Keen gardeners from South Wales attended a special Begonia Show at a garden centre in the area last Sunday and Monday.
 
The National Begonia Society South Wales Area’s Welsh Championship Begonia Show was held at Wyevale Swansea Garden Centre on August 29 and 30.
 
Steve Gallivan, Deputy Manager of the garden centre, which is located on Siemens Way, Enterprise Park, Llansamlet, said: “We were delighted The National Begonia Society South Wales Area held its second annual Welsh Championship Begonia Show at the garden centre. The event was a great success.”
 
The National Begonia Society was established in 1948 and currently has around 800 members in the United Kingdom and overseas. It has representatives based throughout the country, who organise shows and meetings and are available to offer advice about the plants to members.
 
The Society’s 2010 South Wales Area Show included 26 classes for society members to enter. Non-members could enter a class entitled ‘A Container of up to 14 Inches Containing a Variety of Begonias.’
 
There were also two non-member categories for customers at Wyevale Swansea Garden Centre. These were ‘One Plant of any Begonia Purchased from Wyevale Swansea Garden Centre’ and ‘One Hanging Basket/Hanging Container of up to 14 Inches of Begonia Plants or Tubers Purchased from Wyevale Swansea Garden Centre.’
 
Alan Harris, who is a columnist for the national publication Garden News and a National Begonia Society Senior Judge, and Andrew MacDougall, who is a retired Birmingham City Horticultural Parks Manager, judged the classes. Alan and Andrew were available after the judging to answer questions from visitors. 

Prizes of up to £10 for members and £5 for non-members, depending on the category entered, were awarded for each class.