Cornwall Garden Society Show, Boconnoc. 05.04.14

Here we are again in Cornwall. It always feels as though spring has got into its stride when we visit the Spring Show at Boconnoc. We have all come down for a short visit so that Gustav can get in some surfing practise. We have spent whole months watching him fall off his board, so he certainly needs it. We try hard to be kind and encouraging. I think I have more success than Gloria. As the years go by he seems to spend less and less time standing up, and more and more with his legs in the air, but that is the way with surfers.

Unfortunately the spring weather wasn't good for a horticultural show on this scale. Gustav will be fine because he has spent all week oiling his equipment to keep ther salty water out, but we look at the sky with some misgivings. Gloria is a little alarmed by the prospect of parking on the field. She has assured me that if the car gets stuck it will be staying in Cornwall and we will catch the train home. A large crowd has arrived to see the sights. The light mist could progress in any direction and the people are prepared.

This show has always been a shop window for the daffodil industry. This lovely stand showed many of the lovely varieties that will be available as bulbs later in the year. They are all displayed among a sea of yellow blooms, wave after wave of them tumbling down. I think briefly of Gustav. He will be colder and wetter than we are, and there is the prospect of tea and cakes to sustain us.

This wonderful cultivar is called 'Lorikeet'. It is a deeply uncivilised combination of colours, I adore it. Gloria is grinning like an ape, counting in her head all the people she knows who will be offended by it. We order some bulbs immediately, there is no need to discuss the matter.

Unfortunately when one has wicked thoughts they lead the feet in a wicked direction. We arrived at the Floral Art Marquee. I love to cut flowers for the house but I like to arrange them in a sturdy pot where I can enjoy the beauty of the flowers. I am less enamoured with the beautiful thoughts of afternoon artists expressing themselves in floral sculpture. They have a place, of course, and it seems to be a marquee in a muddy field. Unfortunately we have a problem. Gloria sees them as the floral spawn of a sculpture-devil. We weren't able to see many of the exhibits, Gloria started laughing quite early in the slow and serious parade of the crowd around the tent and it became easier to leave. She took several photographs, two of them were in focus. I don't think we were missed, though one or two faces seemed to register traces of envy as we strode out clutching our sides and stifling the laughter.

Best we move on to the Magnolias, which seem to have hit a peak this week. This is 'Yellow Fever'. It is one of a range of new yellow flowered cultivars that are being widely planted. In future years people will think of these large trees as yellow flowered there are so many of them. This does not have the deepest colour, but it has a beautiful shape.

Primulas are also coming to the fore again. I love these dark leaved forms, and this bowl showed 'Drumcliffe' to perfection. It was a delightful and carefully contrived exhibit.

The afternoon arrived without any change in the weather. We had hoped for some sunshine but it hasn't appeared. The ground is slowly transforming from solid to liquid and we make an escape. The car performs heroically, cutting through the rutted field with hardly a wheel-spin. We will return to our lodgings. When warm and refreshed we will seek out a beach cafe with a view and watch Gustav lose his dignity in a wet suit.