facilities for our show and the hope that we return next year.  Thank you all again.

                                                                                     Roy Evans

SPRING  SHOW  MALVERN

8 – 10 MAY, 2009

Our RNRS Spring Show was again a bright colourful event, for roses grown under glass are very free from blemishes.  There were 91 entries actually staged on the showbench, just a slight drop from last year.

Dave Weatherby from Southport became Spring Champion by taking the most points in the show and was awarded the Kilbee Stuart cup.  He brought superb blooms to the show and was also awarded Best Exhibit in Show.  The Judges had a difficult task in deciding between his basket of single stem miniature blooms, or his vase of six large flowered roses.  The basket contained some forty stems of primrose yellow and perfect shape Luis Desamero.  The vase of six was Grandpa Dickson, being the same colour, however, I’m sure sheer perfection of his basket swayed the judges when making the award to the basket.

Dave also gained further first prizes with two other impressive bowls.  In Class 28 he staged cluster flowered stems of Irresistible, a pure white rose with just a hint of pink. In Class 15 his bowl contained Mini Pearl with light pink HT type blooms and Fired Up with orange blooms to give a brilliant contrast.

Ray and Pauline Martin have been very successful with their Spring roses in the past. This year, however, they were championing our new Miniflora classes.  They won Class 10 using new varieties from the U.S., Rocky Top, Luscious Lucy, Butter Cream, Miss Flippins and Luis Desamero being some of the more bizarre names of their roses.  Some of these Miniflora roses are now listed in the catalogue of R V Roger Ltd.,Pickering, North Yorkshire.

Another new variety they staged was Golden Mini in Class 28.  It had bright yellow blooms in good clusters.  The blooms still looked very fresh at the close of the show.

We were pleased to see Pauline Naylor exhibiting this year.  It was her favourite cluster flowered rose Hakuun that she staged in three classes, gaining two first prizes. Hakuun is a pale lemon flower and consistently flowers early under glass.

Bill Heath is another stalwart at the Spring Competition staging large flowered roses.  His bloom of Andrea Seltzer, one of two in a vase of three was awarded Best Bloom in show.  This Pink rose is of classical shape with a good scent and Bill’s was a perfect example.

I was able to gain most points in the miniature roses section, Classes 9 – 30 gaining some firsts.  Blooms of Astra – the Soroptomist rose come for me with perfect form and brilliance of colour, being bright orange pink with a lighter reverse they enabled me to win two classes.

The new novelty classes do seem to be gaining popularity with more entries this year, picture frames, floating blooms and collages of blooms (trifles).  In the trifle class it was Stacey Sue, Pompom de Paris and Rosa Banksia Lutea that gained success.

Last year the late Eric Woodhead’s roses were staged by his good friend Bob Webster and Pretty Polly, the pink patio rose won the Pot Rose class.  I took home the plant at the end of the show and returned it this year but was unable to emulate last year’s first prize.  The prize winning pot being We Go Pop, a light pink rose best described as a miniature shrub.  It produces an abundance of bloom on arching stems with good healthy foliage. It was bred by the late RNRS President Colin Horner, but is not yet in commerce. 

Ron and Ann Niblet with their expertise for arranging and setting up our shows once more did a first class job and ensured the event ran smoothly.  They were supported by members assisting with the Advice Bureau and it was good to have Janet Woodhead back helping for the three days of the show,

Our President Ann Bird attended, giving support to the exhibitors’ displays.  There were bustling crowds around the show benches admiring our early Spring exhibits for long periods, for the fine weather had ensured a good attendance.  An excellent start to the new show season.

                                                                                John Anthony

SUMMER  ROSE  SHOW 2007

      Once again our Summer Show was held in the grounds of Weston Park and again we shared the Marquee with the Royal National Rose Society’s Mid-Summer Show.  Both Societies were concerned before the Show with the lack of entries, but as always, came the day then exhibitors pulled out all the stops to fill the benches and provide a wonderful spectacle.

As with last year, West Midlands were indebted to our members from Bala in North Wales who, together with John Anthony staged the bulk of the exhibits.  Although the weather before the show had been atrocious the quality of bloom was excellent.

