SAFFRON WALDEN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

AUTUMN SHOW

The Autumn Show was held on Saturday, September 13th in the United Reformed Church Hall in Abbey Lane. At a total of 282, the entries were a little up as compared with last year and the show was as colourful as always. In the flower section, the dahlias were the stars of the show and the winner of the best dahlia in show was Julia Thornton. The winner of the class for a flower arrangement in a wine glass judged by the public was Jean Petchey.

At this time of the year, it is the vegetable and fruit classes which are important. This summer though was a difficult one particularly for growing root vegetables having been a mixture of cold and wet. This was reflected in the small number of carrots and parsnips on show. Despite that, the winning parsnips were about 25” long. Beans on the other hand have fared much better and the onion and leek classes were very impressive. With an abundance of cabbage white butterflies, caterpillars too have been a big problem this summer.

The pot plants were all magnificent. A particularly interesting one was a tall chilli which had been grown from seed. A large and beautiful fuchsia was also very impressive.

The domestic classes were full of mouth-watering exhibits: cakes, preserves and wine and the craft classes showed the many skills of the contributors.

More children exhibited this year than last. As always they produced lots of interesting craft-based entries, for example marine creatures produced a sparkly scaled fish and octopuses. In another class, Susanna Beare won with her rock garden in a seed tray.

The Town Mayor, Mike Hibbs and the Mayoress Hilary Shibata kindly attended to present the prizes. The Chairman, Doreen Townley expressed her thanks to the Town Mayor and to the hard-working Show Secretaries, Yvonne Bishop and Kate Chambers. Thanks too were given to the judges, to show stewards and to all committee members, all of whom had helped to make the show such a success. Refreshments were available in the neighbouring Salvation Army run café.

About £75 was raised for society funds thanks to the generosity of members. Throughout the show donated plants were on sale and at the end of the show, plants and vegetables which had been in the show were given by members to be sold by auction.

This is the last of the society’s three annual shows. However, events continue in the autumn when the first evening meeting of the 2008/2009 season will take place at the Bowls Club in Abbey Lane on October 7th with a talk entitled Kirtling Towers – The Making of a Garden to be given by Richard Ayers.

Collette Biggs, Publicity Secretary

AWARDS

Babington Smith Trophy – Most points in show
Winner: Ken Peck
Runner-up: Hamish Davidson

Sewell Cup – Most points in Vegetable Section – Classes 1-22
Winner: Hamish Davidson
Runner-up: Ken Peck

Acrow Bowl – Most points in Flower & Fruit Section – Classes 23-53
Winner: Ken Peck
Runner-up: Yvonne Bishop

John Coe Memorial Trophy – Best bloom in Dahlia Section – Classes 28-31
Winner: Julia Thornton

John Coe Trophy – Best bloom in Chrysanthemum Section – Classes 32-33
Winner: Kate Chambers

Harry Green Trophy – Best bloom in Rose Section – Classes 36-38
Winner: Doreen Townley

Harry Green Cup – Best Floral Arrangement – Class 53
Winner: Yvonne Bishop

Walker Trophy – Most points in Domestic Section – Classes 55-70
Winner: Margaret Hanson
Runner-up: Annie Erdman

Rickett Shield – Best Exhibit in Domestic Classes 55-61
Winner: Jean Petchey

Scrivener Trophy – Most points in Junior Section – Classes 71-78
Winner: Becky Leeman
Runner-up: Amber Helbert

"Eric the Hedgehog" – Best Exhibit in the Junior Classes
Winner: Becky Leman

****

Ellis Rooke Cup – Most points in all 3 shows in year
Winner: Ken Peck

Tom Green Cup – Most points in all 3 shows in year, Juniors
Winner: Charlotte Staniforth

