1. If you can brave the cold and wet it’s time to winter prune that Wisteria by cutting back all long whippy branches to within two buds of the main framework, so you can shape the plant for flowering.
More information on Wisteria pruning, including a video, from the RHS.
2. Any form of mulch is good on the soil now, in the form of your own homemade or bought compost, or even leaf mould if you have it. If you can’t face lightly forking it in, the worms will do it for you.
Following on from the New Year’s Day Flower Count in Charlton House Gardens, several members did their own Flower Count, and reported some surprising (and not-so-surprising) discoveries.
The winter-flowering shrubs were of course out in force (Camellia, Jasminum nudiflorum – winter jasmine, Skimmia japonica, Viburnum – both V. bodnantense and V. tinus, Clematis ‘Freckles’ and Daphne odora), as were the hellebores (though mine have remained resolutely in bud with not a single one opening yet!). Mandy A’s Loropetalum (Chinese witchhazel) was in flower, as were several people’s Hebes. My Chaenomeles japonica (Japanese quince) was covered in fruits, but still producing the odd confused flower too, along with a nearby Geranium macrorrhizum and Geum rivale.
Continue reading New Year flowers in Members’ GardensWhat a mild 2025 December we are having! So mild, the weather is confusing some plants, such as lavender, Calendula and yellow-flowered Phlomis, out in flower at present.
One of the joys of winter is admiring all the window boxes, the wide variety of beautiful Christmas door-wreaths and observing what’s flowering in front gardens whilst out strolling.
December is a month when the garden often takes a back seat, and when Pat deserves a break from helping you all with your garden jobs, so the CABAHS Committee have come up with a list of 10 Things that they are doing this month in, from, or for their gardens.
Everyone enjoyed seeing the autumn colour in CABAHS members gardens, so we thought we’d like to see some more – this time on the theme of ‘ingredients for a winter wreath’. People submitted photographs of evergreen shrubs and perennials, winter flowers, berries and seedheads, and here they all are, compiled into virtual wreaths – complete with festive bows! If you contributed a photo, can you spot your plant or plants?
Last week I was in Greenwich Park, in what was the Old Rose Garden for several decades, and now transformed into a fantastic herbaceous garden, a riot of colour, shapes and forms, tall grasses swaying and intermingling flowering shrubs (find out more about this transformation). I had gone there to see one specific Salvia – and what a show they were putting on!
It was a pleasure to welcome back Dr David Marsh, garden historian, academic and former trustee of The Gardens Trust. The intriguing title of his talk was ‘The Great Geranium Robbery’, about an Old Bailey trial in 1795 following the theft of numerous expensive plants…
Daniel Grimwood’s Nursery (formerly The Kensington Nursery) in West Kensington.
There was a great turn out for CABAHS’ last meeting of 2025. As usual, there were refreshments (this month featuring mini-stollen and mince pies!), also a plant sales table, a raffle, the Show Table and – the main event – an engaging talk from Dr David Marsh, garden historian and blogger.
Continue reading November 2025 Meeting and Show Table1. You can start planting tulips now, either in pots or in the ground. The deeper they are planted in the ground the more chance there is of them reappearing next year – but do protect them well from squirrels who love to eat them.
2. It’s not too late to plant Narcissus and other bulbs like Allium, but again as deep as you can if planting in the ground as squirrels do love to lunch on Allium.
Away from the main tourist area of Amsterdam, in the east of the city, is the tranquil oasis of the Hortus Botanicus (Botanical Garden). It is open daily from 10am – 5pm and tickets can be bought in advance online, although this is not essential.
The garden was established in 1638 and is one of the oldest in the world. It was originally a herbal garden for doctors and apothecaries. There are now about 4,000 species of plants at the Hortus.
Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society 