Eifion Evans repeated his exploits of last year and once again became the West Midlands Open Amateur Champion.  Eifion had almost a clean sweep in the open Large Flowered Classes, only being beaten in the class for one Specimen Bloom by a wonderful bloom of Admiral Rodney staged by Dave Weatherby, which was also considered for Best Bloom in Show – but more later.  Dave also staged another good  bloom of the same variety to win the Large Picture Frame class.

However, it was Eifion who excelled throughout with first class exhibits to win the Two Bowl Class (Best Exhibit in Show), also wins in both Box Classes with his box of twelve winning the George Kemper Cup – George, I think would have been impressed.

One trophy  which was to escape Eifion however, was the Sam McCredy Plaque for the Best Bloom in Show.  This was awarded to Elen Evans (Grandaughter of Eifion, daughter of Barry) for an impressive bloom of the variety Buxom Beauty.  You will remember Dave Weatherby’s Admiral Rodney?, well this was a slight favourite for Best Bloom until they were put side by side on the ground.  What was that lurking at the back of Dave’s bloom?  A cotton wool pellet.  Buxom Beauty was the winner, bad luck Dave!

In the miniature classes, so as to keep the trophies “in the family”, Barry Evans staged some excellent exhibits with wins for the Two Bowl class (Miniature Master Class, and Best Exhibition Miniatures).  Barry also won the Edna Owen Trophy scoring most points in the Miniature Rose Classes.

Other trophy winners were John Anthony who was runner-up to the Open Champion and here I must mention two of John’s exhibits.  Firstly his stunning bowl of Roses and Other Flowers, which was considered for Best Exhibit in Show – and one judge thought it should be.  As well as roses, John staged Alstroemeria, Astrantia, Lychnis, Phlox etc. all in excellent condition.  On the second day of the show John’s bowl of the Clustered Flowered variety Birthday Girl had developed overnight into an outstanding exhibit and brought many enquiries from visitors.

Chris Fullard was the winner of the RNRS Bronze Medal for a colourful vase of Sexy Rexy and Fred Loads.  Elen Evans in addition to her Best Bloom won both of the trophies in the 250 classes whilst Louise Smith won the Junior Challenge Trophy for An Arrangements of Roses.  A mention here too for Denis Robinson who staged an excellent vase of Trumpeter and the apricot Pensioners Voice to win Class 20 (3 stems of Cluster Flowered).

Just glancing into the National Show it seemed clear that the cluster flowered varieties had fared better with excellent bowls from Paul Evans (Best Exhibit) and Roy Martin.  Many of the large flowered exhibits however had obviously suffered the ravages of a month’s rain.

All those who in-spite of everything managed to get their exhibits onto the Show Bench must be congratulated.  Our thanks also go to all those members who worked tirelessly over the weekend to promote the Society and man the Tombola Stand, and finally a lasting impression at “breakdown” was the sight of Chris Fullard chasing round the Showground in the rain selling the last bunches of roses to end another successful and enjoyable weekend.  Well done everyone.

                                                                                              Roy Evans

NATIONAL  SHOW  FOR  MINIATURE  ROSES  2007

Here we were, back at St Albans and as our President, Ann Bird in her opening address put it, back home.

    After week after week of rain, wind and more rain, the sun is shining on day one, and miracle, on day two as well, a Golden Globe in the sky, although the Miniature standard of the same name was not on the Show Bench.

However, despite the atrocious weather beforehand, WHAT A SHOW.  137 entries on the bench, and 45 in the American classes and quality to behold.  In the latter class, Len Mace won the King and Princess, and closely related Ivor won the Queen.  He also won the Maurice Grosse class.  It is here particularly we still miss Maurice and his lovely wife Ann.

What a scoop by our relatively new (about 3 years) exhibitor Dave Weatherby, from Southport who became our new National Miniature Champion.  Amongst his many winning entries a stunning bowl of 18 stems of Lady in Red.  This entry was also close to winning Best in Show on second day, but that award deservedly went to Mike Thompson’s lovely 12 stems, 6 different varieties, which had also won the Ralph Moore Centenary Class on Day One.

