The AGM-Award

This Award of Garden Merit is awarded to plants that achieve exceptionally high levels of perfromace in the garden. Plants that are considered for this award, are first planted in the Trial Gardens of the RHS, where the judges, a group of fanatic plant lovers and –experts, will test and observe the potential AGM-plants. The best of the best are selected for an AGM-Award. This award helps you pick the best flowers and plants for your garden: the awarded plants do exceptionally well. 

An AGM-Award is not easily achieved, and therefore this award is also a great honour to the grower. The logo of the award can be found at various gardens, garden centres and web shops, and now we are introducing it at Fluwel. The flowerbulbs of ours that have acquired an AGM-Award, now feature the logo on their photograph. Needless to say, I recommend trying them if there is something you like: a beautiful spring will certainly come to you! 

Everybody can become a member of the RHS: members receive the monthly magazine The Garden, have free entrance to the RHS Gardens and can always ask for gardening advice. With about half a million members, the RHS is a very big, exceptionally important factor for gardeners of all shapes and sizes. 

To distinguish different aspects of gardening, part of the RHS is devided into Committee’s, including the Bulb Committee. The Bulb Committee is a source of information and expertise on flowerbulbs. The Committee also wants to share its knowledge with a wider audience. Besidesof  that, members of the Bulb Committee are often judges at RHS shows. 

Over a year ago I was offered the big honour of becoming a part of the Bulb Committee by my friend, colleague bulb-grower and chairman of the Bulb Committee Jan Pennings. To become a member, you usually have to answer to some conditions like experience with plants and experience with showing at the beautiful RHS-shows. At the moment I was asked, I did not  fully comply with all the standards, but because Jan Pennings thought the Bulb Committee would like some international influence, I was to my enormous joy allowed to become a member. 

For this reason I can now attend meetings where various cases about flowerbulbs are being discussed, like the AGM-Award. I hope you can have a look at the flowers we offer that have earned this mark: it is of course not the case that every other flowerbulb is less good or beautiful compared to an AGM-flower, but with the AGM-plants you can be sure of one thing: this one really does exceptionally well. And for exactly that sort of knowledge the award exists: to give you guidance when you are gardening, so choosing new plants is easier and more fun! 

Carlos