The Exeter Show is one of those it is usually a joy to drive to - swooping across the hills of Salisbury plain in early morning Spring sunshine. This Saturday I arrived in Petersfield to find that the three crates of Primulas that were coming were ready and waiting, but still in the greenhouses,so loading took a little longer than normal. Despite this, not 2 miles from Petersfield we discovered that the road to Winchester was closed for overnight roadworks, so an unexpected diversion down the lanes to East and then West Meon ensued. On the bright side, we followed a barn owl ghosting down the lane in the halflight, a sight I haven't encountered for far too many years.

Although the weather was intermittently bright, the hills were mainly cloaked in low cloud, necessitating a sharp reduction in speed, particularly near Winchester, across Salisbury plain, and over the hills between Illminster and Honiton. About 15 minutes before we got to Exeter it started to rain, and continued to do so for most of the day. The hall used for the Exeter usually has fantastic light, being built mainly of glass; this year I was forced to resort to my LED panel for much of the day.

When I arrived I was glad to see that most of the artistic exhibits (which I had brought down the previous weekend on a brief trip taking my son back to Plymouth University) had already been put up, despite some teething problems with using the new boards; even so I only just finished putting my own entries up before judging.

After a quick rush round the sales hall, I returned upstairs, determined to photograph the plants which were likely to close in the gloom as quickly as possible. In the event, this haste was unnecessary; the warmth of the hall kept most of them open all day.

Townsendia spathulata
I started with three different forms of Townsendia spathulata, exhibited by Graham Nicholls in the classes for plants raised from seed.

Townsendia spathulata Pryor Mountains form
Exhibited by Graham Nicholls

Townsendia spathulata Cottonball form
Exhibited by Graham Nicholls

Townsendia sp. Cottonball
A larger specimen of the Cottonball form was exhibited by Martin and Anna Sheader, and (provisionally) awarded a PC by the JRGC.

Lewisia brachycalyx
Graham Nicholls also raised this fine Lewisia from seed; it was awarded a Certificate of Merit.

Tulipa neustreuvae
Next on my mental list of plants likely to close without the sun was this tulip, exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis. Later in the day it was given an Award of Merit (provisional) by the JRGC.

Iris iberica ssp. iberica
Also from Bob and Rannveig Wallis was one of the highlights of the day, this diminutive form of Iris iberica ssp iberica, awarded a Certificate of Merit, and (provisionally) a Prelimary Commendation from JRGC.

Iris nusairiensis
Almost equally beautiful was a second iris exhibited by the Wallises.

Iris taurica
A third iris from Bob and Rannveig Wallis.

Romulea bulbocodium Jenny Robinson

This romulea exhibited by Ian Robertson completed my initial hunt for plants. This was one of Ian's fine small 6-pan exhibit.

Dionysia iranshahrii
At about this point I was joined by Paul and Gill Ranson, who had had what must have been a very early lunch, and had volunteered to help me carry the plants. In the event, they carried almost everything, and I focused completely on photographing the plants that appeared on my bench. So many thanks to both of them, particularly when I remember that the only plant of theirs I photographed was a tiny Dionysia iranshahrii, to commemorate their winning of the aggregate trophy for the Primulaceae classes, the Peter Edwards Memorial Trophy.

Soldanella hybrid
This lovely Soldanella, exhibited by Pam Weston, won the Otter Trophy for the best plant in the Novice Section.

Primula marginata
The aggregate award for the Novice Section, the Dartington Trophy, went to Duncan Bennett, who exhibited this beautiful, fresh little primula.

Fritillaria kurdica Talish strain
Andrew Ward won the Cornwall Trophy for the best plant in the Intermediate Section with this Fritillaria. Andrew also won the Dartmoor Trophy for the aggregate in the Intermediate section.

Primula allionii Timsbury Glow
A close runner-up in the Intermediate section aggregate was Peter Summers, whose plants included this Primula allionii clone, raised originally by Graham Nicholls.

Fritillaria tubiformis
The East Devon Trophy for the best plant in a 19cm pot went to Peter Erskine for a fine pan of Fritillaria tubiformis (always awkward to photograph, because the flowers hang so close to the grit).

Veitch Trophy
The Veitch Trophy for 3 small pans of bulbs, always hotly contested, went to Bob and Rannveig Wallis for this entry, which featured the Iris iberica shown above, and two interesting small pans of Frits shown below.

Fritillaria ehrhartii
Exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis

Fritillaria crassifolia ssp crassifolia
Also exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis

Fritillaria species
George Elder exhibited this pan, grown from seed, as Frit graeca ssp. thessala, and it was much admired, winning the AGS Seed Distribution trophy for the best plant grown from seed. However, its identity was questioned, and I later had to take photos of a dissected flower so that it might be identified correctly.

Fritillaria davidii
Jo and Brian Walker's Fritillaria davidii was again best plant in the show, but it received a Farrer Medal the previous weekend at Chesterfield, so no Farrer was awarded here. The JRGC gave it (provisionally) a First Class Certificate. Here are 3 different views of the plant; I hope Jo likes one of them, otherwise I will be in trouble.

Fritillaria michaelovskyi
Exhibited by Jim McGregor

Fritillaria hermonis Lebanon Form
As so often in recent years, Lee and Julie Martin won the large 3-pan rock plants with an exhibit including this Frit, which was awarded a Certificate of Merit, and the following Androsace.

Androsace laevigata
Exhibited by Lee and Julie Martin

Dionysia aretioides
The best dionysia exhibited on Saturday was this perfect dome from Eric Jarrett, awarded a Certificate of Merit.

