Jan 24 2025 20 mins 6
Cosmos and hollyhocks national collection holder Jonathan Sheppard and dahlia and sweet pea grower Darren Everest discuss whether flower show judges should reward homegrown, sustainable plants, rather than give medals for uniformity.
Everest said at RHS shows you compete for medals and not against other growers as you would at a sweet pea show. But the public "want to see perfection" and not "leaves that have been eaten by slugs". Getting the balance right between best practice and what the public wants to view is the key.
Sheppard disagreed, saying the public "don't want plant perfection at any cost" and rust-free hollyhocks would need a lot of chemical use, so he will not exhibit them. If he did the judges would mark them down for having any rust on them. What's more, perfection gives the public an unrealistic idea of what plants will look like at home.
Everest argued that plants that do not look their best will not sell.
Sheppard recently proposed in HortWeekthat there should be a 'Green Medal' for growers. He said we have seen some movement with awards for show gardens, but nothing as yet for growers.
Sheppard added that some exhibitors have perfect plants but "the reality is you can purchase your flowers" for exhibiting and have "nothing to do with the growing of them whatsoever, have them flown in, have them grown using pesticides and preservatives, arriving in a plethora of single-use plastic, and because you arrange them nicely, walk away with a gold medal".
Everest agreed that you should grow your own at shows.
Further listening:
Presenter: HortWeek editor Matthew Appleby
Producer: Digital content manager Christina Taylor
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