BCSS Macclesfield & East Cheshire Branch

Newsletter September 2005 - Tatton 2005, Another Great Show

I have just come back from two days at the Tatton Show, what a great time I have had! In spite of being called the bag lady of the BCSS, I can firmly state that going to the Tatton Show is a really exhilarating experience. There is so much to see, so much to enjoy, it is has everything a plantsperson could wish for. Of course so many plants, but also pots, sculptures, seats, show gardens, succulents, sempervivums in excess, recycled allsorts and expensive whatnots! Not to mention food, fancy and not so fancy clothes, frogs and feeders, horses for courses of course, in bronze and in wood, water and walls and almost anything you could think of connected (however remotely) with plants.

The branch's display of cacti at the Tatton Show

I went to help out on the BCSS stall in the national plant societies marquee, where we had a great display of usual and unusual cacti and succulents, obtaining a Silver Medal in the process. Aloe vera (Aloe barbedensis) and other useful succulents had a part to play in the display, as did seeds, which sold very well. Talking of Aloes, I had two very interesting conversations about Aloe Vera. The first with a man who had had a number of heart operations which left him with a large amount of scar tissue on his chest, this tissue was extremely tender and painful. He was advised to use Aloe vera and actually used it neat on his skin, simply by cutting off a portion of leaf and rubbing the juice on his chest. After several weeks the skin softened and healed and remains like this with occasional repeat applications of juice.

The second conversation was with a lady who worked for a company that knows and uses Aloe vera. She is keen to obtain a plant or two for herself, so if anyone has a spare one, could you let me know and I will pass them on to her. We were enthusiastic collectors talking to some very enthusiastic and not so expert growers of cacti, succulents and any other plant you can think of. We were trying to help them in their endeavours and maybe recruiting a few in the bargain. The highlight for me, though, was to walk through the Floral Marquees, both North and South and admire and stand and stare in amazement at the most wonderful displays put on by the growers. They were staggering and incredible and mouth-watering!

The branch's display of succulents at the Tatton Show

Am I becoming excessively enthusiastic about these displays? You ought to go and see them, then tell me I am wrong! I love going to the Tatton Show, it is a wonderful experience, with truly something for everyone (unless you have no interest in anything). Did I mention that the displays by the cactus and succulent growers were every bit as good as last year? To prove it there were three growers, who between them got a silver and two golds for their displays. The quality of the plants would make you groan, truly impressive and a joy to see. I particularly pick out John Henshaw from Croston Cactus, his display was superb. It was so clean and uniform in its design, a mirror image from one side to the other, a very well deserved gold medal and some very choice plants for sale that I really had to resist buying, because I don’t have any space for any more plants, which is a crying shame, because there were a few I would have loved to have acquired.

Did I mention the Bonsais? A triumph! At least three displays, with trees of several hundred years of age there, a most magnificent rhododendron in flower and some exquisite Japanese maples. Some notable plants were the aforementioned Japanese maples, some absolutely superb sempervivums, which noticeably were apparent in a lot of the show gardens and bedding displays, as were echeverias. Some hideous insect eating plants, that nonetheless were extremely impressive, grasses everywhere, fantastic fuchsias, glorious agapanthus and the most wonderful huge and fluffy alliums.

It is a great day out, even if the weather is its usual English miserable and damp. Plenty to see and do and really very important, plenty of seating to rest, picnic or watch the world go by (there are some extraordinary odd people that garden). Do go next year, you will love it or is it me, the bag lady, (always seen reappearing in the marquee clutching several bags of plants)? What about one of our members, who was described as less prickly as he got older, because he became less fascinated with prickly cacti and grew to appreciate more, the other succulents!

Elizabeth Maddock