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The BNCS and the RHS 1999

Fifty years of partnership

by Adrian Whiteley, Senior Botanistat ihe RHS Garden, Wisley and Secretary to the joint R.H.S./B.N.C.S. Committees 1986-1998

The fiftieth anniversary of the B.N.C.S. marks also its fiftieth year of co¬operation with the Royal Horticultural Society and the beginning of a new phase of that co-operation. In 1934, two joint committees were founded to judge and comment on plants of the genus Dianthus. The Joint Hardy Border Carnation Committee comprised members of the R.H.S. and the National Carnation and Picotee Society in more or less equal numbers, while the Joint Perpetual Flowering Carnation Committee was formed from members of the R.H.S and of the British Carnation Society. The committees met at R.H.S fortnightly shows in ihe Horticultural Halls in London, often in conjunction wilh N.C.P.C. and B.C.S. shows and competitions.

After the decision was made (in 1948) to amalgamate the two carnation societies, there was a subsequent rearrangement of the joint committees in 1949, the first full year of the B.N.C.S. There were now three committees devoted to the genus Dianthus. The Joint Hardy Border Carnation Comniiitee became the Joint Border Carnation and Picoiee Committee and the Joint Dianthus Committee was founded, with membership drawn from the R.H.S., the B.N.C.S, and the Alpine Garden Society. The Joint Perpetual Flowering Carnation Committee carried on as it was.

This situation remained unchanged until 1980, when the Joint Border Carnation and Picotee Committee amalgamated with the Joint Dianthus Committee after the ACS pulled out of the latter committee in 1979. The new committee was called the Joint Border Carnation and Pinks Committee, which operated along the same lines as its predecessors until 1998.

The year 1999 sees further changes, but a continuation of the strong links belween (he B.N.C.S. and the R.H.S. In December 1998, a meeting of members of both ihe current committees was held in the R.H.S. Council Room in London to discuss a proposal to amalgamate. The proposal was accepted and the result passed to the B.N.C.S. Council for consideration, where it was duly ratified. Thus, to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the B.N.C.S., a new chapter has opened in the story of co-operation wilh the R.H.S.

The new Joint Carnation and Pinks Committee will meet four times a year, in May, June, July and October, both at R.H.S shows and other venues linked to B.N.C.S. shows and competitions. It has two sub-committees devoted to judging trials of pinks, dwarf and miniature pinks, border carnations and perpetual flowering carnations, all held at the R.H.S. Garden at Wislcy, Surrey. These are assessed for the R.H.S. Award of Garden Merit (AGM), a prestigious accolade given to “plants of outstanding excellence for garden decoration, whether for the open garden or under glass”. So far, forty-six pinks, thirty-five border carnations and eleven perpetual flowering carnations have received the AGM.

Border carnations have been trialled on a yearly basis at Wisley since 1933, and pinks have had similar treatment since 1951. Perpetual flowering carnations have only been trialled since 1995 and dwarf and miniature pinks since 1997. The pinks and borders are so-called permanent trials, re-planted each year wilh a combination of new cultivars and tried-and-tcsted AGM-winners for comparison. The perpetuals and other pinks arc grown on a two-yearly rotation to give an idea of performance over time.

The committee also gives awards for exhibition purposes. A vase of three stems is examined for its potential on the showbench and three awards are available for cultivars of merit. The Certificate of Preliminary Commendation (PC) is given to “a new plant of promise for exhibition”. The Award of Merit is given to “plants of great merit for exhibition”. The First Class Certificate (FCC) is given to “plants of outstanding excellence for exhibition”. The bestowal of these awards gives a good indication of likely performance on the showbench and is a recognition of the work which goes into breeding superior new cultivars.

Anyone can enter a plant for exhibition awards simply by filling in an entry form obtained from the Committee Secretary, cither in advance or on the day of a committee meeting, and presenting the blooms for consideration. Certificates arc sent to the exhibitors of successful cultivars and the plant may be selected for assessment for the AGM in a trial at Wisley. Committee members are always pleased to see new plants, and entry forms can also be obtained from the Secretary of the B.N.C.S. if this is more convenient.
The R.H.S. wishes the B.N.C.S. congratulations on its fiftieth anniversary and looks forward to the next fifty years of fruitful association.