EARLIER this year I had the pleasure of assisting the Cumbria in Bloom group in its judging of those towns and community groups who had entered into this year’s competition, and last week the results were announced at the Cumbria in Bloom awards presentation, held in Dalton-in-Furness.

The total number of entries for the general categories was slightly down on the previous year but there was a large crowd in attendance. It was also good to see that more community groups and schools had entered this year.

It’s in this area which I do enjoy the judging, seeing the work that our communities and schools undertake to make Cumbria that little bit more attractive. It was a little disappointing to see that Copeland area was not very well represented, which is a big shame. In the past Whitehaven did very well and progressed to the Britain in Bloom national finals on a number of occasions. Maybe one day we will see the town enter again.

My congratulations to all those who entered this year and I hope they achieved the award they were looking for – I know there were many delighted groups after the presentation.

Last week I wrote about seeds, including how to prepare and store them. This week I need to mention about saving your own seeds if you have grown F1 hybrid varieties.

F1 hybrid varieties are first-generation plants which have been cross-bred for two distinct seedlings. Many F1 hybrids are crossbred by labour-intensive means which is one reason why you find fewer seeds in a packet and they are more expensive to buy. However, F1 hybrids generally provide superior plants, whether it’s for flowering or harvest, so saving these seeds you will find the plants reverting back to the parent seed lines.

You may also see seeds being sold as F2 hybrids; these are the offspring of cross-breading two F1 hybrids, and as such they are not uniform or breed true, so you normally get plenty of seeds in a packet and a reduced cost.

I had the pleasure of my grandson Hayden over the weekend. Although he is only six he seems to be developing a keen interest in the environment and garden. His school had set him some homework which involved collecting leaves and seeds from different trees found growing in our woodlands.

So off to the local woodland we went and what a great time we had together. Not only did we collect lots of leaves and seeds, I was so pleased that Hayden also remembered the name of the trees from the leaves! However, when we returned he noticed a plant in the garden which drew his attention, and he commented how strange it looked with its flowers and a hat.

He was referring to my clump of Eucomis bicolor, commonly known as the pineapple lily. If you’ve ever grown a pineapple plant then you can see the similarity of how they both grow.

Eucomis bicolor is supplied as a garden bulb and his particular clump was planted some seven years ago from a packet of three bulbs. This year it has produced more than a dozen spikes of bloom.

It’s trouble-free and, although classed as a borderline hardy plant, it has naturalised very well in my garden.

Although it’s been winter hardy in my garden, I also think it adds a tropical look, which you might agree from my photograph of the clump.

There is a newly-introduced burgundy form called Eucomis comosa ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ in which the flowers and leaves are burgundy in colour and it really sparkles, hence its name. It’s one I would like to add to my garden next year (the planting time is April to May).