RHS RCM Group Centenary Cup Competition
Open to the public: 31 May 14:00 - 16:00 & 1 June 10:00 - 15:00
We are delighted to be hosting the RHS RCM Group Centenary Cup, where competitors from gardens across the country will showcase their best blooms. This year, the event will be held in The Courtyard & Wine Garden here at Leonardslee.
On Saturday 31 May, we will be welcoming competitors, with staging taking place until 10:30, followed by the judging.
Once judging is complete, prize certificates for each class will be presented. The show will then open to the public at approximately 14:00 (subject to change), and the winner of the Centenary Cup will be announced.
On Sunday 1 June, the competition will remain open to the public, offering a chance to view all the beautiful submissions.
The Leonardslee Gardening Team will also be taking part, entering highlights from our historic plant collection.
For more information or to enter the competition, please contact: secretary@rhodogroup-rhs.org.
History of The Rhododendron Society
The Rhododendron Society was founded by four pioneers: Charles Eley, John Guille Millais, and J.C. and P.D. Williams, who met at Lanarth in Cornwall and declared, “We are the Rhododendron Society.” In those early days, membership was by invitation only, and members were expected to contribute articles to the Society’s regular publication, The Rhododendron Society Notes. The first Annual General Meeting was held at the Chelsea Flower Show in May 1916 - an event commemorated in the Society’s centenary celebrations in 2016.
Over the past 100 years, the Group has evolved significantly. It now boasts over 700 members worldwide and has broadened its scope to include camellias and magnolias, becoming known as The Rhododendron, Camellia and Magnolia Group (RCMG). As a Partner Group of the Royal Horticultural Society, it gained charitable status in 2015. Its mission is to educate the public about these distinguished garden plants, support their conservation for future generations, and provide sponsorships for professional gardeners and taxonomists to further research into the three genera.
Remarkably, a century on, three descendants of the founding members continue to play key roles in the Group. Rupert Eley, great-grandson of Charles Eley, owns The Place for Plants—a specialist plant centre and garden—as well as his grandfather’s garden at East Bergholt in Suffolk. David Millais, great-nephew of J.G. Millais, is a former RCMG Chairman, current Vice Chairman, and runs Millais Nurseries in Churt, near Farnham. Charles Williams, great-grandson of J.C. Williams, owns Burncoose Nurseries in Redruth and manages the Caerhays Estate at Gorran, near St Austell in Cornwall.
The Centenary Cup Competition
2015 marked the centenary of the founding of the Rhododendron Society, now known as the Rhododendron, Camellia & Magnolia Group (RCMG).
To commemorate this milestone, the Centenary Cup Competition was established—and it has been keenly contested ever since. Over the past ten years, members have brought their finest specimens to be judged against one another by some of the most respected names in the gardening world.