Steve James, with Amber Star, Luis Desamero and Glowing Amber won the Ralph Moore Trophy for Best in Show and this exhibit also won the Dr. Tommy Cairns Class.

Popular again (nine entries) was miniature Rose in a Picture Frame and this was won by Len Mace with Miss Lakeland.   Pauline and Ray Martin won the LF. Rose in a Picture Frame class with Sylvanus Thompson.  Pauline and Ray also won the Mike St John Moore Trophy with their bowl of cluster flowered roses.  The Crystal Rose Bowl for the Basket Class was won by Dave Weatherby with a colourful display of red, orange, cream pink and mauve single bloom miniature roses.

All in all this was a very successful return home, rounded off by an excellent Dinner in the evening for about 20 exhibitors and friends at the Quality Inn, organised by Pauline Martin.  An official  vote of thanks was given to Pauline at the end of the evening by Tony Bracegirdle and everyone there agreed it had been a very enjoyable occasion

Once again our thanks must go to Ann and Ron for their unstinting dedication and hard work in the setting up and don’t forget the taking down of not just this show but all the others, thanks again to both of them.

                                                                                John Mayer

KINGS  HEATH  SHOW

The eighty two colourful entries on the Show bench gave a very warm welcome to the visitors who flocked to the show on the first weekend in September.  The standard of the exhibits was so high that the judges, Ann Bird and Roy Evans had a very hard time deciding on the winning entries.  Ann said that never in all her years as a judge had she had to “point” so many entries to get a result.

Tony Bracegirdle had put in quite a few entries using the yellow rose Selfridges and in fact I counted 27 blooms of this rose in his exhibits, one of which won the Bronze Medal for Best in Show and others were used to give him Best Exhibit in the Open Classes.  In all Tony won eight of the classes using large flowered or cluster flowered roses.

Our members Dave Bryant and Paul Evans did very well snapping at Tony’s heels In many of the classes to gain Second and Third prizes and Dave came First with his red, white, pink  and cream bowl of cluster flowered roses using Tall Story, Mystique, Cliff Richard, English Miss and Dorothy Wheatcroft    Ken Ellis came down from Lancashire with Tony and got a First with one stem of Friend for Life among other awards.

John Anthony, Dave Bryant and Ken Ellis battled it out in the Mini Classes with Ken getting First with his pallet, John getting First with his three stems cluster flowered using Hakuun, Miss Flippins and Sunset Strip and Dave getting First with his single bloom of Heartbreaker.  John’s Picture Frame entry using Miss Flippins gained him a First and I managed a First with my vase of five cluster flowered minis using Summer Snow and Marry Me.

Again, as there was only one other entry in the under 100 bushes class I managed three Firsts.  How about some of our members who only grow a few roses putting some entries in next year to make it more of a competition.

We would like to thank my friends Joan Brookes, Joyce Maxwell and Hazel Wilson for their stalwart work on the Fragrance Competition on the Saturday.  They worked their socks off getting people to have a smell of the roses.  Bill Pooley, Don Whitehouse and other members of the Committee did a sterling job on the Sunday, also manning the Advice Bureau on both days giving answers to all the usual questions we get at these shows.

Everyone was very pleased when the result of the Fragrance Competition was drawn and Errol the very helpful Car Park Attendant and Tea Urn Filler-upper was declared the winner.  One new member was signed up at the Show, Ms Jennifer Campbell, and we hope to perhaps see some entries under her name next year.

All the blooms were sold off at the end of the Show and we have to say thank you to all our members who helped to make this – as John Anthony said – the best Kings Heath show we have had.

                                                                                             Jean

2006 SHOW REPORTS

THE  RNRS  SPRING  SHOW

A few glorious Spring days preceded the Spring competition bringing on our greenhouse roses to perfection. The Malvern Spring Gardening Show opened with temperatures around 25C which brought out large numbers of visitors.

