Perhaps it is not surprising that after a successful season
in 1990 that there were a few more recruits for the ‘Tartan
Army’ to assist in the battle against the ‘auld enemy’.
The Monklands Dahlia Society have certainly generated some interest
and some of their members were eager to have a go at Westminster
after recent successes at Gateshead Garden Festival and Harrogate.
To be perfectly honest the National Dahlia Society Show at London
is, I feel, just a shade too early for growers in the far north.
Despite this, with support from their friends and the Monklands
we made plans to march to London at the end of August. As ‘Show’
day approached enthusiasm started to wane as blooms were taking
longer than anticipated to reach maturity. But there was to be
no turning back as our ‘friend’ Margaret Thatcher might
say, so blooms were gathered together and the long journey south
undertaken. Robert Fulton and his son Craig had worked tirelessly
to ‘kit out’ the hired van which was capable of carrying
in excess of thirty buckets of dahlias.
There were to be no sensations at London and despite acquitting
themselves reasonably well with a few tickets here and there I
feel that the boys reckon that they can do better than fifth out
of eleven in the Inter-Society Class. All the weary travellers
appeared to enjoy themselves and I have the feeling that the Scots
will return to fight another day.
Harrogate is a different kettle of fish. Nearer home and on a
date more suitable to the Scots. The army was swelled by the addition
of young Buchanan and Wallace, a good name to tackle the Sassenachs
and we were off and running again. We fared a mile better here
coming in second behind the mighty Midlands Dahlia Society in
the Inter-Society Dahlia Class in a strong field of eight. John
Buchanan was a very creditable fourth in the Neville Weekes Individual
Dahlia Championship. John Wallace fared well at his first attempt
here. Tommy Melrose, despite having had a touch of frost, won
the Special Class for six varieties of medium dahlias a class
in which he was runner-up in London. John Jack and Andrew Semple
achieved their ambition of entering the twelve giant decorative
dahlias and although neither seriously challenged the winner -
a tremendous exhibit from old friend George Tomlinson - credit
must be given for staging reasonable entries at this level. Robert
Fulton laboured manfully to stage a creditable Society exhibit
although it never looked quite in the same class as last year’s
efforts.
Pride of place went to our President John Whyte, making his first
pilgrimage to Harrogate. His Jupiter dahlias were immense and
he came home proudly holding the V. L. Edminson Trophy and two
Silver Medals.
If there are any other potential recruits out there we would be
pleased to hear from them. We all thoroughly enjoyed our forays
south of the border and that after all is the object of the exercise.