Members & their Greenhouses
Bob Bryce
Blackburn   Lancashire.

        Dorothy and I had been invited to Bob, Joan and Robert's home, to view his exhibits prior to the 2009 Southport Show. Bob's home was forty plus miles further on and after a long and arduous drive we were relieved to be welcomed by a homely cup of tea and delicious home made sandwiches.
   Bob had placed his selected pots in his dining room by the late afternoon. They were looking A1. I was asked which of those already selected would I choose for the Six Board. I chose the six which I considered to be the best matching six. I was later to find out , that the very same six blooms were also selected by Bob.
     Inside Bob's glasshouse, I cast my eye on my very first Mose Fadime. It had three blooms on one single stem. The smallest of the three, was nine inches in diameter, the largest at least ten and a half inches. All growing on one single stem. There were many blooms in the glasshouse which were not quite ready for the Show. Others had gone past their best [ as we exhibitors, always experience a day or so prior to every Show ]. None the less, they looked really good. I was exceptionally pleased that I had been invited to see Bob's glasshouse and the opportunity to see how one of the best growers does things. I learned a lot. The quality of his growing was to be evident in the Show the next day.
Title picture: Bob smiling with his winning Six Board at Southport.

A. Bob's selected pots placed in his conservatory prior to the Show.
B. A nice looking Bernat Klein with three Yellow Bali Hi in the background.
C. Yellow Bali Hi, which was destined to win the Best Bloom in Show.
D. Bernat Klein. Perfectly clean, with not the slightest blemish or mark visible.
E. Powder Puff. Makes an excellent pot plant as well as a cut bloom.
F. Those blooms which did not reach the quality expected by Bob for the Show.
G. A fine example of Isobel Keenan.
H. Sweet Dreams. A final check by Bob to ensure, each bloom, was perfectly wrapped in cotton wool, ready for the journey to the Show.
I. Tom Brownlee.
J. A yellow seedling which will be named Joan Bryce.  It was a seedling from Monica Bryce and another yellow seedling that came from Lemondrop.
K. Katheryn Hartley.
L. A massive bloom of Mose Fadime. Rarely seen on the Show bench. It came from the same seed pod as Tom Brownlee, however, it is more orange in colour than Tom Brownlee. There are very few of these in circulation and a very rare sight.

Pictures & text by Ian Rhys Williams

THE BOB BRYCE ALBUMS