Postcard from Malvern Autumn Show

So I lied when I said the previous post was the last one of 2010 didn't I? I'm sure you don't mind another one though to bring together our gathering at the Malvern Autumn Show yesterday. It was an informal affair, mainly garnered from people tweeting they were going. So many, that I couldn't bear to miss out on all the fun. The weather was kinder than in May - clear blue skies, sunshine, but with distictly autumnal undertones. The show's improved since my last September visit 2 years ago as there was much more horticultural content this time round. Helen's already given some of the highlights in her report and I'll be making mine tomorrow.

Here's the rollcall of who went - links to their reports to follow as and when appropriate.

• Deb - Beholder's Eye (who has tweeted pictures here and here)
• James - Blogging from Blackpitts Garden (sitting in the audience for once! Read his perambulations on the subject of Malvern here)
• Ann - Grandma's Garden (a show preview plus introducing the new Red Love apple - spotted, but didn't get there in time to say hello which was a pity)
• Nick - Habitat Aid (who reveals he'll be exhibiting next year)
• Sharon - The Inelegant Gardener (her confession re not liking show chrysanthemums rather gave the game away - it's shame we missed you too. And here's another post)
• Mark - Otter Farm (here's his post from the showman's viewpoint)
• Helen - Patient Gardener (her general report is here and another is planned I believe)
• Simon - Serendipity
• Nigel - Silvertreedaze (oh no! another one who slipped my net, but thankfully not Sharon's)
• Claire - The Ecospot
• Me - Veg Plotting (where I found A Taste of the Unexpected)
• Michelle - Veg to Veg

If you attended over the weekend and I haven't mentioned you, or if better still you blogged about it, do let me know and I'll add you to the list.

The picture is of some rather nice pears from the perry pear exhibit in the Good Life Pavilion.

Pat Yourself on the Back!

By now those of you who've donated via the Just Giving link on this blog or the various charity auctions at Malvern Spring Show should have received your gift book or garden maintenance kit. Thanks to all of you who've donated to the NGS: we raised over £700 when Gift Aid is taken into account, which is fantastic. I mentioned this to Joe Swift when I saw him at Hampton Court Show back in July and he enthusiastically added his thanks to you all :)

This is the final post for Meet @ Malvern for this year. Not only did we meet in the spring, but I know all kinds of sponaneous get togethers have been going on throughout the summer. I hope this will continue - actually I know it will as 25 of us are due to visit Highgrove on Thursday. It's been organised by Helen via Twitter, so must count as the ultimate in Tweetups!

Don't forget there's also Malvern Autumn Show at the end of September. We won't be having a massive gathering like we did in the spring, but I know of a few people who are already planning to be there, so I suspect a more informal meeting will happen :)

Will we get together again next year? I don't know yet, though I suspect an informal gathering will happen at the very least. If Meet @ Malvern convenes in 2011, then how we go about arranging it will have to be very different whilst also taking your feedback into account. This blog will continue to be a useful resource for people planning to attend no matter what.

So all that remains is to wish you well for the rest of 2010 and to ask you to give yourselves a pat on the back for a job well done ;)

Your Comments Please

By now you should have had an email from me asking for your thoughts on the organisation of Meet @ Malvern. If not, then please leave a comment here or email me so I can arrange to send it out to you.

Rather than having lots of questions about every aspect of our get together, I've tried to keep things simple by just asking what went well, what didn't go so well and what was missing. Helen and I also have our own thoughts and ideas on what we might have done differently, but we're keen to find out what you think too. Thanks to those of you who emailed me before I sent out the questionnaire, I'll be adding your comments to the mix. However, you may have something else to add...

Once we've received your comments, Helen and I will be getting together to discuss whether there'll be another Meet @ Malvern. We haven't decided yet, but we've already realised that arrangements will need to be simplified and/or shared out somehow in future. You can also help by letting me know if you thought anything was surplus to requirements or how things might be done differently. I've also asked you if you'd come to Malvern another time: the answer to that vital question could also affect whether we meet again!

Dull Garden Bloggers Unite

Back row (left to right) Lia - Midnight Brambling, Zoe - formerly Garden Hopping, Karen - Artists Garden, Gail - Clay & Limestone, Elizabeth - Welsh Hills Again, Easygardener - Greenforks, Michelle - Veg Plotting

Middle row (left to right) Claire - Plantpassion, YolandaElizabet - Bliss, Helen - The Patient Gardener, Ewa - Ewa in the Garden, Michelle - A Disorganised RHS Student

Front row (left to right) Frances - Faire Garden, Sally - The Constant Gardener, Victoria - Victoria's Backyard

For some bizarre reason people looked at me strangely when I said I was hosting a party for 20ish garden bloggers during the Malvern Spring Show. I never really understood why since to me having a group of friends around for the evening was never an issue. My complete faith in my garden blogging buddies was not misplaced - we had a fab evening, full of laughter, hugs, food and drink. For some reason there is a rumour out there in the blogasphere that garden bloggers are dull (as well as illiterate) - far from it and I think you can see that from the smiley faces above.

I am looking forward to the next time my garden bloggy friends decide to descend on me.

Exhibitors' Essentials #5

Innovation and new twists to traditional ideas. Auriculas are always popular at the shows and an Auricula Theatre is the oft used way of displaying them. Here, Pop's Plants of Wiltshire has taken this display form and given it a fresh twist by marrying it with the show's Silver Anniversary celebrations.

As a result, the display was chosen most days (if not all) as the winner for the People's Choice awards in the Floral Marquee category.

Exhibitors with all of my 5 essentials stand a very good chance of achieving #6: a gold medal. Here is Meet @ Malvern's as awarded by the multiple gold medal winning designer, Cleve West on our last day at the show :)

Exhibitors' Essentials #4

A great sense of humour. The label next to this rather striking dark-leaved dandelion read:

Taraxacum faeroense

(Asteraceae)

Great for a lawn display

Exhibitors' Essentials #3

A good name - click on the image to see what caught my eye ;)

I mean 'good name' in both senses of the word: not only an appropriate business one like the one shown above, but also a good reputation. The many nurseries who exhibit at Malvern have oodles of both as evidenced by these healthy plants in tip top condition ready to be snaffled up by visitors.

As well as the 100 or so nurseries exhibiting in the Floral Marquee, there were dozens more in the shopping areas. If you enter the show via the South Car Park you are greeted by a long row of specialist nurseries such as those pictured. Absolute heaven!

Like their marquee counterparts, these nurseries have exquisite displays to show off their wares in addition to the many rows of plants for sale. Jekka's Herb Farm was exhibiting here for the first time in 5 years and was awarded an unexpected gold medal. I hope to be catching up with Jekka soon, as she's kindly agreed to be a VP VIP :)

The second of the pictured nurseries is Heucheraholics (formerly the Solva 'Sweetie Shop'), who changed their name after Arabella Sock coined the term. It was great to see Sean again, who promptly shouted over to Jooles: Hey, it's VP, much to the consternation of their customers. I was duly presented with this year's pen and a Heuchera themed mousemat. Sean and Jooles will also be at Chelsea later this month, so do pop over and say hello to them if you're going there.