In addition to gathering members’ personal gardening resolutions for 2026, our January meeting also launched the Committee’s proposal for a CABAHS-wide resolution for the year, inspired by Plant Heritage’s search for ‘missing collectors’.
The best way to save plants is to cultivate and propagate them, then share them with others.
– Roy Lancaster
Seed Collection and Cuttings!
Plant Heritage says that gardening trends mean many species are in danger of disappearing as they are no longer offered for sale. More than half of the cultivated plants that were grown in the UK and Ireland in the past are no longer available to buy. Plant Heritage as an organisation coordinates ‘National Collections’ of groups of plants, often held by individuals in their gardens. Genera which don’t currently have a National Collection include some we might consider quite widespread, such as Aquilegia and Verbascum.
Their RHS Chelsea garden in 2026 – The Plant Heritage Missing Collector Garden – will highlight this and will seek help from UK gardeners. (We notice that plants for their garden will be grown by How Green Nurseries, whose owner Simon Sutcliffe gave a talk to CABAHS back in 2019).
Our Resolution :
At a local level, we want to support Plant Heritage’s purposes of keeping garden plants in cultivation and increasing the variety available, by collecting seeds and cuttings from favourite plants in our own gardens and offering them to other members. Let’s spread our favourites around London gardens!
To act on this resolution, CABAHS will be:
- running demonstrations on how to take cuttings
- giving advice on collecting and saving seeds
- looking at other propagation methods such as division
- giving out free seed envelopes for members to use for collection
- keeping a seed swap box at the Plant Sales table at monthly meetings
- offering a ‘pot swap’ at the Old Pond Garden to move pots from those who have too many to those who need more in order to propagate more plants!
Please join in! Ideas welcome!
CABAHS Committee
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Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society 