The Perth & District Chrysanthemum & Dahlia Society
was formed on the 30th June 1958 not under this grand title but
simply as “The Perth Chrysanthemum Club” It was a break
away from The Royal Horticultural Society Of Perthshire who although
having a few very keen amateurs within its directorate did most
of it’s thinking on the basis of the large estate owners
and their professional gardeners.
They produced most of the exhibits at their show and the Royal
did not anticipate and in fairness could not anticipate that in
a short space of time this source of exhibits would not be available.
In retrospect the word “club” in the new society’s
title seemed to imply a subservient attitude towards the Royal
Society and this was probably so because for the first two years
the early and late shows were held in conjunction with the Royal.
By 1960 the Society was up and running with their own shows both
early and late and with new three tier staging which has endured
to this day.
What became very important was an early realisation that it was
one thing to support a number of classes at a general horticultural
show and quite another to find sufficient chrysanthemum and dahlias
to give reasonable covering on the benches.
The first action the society had taken in 1958 was to find beginners
who might show interest in the hobby and provide them with practical
tuition throughout the whole year. As the doors opened on show
day a small number of the new breed walked in carrying a few flowers
or perhaps some of them were press- ganged into entering.
The interest in dahlias was provided for and the title changed
to what it is today. Affiliation to the N.C.S. and the N.D.S.
took place and the Society was instrumental in persuading the
N.C.S. to form a Scottish Group of Societies.
They opened a supplies trading section for members only and a
news and views publication was produced.
Membership increased fairly rapidly and the public supported the
Society particularly at the shows. The original constitution provided
for the usual office bearers and 5 members of committee but due
to the volume of work this was increased to 11 at the 1962 AGM.
The minutes of that meeting and subsequent meetings showed that
there was often 15 or 16 nominations for 11 places. Different
days indeed.
Fife followed Perth with the form-ation of Fife Chrysanthemum
and Dahlia Society and brought with it a competitive edge which
contributed greatly to the extension of new found enthusiasm in
East/Central Scotland.
New varieties of chrysanthemums and dahlias became available and
new exhibitors with new ideas were equal to the occasion. As individuals
they quickly progressed from the local 3 x 3 vase exhibits to
the large shows such as Edinburgh and Glasgow whose schedule requirements
were more difficult and the competition keener.
About this time the N.C.S. provided affiliated society classes
mainly at the Edinburgh Show. They were very well supported not
only by Perth but also by many other societies. However the Perth
vision went beyond the Royal Mile and further south to Harrogate.
The shrine where Yorkshire growers gathered from time to time
to proclaim with almost Scottish arrogance that in the chrysanth
world they were the greatest. By the end of 1962 they were not
so sure. Perth had gone and conquered, winning the two affiliated
society classes and the Best Vase in Show. For good measure they
repeated the victories in 1963 and 1964 and thereafter retreated.
Some time later the dahlia section took up the challenge and while
they did not emulate the chrysanthemum section they nevertheless
had their moments. In 1965 the Society tackled London with chrysanthemums
but had to be content with 3rd place.
The following year they tried again and while they succeeded in
the 3 vase class they came up against Fife in the 6 vase class.
Fife not only won the class but the exhibit was judged to be Best
in Show.
The scene changed to Toronto in 1967. John and Lil Dickson came
over from Canada to try and raise support for an international
show to be held in Toronto in conjunction with Expo 67. Such a
charming couple could only succeed.
Various Scottish Societies made the trip across the pond and an
Aberdeen paper carried the headline Perth 1, Elgin 2, Aberdeen
3 such was the domination by the Scottish Societies. The rest
of the world was nowhere. This competition has been repeated from
time to time but it was as if there had to he a final battle between
Perth and Fife. This took plate in 1977. The result was Fife 1st
Perth 2nd.
The sixties had been good for Perth but thereafter they lost their
momentum. At one stage they had an EGM when the single item on
the agenda was the winding up of the Society. The society survived
and in the general decline of societies over the last few years
they have probably held their own better than most.
Standing still was not an option and years ago decided to revert
back to the practice of finding beginners and giving them practical
all the year round tuition.
A succession of profitable plant sales has meant that finance
is not a problem although the cost of hiring halls for shows is
spiralling every year.
The Society’s 40th anniversary was in l998 and the show in
the Perth City Hall during the second week in September prompted
that stalwart of chrysanths in Scotland Dr. David Clark to comment
“Its just like old times”