I’ve never seen heavy foggy smoke pouring out of my ear-holes - I feel like I’m gonna combust on the spot – it’s all too much! Apparently the two judges who gave the award were on the verge of virtually passing out – with the quality of the plant material on our stand – “there was no option, we had to give platinum”, were the word’s muttered by the floral endowed judge. And I tell you what dearest Bloggers – Detling is no Chelsea – but getting this award was fabulous – a real green filled boost. It makes everything we’re striving to achieve at Lullingstone so worthwhile.

The plants that stole the show were the fab centrally positioned cactus Notocactus magnificus and Rechsteineria leucotricha both native to Brazil and The hum dinging Dog Pooh Plant – Hoodia gordonii from the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa. The smell from the Hoodia was so great especially on the sunny Sunday at Detling that visitors to the show passing our stand that thrust their nostrils in the flowers – were pulling all sorts of faces and shrieks. One visitor even checked the soles of their trainers for.....................!!!!! Such an interactive plant!

What a team effort from Jo & Jim (in the photo) – putting the stand together and manning the stand together with Pauline, Iris & Alan. Then there’s the cactus legend Jim Earles who supplied the knock-out judging blow – with his extraordinary spikey wonders and superlative labelling, this sealed the platinum certificate.