Saxifraga Allendale Goblin
The best saxifrage on display, exhibited by Alan and Janet Cook.

Pleione Volcanello
A huge pan of pleiones from Ian Robertson; a pity they didn't all want to look outwards.

Draba ossetica
This beautiful plant from Cyril Dart was awarded a Certificate of Merit.

Tulipa cretica
Jim McGregor brought this tulip to be considered by the JRGC - it was given (provisionally) an Award of Merit.

Primula Lindum Divine
A brief detour to photograph two of my stepfather David Philbey's primula hybrids, first Lindum Divine, which could almost pass as a P. allionii clone (are the leaves sticky ?).

Primula Lindum Perfidia
From the same 3-pan entry, another primula raised by Dreena and Martin Thompson and exhibited by David Philbey.

Ficinia Ice Crystals
By special request of the show reporter, here is a New Zealand rush exhibited by Mavis and Sam Lloyd; it was surprisingly photogenic.

Dielsiocharis kotschyi
This was one of the few plants I carried myself (look at the size), from the new and rare classes, exhibited by Eric Jarrett. This draba lookalike is found in similar situations to the dionysias in Iran, and as Eric points out in his notes, must have disappointed many Dionysia hunters. Unfortunately it has a strong, and not altogether pleasant scent, like a field of oilseed rape.

Soldanella alpina alba
A lovely white soldanella from Lee and Julie Martin

Iris suaveolens
Bob and Rannveig Wallis have exhibited the yellow form of this Iris here in previous years with great success; this was the purple form, just past its best.

Leiophyllum buxifolium
A charming member of the Ericaceae, exhibited by Barry Starling

Epimedium pinnatum ssp. colchicum x. Epimedium flavum

This deliberate hybrid was exhibited by Julian and Sarah Sutton. I tried hard to get a good close-up of the flower; they are always so delicate and graceful.

Dichocarpum nipponicum
An unusual woodlander (syn. Isopyrum) exhibited by Julian and Sarah Sutton.

Coptis omeiensis
The third of Julian and Sarah Sutton's plants was this one, with unusual and attractive seedpods.

Having finished the lists of award plants, joint rock award plants, and of the show reporter, it was time to go and photograph those awards which I needed to do in situ.

Large 6-pan
First the winning large 6-pan entry, exhibited by Ian Robertson

Small 6-pan
Ian Robertson also won the small 6-pan, with this lovely entry. I wanted to take individual photos of Pleione grandiflora, the frit at the front, the narcissus and the cyclamen, but time evaporated during the afternoon.

Needlework Exhibit
Finally, Jean Morris produced another display of her lovely needlework, and was given a Gold Award.

At this point I had just finished the required lists and had some time to photograph some of the exhibits which appealed to me personally.

Narcissus bulbocodium ssp. obesus
Lee and Julie Martin won the class for 3 plants from seed with an entry including this pan of daffodils and the following Trillium. Unfortunately, when I was photographing Jean's needlework I opened the aperture a little, as I did not need the same depth of field, nor the long exposures. At this point I hadn't remembered to shut the aperture back down, so these two pictures are a little weak.

Trillium rivale
Exhibited by Lee and Julie Martin

Fritillaria minima
Bob and Rannveig Wallis had several pans of tiny fritillaries, including this one, which was when I finally realised what aperture I was using.

Fritillaria poluninii
Two different forms of the minute Fritillaria poluninii exhibited by Bob and Rannveig Wallis.

I had by no means finished at this point, but got distracted by a series of interruptions and important discussions, with the frustrating outcome that I didn’t photograph several little orchids Barry Tattersall had brought, or a great pan of Trillium pusillum, the remainder of Ian Robertson's small 6-pan entry, several interesting primula hybrids I don't have photos of, beautiful patterns in the pans of Sempervivum exhibited by Howard and Sally Wills, or a swathe of familiar plants in fine condition.

Still, the pictures I did take didn't come out too bad, thanks to my little artificial sun from Yongnuo. All day long the rain was pouring down a drainpipe onto the roof next to the window where I was trying to take photos.

After the presentations, I helped Howard and Sally Wills, who did a fine job of organising the artistic section in difficult circumstance, to take down and re-pack the artistic entries; they all had to fit back in my car, along with the camera gear and the primulas. Thanks to Howard and Sal for helping me with that.

Many thanks to Jon, Kana and their team for organising an excellent show despite the conditions, in particular for the improvised lunch they arranged for me, and not least to the ever smiling face of David Nicholson, reminding us all that shows are something we do for the fun of meeting all the other people we share this interest with.

The return journey was a bit of a trial - 3 hours in fog and pouring rain, with great ponds of surface water waiting in the gloom for the unwary.

Never mind, the morning dawned warm and sunny and I was able to do some gardening. A week ago, whilst packing the car to go to Winchester to give a talk to the South African Bulb Group, I stopped to photograph these two pulsatillas covered in frost.

Tropaeolum hybrid
This Sunday, in the greenhouse, a Tropaeolum hybrid seedling bloomed for the first time. The buds are a deep purply red, the flowers when they first open are almost crimson, and then they quickly fade to this attractive peachy colour with darker veins. Another seedling in the pot is bright yellow, and much more like T. hookerianum, but both have similar lines of markings in the throat of the flower. The seed came from one of the exchanges; I guess that one parent is a yellow, perhaps T. hookerianum, and the other is either T. tricolor or T. speciosum, to give the red colouration. Whatever, the seedling is most attractive and I am pleased with it.