Another wonderful Show Table at our November meeting, with beautiful Autumnal overtones. Winner of “Best on the Table” this month was Maggie, with her “Not quite Christmas” cactus in full flow. There were some lovely late Salvias and Carolyn’s Persicaria gave a real “pop” of pink to the table. Lynda’s asparagus (which won the Wildcard at the Spring Show) keeps on giving, with leaves a zingy yellow this month.
Maggie with her prize – chocolate coins and plant
Members also brought in colourful leaves and flowers to display as a mandala, and Annie added hers to make a pretty Show Table exhibit.
I’m sure you know by now that herb garden favourite rosemary had its botanical name changed following DNA testing. It was reclassified to the Salvia family and its proper name is now Salvia rosmarinus (while the common name of course remains ‘rosemary’). Another common garden plant, Perovskia (aka Russian sage), has been renamed Salvia yangii. And then there are the sedums, some (but not all) of which must have needed a few more syllables to sound properly botanical!
Gardeners often wonder why this happens, and feel like botanical names are simply there to confuse us. Many gardeners choose to stick to the ‘old’ names, and occasionally (but not usually!) this is rewarded as science progresses, as is pointed out in this useful article from Gardens Illustrated.
Once again we ran a successful plant stall at this lovely family event, huge thank you to everyone who donated plants or came along to help. And it was sunny, hooray, even if it was perishing in the shade!
Producers marketOur Plant stall
We had a great time dressing up the Gardens with ghosts, bats, spiders etc to make them ‘haunted’, and devising the children’s Pumpkin Trail. In the end we had over 130 children charging about the gardens, doing the Pumpkin Puzzle to find the name of the Charlton House ghost, or just spotting all the silly things we had put in the beds!
Spidery websSkeleton in the Alianthus
The gardens were looking peaceful first thing…
Setting up the puzzleWebs in the bedsBats in the Bushes
“The transformation by volunteers is incredible” began the report on the Old Pond Garden by the London in Bloom Judges. They awarded the garden 164 points out of 200, that’s 82% and a first in my world but Silver Gilt in this particular horticultural competition! Just 6 more points and it would have been Gold – so we are in touching distance of that magic category.
The judges assessment is split into 8 categories. Our top scores (in order) were for ‘community involvement’ (92%), ‘environmental sustainability’(88%), ‘maintenance-litter’ (well done Joe), and ‘range and quality of plants grown’. We scored lowest on ‘access for people’ and ‘maintenance – walls, paths etc’. The judges praised Jason’s “beautiful design” for the garden which has provided “radical planting changes” rather than a simple “tidy up”.
I made my first visit to the charming Lullingstone World Garden today, and am very sure I will be back! This is the most eccentric and fun walled garden, as you might expect if you are trying to fit a worldwide range of plants into it. I especially liked the plant labels everywhere, so you know what you are looking at.
Entrance through the Moon gateAustralia houseRed Hot Pokers standing out
There is a nursery selling high quality plants and a cafe serving great sandwiches and drinks, also lots of seating for picnics. The private House wasn’t open when I visited, but opens sometimes for events. Add it to your list for visiting!
We had some superb exhibits on the Show Table at this month’s meeting, with a wide range of pot plants, flowers and fruits on display, so it deserves it’s own post! The Table was, as always, a great focal point for members to gather round and chat about the entries.
Hmm, the committee wonders if the new prize for ‘Best on Table’ is encouraging our members’ competitive sides to come out? Winner this month was Ruth C, with her beautiful vase of Dahlias ‘Creme de Cassis’. CABAHS President Nicolas presented Ruth with a pot plant plus a special CABAHS Biro. The biro is limited edition, and can only be given to a Show Table winner. In future we expect this to become as coveted an item as a Golden Gavel or Blue Peter badge…!
The CABAHS BiroDahlia Creme de Cassis (purple)
The whole Show Table:
A note about last month’s Show Table – winner was Pat K with her bowl of mixed sweet peas. Here is a selection of those entries:
Pat’s Sweet Peas
There will not be a Show Table next month as you will no doubt all be busy entering classes in the Autumn Show, but we look forward to the display in October. 🙂
Like most of our members, I always enjoy visiting the Open Gardens Festival in support of Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice, and I think the range gets better each year. So many special gardens on display, but I always make a point of visiting the Prior Street Allotments because they have a very different vibe, being working gardens. I’m sure in reality the plot holders do lots of scurrying around before the Open Day, but it looks just effortless and wonderfully “been there forever”.
The site is tucked away behind Prior Street in Greenwich and is made up of just 18 plots (with a huge waiting list, before you ask!). This land was part of the Nunhead to Greenwich Park railway, which closed in 1917. The allotments were started on an informal basis in the 80’s and are now protected by the Allotment Act. They open once a year to support the Hospice, and they serve the best cakes and Pimms in Greenwich!
One very warm and sunny Sunday in June, CABAHS members were invited to come and visit our member Juli’s garden in Plumstead – which she generously opened specially for us, in aid of the Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice. Juli’s garden is in the middle of a dense housing estate, but it is pretty easy to spot by the large banana tree sprouting over the top of her wall. Her garden beautifully demonstrates what can be done in a small space with some greenery, lots of care, and a sense of humour!
Juli in her garden
After the banana, the first things you notice are the Bee Lido and the fish pond, and I also liked the healthy looking lavender – which was a Charlton House reject that has been nursed back to full flower. Juli’s plant range includes her beloved roses, many perennials and even fruit trees. There are so many fun details, it takes much longer to properly appreciate than you would expect!
Thought for wildlife is everywhere in this garden, including Juli’s collection of friendly Bunnies – who were the stars at our Easter “Bunnies in the Beds” event.
Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society 