Snippets of news relating to gardens, the environment and the local area, CABAHS members’ posts about garden topics, gardening hints and tips, and short pieces about garden design and history
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 GardenWell used to opening in the summer to raise money for the local hospice, this year Ruth and Matthew opened their garden ‘The Gatehouse‘ for the National Garden Scheme in the spring. Ruth said she bought ‘something like’ 2,000 bulbs, not surprising in a garden of this size!
Described in the NGS Handbook as ‘one of London’s largest private gardens’, the grounds were originally part of Eltham Palace and are presided over by a hugely imposing copper beech. The great wall surrounding the garden and the mature trees lend the garden an immediate air of gravitas.
Hidden in the heart of the Medina in Marrakech is Le Jardin Secret. Many will be familiar with the documentary showing Tom Stuart-Smith working with teams of local builders and craftspeople to renovate this ancient site, making it what it is today.
The origins of the garden date back to the second half of the sixteenth century, created by the Saadian dynasty. However, the garden and its buildings underwent decline and development as successive rulers governed the region, finally falling into disrepair in the 1930s. The site was eventually bought by an Italian couple, who employed Tom Stuart-Smith to design and create a new garden.
Continue reading Le Jardin Secret, Marrakesh
You really need to arrive before 11am to appreciate Le Jardin Majorelle, before it gets too crowded. It is absolutely stunning.
Initially created in the 1930s by Jacques Majorelle, after whom the garden is named, the garden fell into disrepair in the 1950s. In the 1980s Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé set about restoring it. Today the garden and villa complex is open to the public, housing the Berber Museum with the Yves Saint-Laurent Museum close by (both well worth a visit) and has become a major tourist destination in Marrakech, attracting more than 700,00 visitors annually.
Plants from five main groups fill the garden: cacti, palms, bamboo, blooming potted plants and aquatic plants. What makes the garden unique is the incredible cobalt blue, yellow and red used in the hardscaping and it is probably the blue which has made the garden so famous.
Continue reading Le Jardin Majorelle, Marrakesh
Technically, a small garden is considered to be one that is approximately 100m2 (33 x 33ft) or less. While the average UK garden is apparently about twice that size (225m2 – almost a tennis court), and most new build etc gardens are about half the size of ‘small’ (50m2), we are based in London and what really defines a small garden is probably more a matter of opinion and perception than exact dimensions. To complicate the topic further, many larger gardens are divided into smaller spaces or ‘rooms’, which will often have features and considerations in common with smaller gardens.
Continue reading Small gardensIt’s celebration time for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as this is the 30th year of their much-loved Orchid exhibition, set within the rare and exotic planting in the Princess of Wales Conservatory.
This year, China is the inspiration for the exhibition, in particular the Yunnan Province, where 1,000 species of Orchid are to be found.
Continue reading Orchids at Kew Gardens
“Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) are considered naff by some – their flowers being so spectacularly over the top and being so widely available in supermarkets. But I think their spectacular-ness is attractive and grow them every year.
I hope this photograph of the Amaryllis that I have grown this year will encourage those who do not already grow them to do so. Perhaps we could have an annual Amaryllis competition at CABAHS!”
Angela
Continue reading Grow Amaryllis!At our January meeting, members were asked to share – anonymously – their garden-related resolutions for the coming year. In addition, the CABAHS Committee put forward a suggestion for a CABAHS-wide resolution for 2026 (more on this in a separate post).
A fine, wise, and hopefully achievable range of planned actions were submitted, with members resolving to complete practical tasks that are easily put off or forgotten, right through to adjusting their attitudes / approaches to their gardens.
Continue reading Resolutions for 2026“I am going to actually go into my garden.”
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.
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 