SECTION 1 – VEGETABLES

1. Beans, Runner – 9 pods, with stalks
Winner: Peter Hanson

2. Beans, Dwarf or French – 9 pods, with stalks
Winner: Hamish Davidson

3. Beetroot – 3, with minimum 7.5 cm long tops
Winner: Ken Peck

5. Carrots – 6, with minimum 7.5 cm long tops
Winner: Hamish Davidson

6. Cucumbers – 2
Winner: Peter Hanson

7. Leeks – 3, with roots
Winner: Hamish Davidson

8. Marrows – pair for table use
Winner: Hamish Davidson

9. Onions – 4, dressed, under 250g
Winner: Peter Cranfield

10. Onions – 4, dressed, 250g or over
Winner: Peter Cranfield

11. Potatoes – 4 white
Winner: Peter Cranfield

12. Potatoes – 4 coloured
Winner: Ken Peck

13. Parsnips – 3, with minimum 7.5 cm long tops
Winner: Hamish Davidson

14. Shallots – 9 culinary, large
Winner: Hamish Davidson

15. Shallots – 9 pickling, small, not exceeding 30 mm in diameter
Winner: John Bullen

16. Tomatoes – 6 with stalks
Winner: Ken Peck

17. Tomatoes, small variety – 6, not exceeding 35 mm in diameter
Winner: Ken Peck

18. A truss of Tomatoes (ripe and/or unripe)
Winner: Peter Cranfield

19. Collection of Vegetables – 4 different kinds in a tray maximum size 61 cm by 61 cm
Winner: Hamish Davidson

20. Collection of Salad Vegetables – 4 different kinds arranged in a tray
Winner: Ken Peck

21. Courgettes – 3
Winner: Peter Cranfield

22. Any other vegetable – minimum 2, not included in the schedule
Winner: Hamish Davidson

SECTION 2 – FRUIT & FLOWER CLASSES

23. Apples – 3 culinary, with stalks
Winner: Susan Hollingworth

24. Apples – 3 dessert, with stalks
Winner: Julia Thornton

25. Pears – 3 with stalks
Winner: Eric Hammond

26. Blackberries – 12 with stalks
Winner: Anne Dawson

27. Any fruit not included in the schedule
Winner: Hugh Law

28. Dahlias, decorative or ball – 3 blooms
Winner: Julia Thornton

29. Dahlias, cactus or semi-cactus – 3 blooms
Winner: Alan Taylor

30. Dahlias, pompon – 5 blooms, under 52 mm diameter
Winner: Robert Chambers

31. Dahlias, mixed – to be judged on quality
Winner: Kate Chambers

32. Chrysanthemums, 3 sprays
Winner: Kate Chambers

34. A container of cut Flowers (own foliage permitted – maximum 12 stems)
Winner: Margaret Rowell

35. Display of foliage in a container
Winner: Yvonne Bishop

36. Roses, large flowered H.T. – one specimen bloom
Winner: Eric Hammond

37. Roses, large flowered H.T. – three specimen blooms, any colour or colours
Winner: Doreen Townley

39. Gladioli – 3 spikes
Winner: Robin Crouchman

40. Asters – 6 stems
Winner: Janet Bullen

41. A container of Yellow/Bronze Flowers and/or foliage
Winner: Ken Peck

42. Flowering Trees or Shrubs – 3 stems
Winner: Ken Peck

43. One Pot Plant in flower
Winner: Vic Mortlock

44. One Pot Plant for foliage
Winner: Peter Hanson

45. Cactus in a container not greater than 23 cm diameter as grown by exhibitor
Winner: Doreen Townley

46. Succulent in a pot maximum 23 cm diameter as grown by exhibitor
Winner: Peter Hanson

47. One plant grown from a pip, stone, nut, berry, etc.
Winner: Ian Thornton

48. Pelargonium – in a pot as grown by exhibitor
Winner: Robin Crouchman

49. Fuchsia – in a pot not more than 23 cm diameter as grown by exhibitor
Winner: Alan Taylor

50. Fuchsia – 6 mounted flower heads (boxes provided by the Society)
Winner: Kate Chambers

51. A container of plants as grown
Winner: Susan Hollingworth

52. A container of fruits and berries – 3 stems
Winner: Anne Dawson

53. Floral arrangement: "Hot & Spicy" – An exhibit using plant material: space allowed 61 cm maximum
Winner: Yvonne Bishop

54. A flower arrangement in a wine glass – to be judged by the public
Winner: Jean Petchey

SECTION 3 – DOMESTIC CLASSES

55. Honey Fruit Cake (made according to given recipe)
Winner: Jean Petchey

56. Sausage Rolls – 4
Winner: Jennie Davidson

57. A Victoria Sandwich
Winner: Jean Petchey

58. Gingerbread – 4 pieces
Winner: Helen Vincent

59. Jam – 1 jar
Winner: Sarah Stott

60. Any other Preserve – 1 jar
Winner: Annie Erdman

61. Chutney – 1 jar
Winner: Margaret Hanson

62. A bottle of home made wine – red (uncorked and in a clear glass bottle)
Winner: Tony Pitts

63. A bottle of home made wine – other than red (uncorked and in a clear glass bottle)
Winner: Harry Green

64. A set of snapshots "Patterns in Nature" (standard prints as processed)
Winner: Margaret Hanson

65. A framed photograph of a horticultural subject – maximum space allowed 38 cm square
Winner: Margaret Hanson

66. A picture – any medium, space allowed 45 cm maximum
Winner: Yvonne Bishop

67. A knitted or crocheted article
Winner: Annie Erdman

68. A hand crafted article – hard material (e.g. wood, metal, glass, etc.)
Winner: Margaret Rowell

69. A hand crafted article – any other material
Winner: Edna May

70. An embroidered article, tapestry, cross-stitch or patchwork
Winner: Edna May

SECTION 4 – JUNIOR CLASSES (Age up to 15)

71. Cheese Straws – 6
Winner: Becky Leeman

72. A Marine Creature – any material
Winner: Becky Leeman

73. A Garden Photograph
Winner: Ella Sanders

74. Drawing or Painting of Butterflies – maximum A4 size
Winner: Yasmin Malik

75. Computer Generated Invitation to a Halloween Party
Winner: Amber Helbert

76. A rock garden in a seed tray
Winner: Susanna Beare

77. Flowers in a container
Winner: Ellie Beare

78. Plant(s) growing in a pot, maximum 18 cm
Winner: Amber Helbert