There really was an abundance of Miniature roses with bright fresh colourful blooms. Miniature roses have no doubt been the saviour of our Spring Show and this year we had a record entry of exhibits actually staged.

The warm spell was perhaps not so welcome for exhibitors of Large and Cluster flowered roses who said their blooms had gone over, certainly entries in these classes were down.

This year it was Ray and Pauline Martin who stole the show with high class blooms. They were awarded a Premier Show Medal for the Best Bloom in Show with the LF Pedrus Aquarius, a variety they just missed out with last year.

The Best Exhibit in Show also went their way with a fine even basket of the miniature white rose Irresistible, a very worthy winner. They had many other successes, winning both the bowl of Cluster flowered miniatures with Summer Snow and the mixed bowl of Glowing Amber and Amber Star.  With gaining all these points they became Spring Champions, winning the Kilbee Stuart Cup to complete their haul of trophies.

Pauline Naylor missed out last year because of illness, but she bounced back in good form with Jim this year and they were successful in winning the Gregory Challenge Cup for the highest points in Large and Cluster Flowered classes.  The Cluster Flowered lemon coloured rose Hakuun once again leading their successes.

Jeanette and Dave Weatherby were new exhibitors last year. This time they came with more entries and contested many classes with their miniatures. It was their First Prize entry of Ruby Baby that caught my eye in the class for five stems bearing a cluster of blooms. This bright red sport from Hot Tamale is very eye- catching, one to look out for in the future.

With twelve exhibitors staging the show, all the miniature classes attracted good entries the Bloom in a Picture Frame being won by Mini Pearl from thirteen entries.  Fairhope won the single bloom from eleven entries, There were six bowls in class 13!!!
A good sign I think.

Of the new varieties, along with Ruby Baby was another sport, this time from Bee's Knees - named Erin Alonso, a lovely bright yellow HT type. A single variety from the late Colin Horner called We go Pop; also attracted my attention, it is pale lilac with a yellow eye.

Where Ray and Pauline were not all powerful I managed to win the box of 12 HT Blooms using my favourites Hot Tamale, June Laver and Mini Pearl.

Visitors and exhibitors alike were saying this was the finest Spring Show to be held at Malvern. The setting is idyllic and the atmosphere very relaxed.  It is thanks to Ron and Ann Niblett for their total commitment in making sure that everything is in place for us to stage and of course to the exhibitors for their improvement year on year.

All you need to grow roses for this event is a small cold greenhouse or polytunnel - the roses will be outside in time for your tomato plants to go in!!  Do give it a try. Help or advice will be on hand.

RNRS  MINIATURE SHOW

The Miniature Roses Show was held at David Austin's Nursery at Albrighton. It was to the credit of the fifteen exhibitors that they managed to stage 128 exhibits on the bench for there had been several weeks of very extremely hot weather with very little rain.
Growing conditions had been made difficult and cut blooms were generally slightly smaller than average.

The gardens at our Host's Nursery were over the top, the ground dried and parched, not the usual sight we associated with this famous venue.

Our Hosts made us very welcome and David Austin spent a long time considering our exhibits and said exhibitors had done very well to produce such a colourful show. He thought visitors to the show would be pleased.

Ray and Pauline Martin became 2006 Miniature Rose Show Champions with a cluster of fine wins.  They were awarded the Ralph Moore Trophy for the best exhibit in Class 4 - 47 with a fine bowl of mixed cluster flowered miniatures in Class 18, the variety Irresistible being a feature of the bowl.

There were two new classes in this year's Schedule for above average sized miniature roses.  These varieties mainly developed in the USA have HT type flowers but the blooms are considerably smaller than the traditional large flowered Hybrid Tea blooms.  They have been given the unofficial description of Mini Floras.

Class 17a called for a modern glass bowl of eight of this type of bloom. Ray and Pauline staged the variety Sunset Strip to perfection to win this class.

Steve James of Pinner was successful in winning the American Rose Society Millennium Cup with an exhibit of nine HT form single stems, but it was his exhibit of three vases of Six Stems using Chelsea Belle, Glowing Amber and Amber Star which won the Dr Thomas Cairn's class. The War of the Roses class for Yorkshire or Lancashire Rosarians was won by John Ingamells for a bowl of Kristin, a variety not so often seen now.

