On this page we will keep you up to date with the goings on at Crûg Farm Plants...

May 2011

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2011

We did it! Much to our surprise our first Chelsea and we bagged all the prizes. Our first Chelsea Gold Medal topped by The RHS President’s Award what a surprise.

The coveted Gold Medal that Sue had set her sights on.

Joe on the left youthful muscle man for the build up as well as seeing to all those last minute details. While Tricia (on the right) was there throughout the build up playing a vital role with her calligraphy. She did enjoy chatting to all the visitors.

A chance to have a celebratory drink with some friends, you may recognise some. Left to right Carol Klein, Edward Elfes, Veronica Cross, John Massey and us.

 A visit from another winner, Cleve West who won the Best Show Garden for 2011.

Saffron left her two boys for the day to join us and meet up with some of her old neighbours.

with James Alexander-Sinclair

 A Chinese perspective:-

March 2011

RHS ANNUAL AWARDS CEREMONY AT RHS VINCENT SQUARE

What an honour…. it was Sue really although Bleddyn was dragged in, as Crûg Farm Plants were presented the RHS Award by Elizabeth Banks the RHS President, for the best exhibitor new to the London Flower Shows 2010.

It is worth noting that there were no less than three winners this year from North Wales. Namely Medwyns of Anglesey awarded the Gordon Lennox Trophy and Dibleys Nurseries of Ruthin awarded the Anthony Huxley Trophy, all far more experienced than ourselves.

February 2011

RHS GOLD MEDAL AT RHS VINCENT SQUARE

Home at last after a week-long excursion to London, exhibiting at the Royal Horticultural Society’s RHS London Plant and Design Show. Again it is so inspirational to be encouraged in what we do by the people we meet there, by so many established and potential customers and to finally meet so many of our mailorder customers, who took the trouble to visit the stand. The RHS judges played their part in encouraging us to fight on by awarding us another gold medal.

It does take in a full week just to exhibit for two days, luckily this year we were blessed with plenty of help. With Edward Elves coming out of retirement again (trained by Constance Spry herself no-less, even worked on the Queens coronation) to teach Sue the art of setting up. As well as Ben Kettle bringing in some much appreciated (young) muscle and sharing the driving.

Without doubt the star attraction of this year’s exhibit was the flowering Illicium simonsii, which I had originally collected the seed of at high altitude in 2000 on Longzhoushan Sichuan. The pale yellow flowers opening a bit earlier than usual as the plants were protected in a polytunnel, only releasing their perfume on arriving home. Our Aspidistra collections were also very popular soon selling out on the first day, meanwhile our collections of Schefflera drew plenty of admiring comments, although frustrating too many as they were too tall for them to carry home, just an indication of their value. Luckily it was a much easier drive home this year, not having to negotiate our way through snowdrifts, as last year. All the same it was in the small hours by the time were home.

Murabilia Flower Show at Lucca ITALY
Friday 3rd – Sunday 5th September 2010

See www.murabilia.com for more information.

We are delighted to have been invited to return to Lucca again this year. Bleddyn has decided to join me having heard so much about the wonderful Italian hospitality.

He will be giving an illustrated talk about our plant collecting. He is not an Italian speaker but I am sure that the pictures will make up for the lack of Italian.

We will be happy to take plant orders to Italy. Orders must be with us by Monday 23rd August.

February 2010

RHS GOLD MEDAL AT RHS VINCENT SQUARE

It was very gratifying to be awarded a gold medal at the 2010 RHS spring show in London. Edward Elves was pressed ganged to come out of retirement to help us put the display together. His experience was invaluable and assisted us greatly. Not forgetting our dear friend Tricia Hughes who hand wrote all of the plant names so beautifully for us and kept us watered and fed at the show, as well as her daughter Katlin who provided us all with food and lodgings in her Portobello apartment.

It was wonderful to meet so many established and potential customers and to put a face to our mailorder customers, who took the trouble to visit the stand.

It was a gruelling few days before the long drive home through the night. Thick snow and roads works was the order of the day. Arriving home at 3am.

March 13th 2009: BBC2 Gardener's World

PLANT ADDICTS - A special one off programme introduced by Carol Klein on Friday 13th March at 8pm

(If you missed it you can still watch it on iPlayer) Tune in to BBC2 on Friday 13th March at 8pm and watch a programme called Plant Addicts! Yes you have got in one we are the addicts!! We were given a video camera by the BBC to take on our 2006 expeditions so you will be able to see extracts of us in the field (we hope). They spent a day filming here on the wettest day of 2007 when the rest of the country was flooded. So please do join Carol Klein as she seeks out the addicts, we are sure it will be entertaining.

Carol Klein and the film crew on a soggy July day at Crûg in 2007