I think I’ve gone on record before saying that showing flowers really wasn’t my think. For me it was all about the pure joy of growing them. If other people liked them – that was lovely, but if they didn’t, not to worry, as we don’t all have to like the same thing.
Then all of a sudden I start a couple of national collections of plants I have a soft spot for (Alceas and Cosmos) and then have the cheek to apply to the worlds biggest flower show. Surely an amateur newcomer such as me has no place there.
Well, it appears that I better get my skates on, as today I received the paper work to say I am exhibiting some of my cosmos (which will currently just be little seeds in my individual tins).
Hugely exciting; loads of work to do; lots of things I have no idea how I will sort out, but I think one of the most important things is that write about the journey that will take me from now until then – so the next 200 plus days.
This will involve what I am doing, what its costing, how I am trying to be sustainable, knowing that not everything will be, but being prepared to be honest about that so that maybe all of us gardeners can improve. It will also maybe try to inspire a little bit, as a success for me won’t be any sort of medal (wonderful as that would be) but would be for others to embrace trying to be a tad more suitable, to think, maybe they could have a go, and to maybe think about taking on a national plant collection.
British Hollyhocks and Cosmos Bipinnatus 