In Section 3, Sam Shuttleworth of Ongar won the Mike St John Moore Trophy for his bowl of cluster flowered miniatures, once again Irresistible was predominate.

In Division B of this section where exhibitors may only grow up to 80 bushes, Dave Weatherby from Southport had a fine show, winning most of the classes. His three vases of three stems of cluster flower miniatures were outstanding.  He used Merlot, Radiant and Fired Up, a new variety of bright orange red with a yellow eye.  He was also successful in winning the three stems of Mini Flora class in the Open Section with above average size blooms of Amber Star.

The American Class for the Queen of the Show was won by a bloom of Luis Desamero staged by Ray and Pauline Martin.

In the Novelty Classes there were twelve entries for the Picture Frame class, a class which gains much interest from visitors. It was won by Mike Thompson from the Rhondda with a bloom of Incognito.  The Floating Bloom in a Glass was won by Tony Bracegirdle who was also successful in winning most of the classes for roses other than miniatures in Section II of the show.

Alison Symons from Pontesbury won the three stems of Cluster Flowered minis in Division D for exhibitors who grow not more than 40 miniatures using Open Arms. John Anthony won the Palette in the Open Section with Incognito, Miss Flippins, Hot Tomale, Debut, Jean Kenneally, Behold and Make a Wish.  He was also successful with the box of Six Distinct Varieties using Jean Kenneally and won the Collage of Blooms floating in a dish class.

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the show and of course to Ron and Ann for once again setting up and making sure everything ran smoothly.

Thanks to David Austin Roses for providing us with the Tent and facilities to stage the show.
 
 SUMMER  SHOW  2006 -  WESTON  PARK

This year we moved to Weston Park from one stately home to another.  The setting was grand in beautiful parkland and overlooking the home of the Earl of Bradford.

The weather leading up to the Show was unusually hot and sunny and more was promised for our weekend. We were indeed fortunate that the marquee was positioned under large trees, which helped keep the roses fresh throughout the show. This year we shared the marquee with the Royal National Rose Society's Mid-Summer Show which also incorporated a splendid display of new seedlings by ARBA, so although exhibits were generally down, the overall effect was quite spectacular.

Our Open Classes for large flowered roses were mainly dominated by Eifion Evans who brought some first class blooms from Bala. Among Eifion's wins was a lovely bowl of twelve blooms which included two excellent blooms of the variety Racy Lady, one of which was judged to be the Best Bloom in Show.  Eifion staged this variety in several winning exhibits, in his box of six with Yorkshire Lady, Loving Memory, Admiral Rodney and Mike Thompson, and also in the class for three Specimen Blooms of one variety.  His eight wins in the Open Classes meant that Eifion was a clear winner of The West Midlands Open Amateur Champion Shield.

Runner-up to the Champion this year was John Anthony who staged what was judged to be the Best Exhibit in Show, a vibrant bowl of Cluster Flowered roses which included the varieties Sexy Rexy, Red Splendour, Intrigue and Anne Harkness.  John also staged a lovely bowl of the climber Princess Marie.  In the 250 Classes Ellen Evans won both Best Exhibit and most points in the section with some excellent blooms.

In the Miniature classes, competition was once again of a very high standard with Barry Evans from Bala and John Anthony sharing the prizes. Barry won the trophy for most points in the section and the Miniature Master Class with two excellent bowls. However, a near
perfect box staged by Ray and Pauline Martin was judged the Best Exhibit in the section.

Our thanks to all the exhibitors, not only the Trophy Winners but all those who staged their roses and for getting them to the show in such trying conditions.

Visitors to the show enjoyed a colourful two days and the steady stream who visited our Bureau clearly appreciated the spectacle.
Members who manned the Advice Bureau, Tombola and Fragrance Competition were kept busy throughout the weekend, often without a break, but all to good effect, making it a most successful show.

In summary, an excellent venue, remarkable weather, but most of all a most enjoyable weekend for all those who attended.