Welcome to the CABAHS website. Here you can find information about the Society, what we do and how to join in, along with general posts on gardening.
For our next meetings and events, see our Programme of Events.
August 2026 Talk: The Exchange, Erith
It was a pleasure to welcome Selina Ozanne to our August meeting to hear about her work as Head Gardener for The Exchange, Erith, a community led arts and craft organisation based in the town’s former Carnegie library.
The refurbished listed building is now home to craft production workshops, a cafe and shop, along with a varied programme of community events.
The Exchange gardens were designed by Chelsea Gold medal winner Sarah Price. The site has various challenges from a sloping roadside front garden exposed to sun and wind from the Thames, to a woodland-edge rear garden with a steep incline. Sarah’s design pulls together these diverse elements together using sustainable materials and matrix planting to make the garden flow coherently in a way that everyone can access.
August 2026 Meeting and Show Table
The drought continues and we weren’t sure what members would be able to bring to the Show Table this month – but they came up trumps with extraordinary vegetables, beautiful posies and healthy specimen plants.
Continue reading August 2026 Meeting and Show TableAndrew Salter’s Barn Garden
Last weekend I visited Andrew Salter’s garden near Canterbury in Kent (@big_drewland on Instagram). Having announced the open garden date a mere three weeks into the drought, he then considered postponing / cancelling by the time another rainless, hot month had passed. I am very glad he did not, as even drought-scorched, crispy and hot, the place bewitched me.
Continue reading Andrew Salter’s Barn GardenAutumn Flower, Fruit & Vegetable Display 2026 – classes to enter
This year’s Autumn Show will be held on Monday 21 September, at 7.30pm in the Old Library at Charlton House.
Here’s a reminder of last year’s show – a groaning table of entries…
The classes you can enter this year are shown below, please have a go at as many as you like!
Continue reading Autumn Flower, Fruit & Vegetable Display 2026 – classes to enterWeather winners and losers
| NB: We have just heard about an RHS survey about the impact of the recent weather: RHS Climate Change Resilience: Heatwave Impact on Gardens which has to be completed by 30 September 2026. |
Following on from Pat’s ’10 Jobs…’ tips on coping with drought and heat, we asked CABAHS members to share which plants had proved to be ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ in the recent extreme weather, to help us all make climate-change-appropriate choices in the future.
A summary: After the spring AND summer drought of 2025 (with four of the previous five years being the warmest on record), we experienced a cold November and a wet winter (the 4th wettest on record for Southern England), with the addition of unusually low light levels in early spring. We have now had extreme drought (no rain at all since early June and counting – and there were long dry periods before that too) and, so far, several heatwaves (which is counted as three or more consecutive days over 28 degrees in London – all have been in the 30s). Of course, the heatwaves may have counted six times (starting on 22 May, 19 June, 4 July, 28 July, 2 August and 9 August respectively) but the weather hasn’t exactly cooled off much in between. In addition, Thames Water declared a hosepipe ban beginning on 23 July (though watering cans and drip-feed systems are not banned) and there’s precious little rain showing in the forecast even now.
Continue reading Weather winners and losersPat’s 10 jobs for August 2026
1. To be honest we know at the moment with the drought and the heat this column will be about the few things you can do to keep things alive. I am sure we will all have losses along the way, but remember all is not lost and will mean new planting opportunities for next year.
2. If you have weeds growing (even they are struggling at the moment!), pull out and place around plants to help hold the moisture in the soil. Make sure the weeds haven’t gone to seed and, if they have, pull the seedheads off and dispose of them.
3. Mulch the soil with anything you have to hand: your own compost, fallen leaves (as there seem to be so many) but make sure the soil is damp first so you can help lock in the moisture.
Continue reading Pat’s 10 jobs for August 2026Plant of the Month: Tithonia (July 2026)
Being very partial to soft-orange and terracotta-orange coloured flowers, I am delighted that from my kitchen I can enjoy the vibrant, terracotta-orange flowers of the statuesque Tithonia rotundifolia. The flowers are an absolute delight, lighting up my garden at the moment, and, hopefully will do so until October.
I’ve never tried sowing seed of this wonderful variety but I will experiment next year. I spied this plant for sale when visiting one of the lovely gardens open for the Greenwich and Bexley Hospice Open Gardens, held once again in June, to the delight of local residents.
Continue reading Plant of the Month: Tithonia (July 2026)July 2026 Talk: Hardy Geraniums
July’s meeting featured an entertaining and informative talk about hardy geraniums by Graham Spencer who has been involved in the horticultural industry for over 30 years, including 15 years as a nursery manager and perennial plant specialist. In 2003 he set up Plants for Europe and now works with plant breeders to bring new varieties to market giving him a strong understanding of current trends and an expert insight into what makes a plant exceptional.
Graham gave us a comprehensive overview of this huge genus, with fascinating insights into the different species, their natural habitats and the many hybrid varieties bred to take on the the best characteristics of parent plants. Easy to grow and loved by bees, this popular group of plants includes 120-130 species and some 500-600 named varieties. Once established most are drought tolerant and flower from April to June or July. After a dormant period many flower again in September. British native geraniums include Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) although many think of it as a weed.
July 2026 Meeting and Show Table
Well it’s been quite a month for weather! In June, we had had heavy downpours as well as blistering heat, but there has been no rain and yet more 30 degrees + heatwaves since then, as well as the imminent imposition of a hosepipe ban. It was good to be able to see such a range of healthy plants on the Show Table despite the difficult drought conditions.
Continue reading July 2026 Meeting and Show TablePat’s 10 jobs for July 2026
1. Maybe in this challenging weather the best thing you can do is mulch the soil (after watering, so that the soil is moist and the mulch will retain that moisture). If you pull out weeds leave them on the surface to keep roots cool, use grass clippings if you have them but making sure to keep away from stems of plants.
2. To save water just water around the roots of plants by removing roses on watering cans and spray attachments on hoses.
Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society 