This week started on a real high as four of us made our way to Chelsea on Monday. From 10am we were involved with RHS Plant Committee meetings. Often these meetings at Chelsea include discussion of plants bought to the meeting for interest and possibly award.
Monday saw what was perhaps one of the largest exhibits put before the Herbaceous Plants Committee for interest! Committee member Fergus Garret bought in a Fennel seedling cut that morning from the Great Dixter Garden. Perennial, with one parent Ferula tingitana 'Cedric Morris', the foliage was a distinctive dark green and noticeably coarser than the likes of Ferula communis. Fergus reported that the foliage did not turn brown after flowering like F. communis did at Great Dixter. The committee agreed that the seedling would merit being named as a clonal cultivar if propagation were possible and that the sister seedlings could be included in a named seedling group.
We are fortunate that in the trials office we are often invited to work as panel secretaries at the RHS shows. Subsequently at 2pm we made our way to the top of the main avenue where we met our respective Plant Committees in order to commence judging in the floral pavillion. Our role is to note down comments from the judging panel and count votes, sumarising these on a sheet for the shows department. It's then a rush back to the show's office in order for them to co-ordinate the paperwork in time for the moderation panel to discuss the awards recommended. It's usually a frantic but very interesting and ultimately enjoyable couple of hour!