Shropshire Magazine

Lynne Silvester.

In Wem, Ken Tudor immerses himself in the world of sweet peas

It was a poignant affair when the UK’s top sweet pea growers “came home to Wem” for the national championships – and particularly so for Lynne Silvester, who is keeping alive the family name after her parents died within seven weeks of each other.

Lynne thrilled Shropshire growers by winning two prestigious trophies – using seed harvested by her father Roy and found in a shoebox by his bed – and now hopes to launch a lovely new variety named after her mother.

Neil Cooper.

The Silvesters were leading members of The Eckford Sweet Pea Society, which was set up in 1988 after the Celebration Show in Wem to mark the centenary of the world-famous sweet pea business, started in the town by Henry Eckford.

After that show the society was formed to organise shows and make the north Shropshire town the centre of the Lathyrus world and to encourage people to use the old heirloom varieties grown by Eckford at the turn of the 19th century.

Society secretary Val Good, whose late husband John was also a society stalwart, said she was pleased that the national championships in July had been a great success and that heirloom varieties were now exhibited at national shows.

“The show was a huge success and the most rousing applause came from everyone when Lynne Silvester received her trophies, and her sister Jill Nutt and her daughter Georgina picked up prizes for floral arrangements,” said Val, of Weston-under-Redcastle.

Lynne and her sister were grateful for the cheers, because it was a difficult time for them. For they knew that Roy had dreamed of emulating the day when he and his father won the Tom Jones Cup for nine distinct varieties at the National in Liverpool in 1959.

“Dad’s desire and goal this year was to exhibit at this year’s National Show at Wem, and try to emulate his joint venture with his father on the 50th anniversary, but sadly it was not to be,” she said.

“As a child and teenager I helped Dad to care for the sweet peas and cut and bunch them for sale at the local florists,” said Lynne, of Fauls Green, near Whitchurch.

“I used to accompany Dad and Mum to local shows, including Shrewsbury Flower Show, where Dad would exhibit while encouraging me to take part in floral art classes,” she said. “Even after major surgery nothing stopped Dad’s dedication in growing sweet peas.”

“About eight years ago Dad hybridised a seedling and wanted to name it Sheila – it’s a beautiful salmon pink bloom on a cream background,” said Lynne. “ I am now sending seeds for trials at The Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley where they will be grown and exhibited over the next few years.”

Lynne said her Dad and Mum were active committee members of the Wem Eckford group and Roy had “been in his element”  behind the advice stand passing on his knowledge of sweet peas at shows. This year Lynne was there behind his desk.

“After the sudden loss of my mother on Boxing Day and only seven weeks later the loss of my father I was spurred on to plant around 400 sweet pea seeds in honour of Dad and Mum,” she said. “ Some were Dad’s own seed, some he had purchased before he took ill,” said Lynne. 

Lathyrus: what all the fuss is about . . .

“Although there’s a lot of work in growing and caring for sweet peas it all paid off when at the National Show at Wem I won four firsts and a second place, winning The Hinchcliffe Trophy for the best vase in Division 3 and The Tom Shilling Prize for the best exhibit by a member exhibiting at national shows for the first time,” she said. 

Henry Eckford was head gardener with the Earl of Radnor and after moving to Wem produced 115 cultivars by 1901. It is wonderful that his inspiration lives on with the friendly local growers. His inpiration and the enthusiasm of the Goods and the Silvesters has led to more enthusiasts being inspired to grow these lovely flowers, gardeners like John and Phillippa Cooper who visited a Wem show and were hooked.

“We were overwhelmed by the fantastic colours of the displays and wonderful perfume as soon as we entered the marquee,” said Phillippa. 

“Meeting John and Val Good gave us the encouragement to grow for showing and we benefited from the expert advice of many people including Roy and Sheila Silvester who had encyclopaedic knowledge of how to get the best blooms.”

Bonhomie

The show at the Thomas Adams School was a wonderful mixture of competiveness and bonhomie, with intense competition in all sections, including floral arrangements, from which Christine Lea of Steele Farm, near Whitchurch, carried home a clutch of silverware.

Val Good.

Local growers such as chairman Wyllis Turner, who put on a stunning arrangement of flowers and artefacts, and Neil Cooper from Whixall, won top prizes. Meanwhile the likes of Val Good, and her ever-helpful daughters Karen and Janet, will continue to keep Wem at the centre of the sweet pea world.

I met Karen as she chatted to Derek Heathcote from Stowe-by-Chartley, a gold medallist from Chelsea Flower Show. 

“This is a lovely show,” said Derek, now a top commercial grower and exhibitor. “I exhibited at the first Wem show as an ordinary exhibitor and have gone on to show all over the country.”

He will always have a soft spot for Wem, though, because it is a special place for sweet pea growers. And of course Lynne will continue the task of growing and showing her father’s favourites. 

“There is no greater pleasure and I am never closer to Dad and Mum than when I am among the sweet peas, which Dad always called the Queen of the Annuals,” she said.