Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society

May 2024 Talk: Silent Earth – Averting the Insect Apocalypse

Dave Goulson, Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Sussex specialising in the ecology and conservation of insects, and author of several books*, gave a talk about the dramatic insect decline worldwide. He outlined some of actions required on a National and International scale to reverse this apocalypse and what we as gardeners can do.

Dave Goulson with our Chair, Stella and the range of his books for sale at the meeting

When he was a boy, he started collecting caterpillars (in his lunchbox) and his interest in insects became a life long passion when one of them pupated into a Cinnabar Moth. He explained that insects evolved over 480 million years ago and there are now around one million known species worldwide. They were the first creatures to fly and sing and many have complex inventive ways to camouflage themselves or mimic others. Examples of some ‘weird and wonderful’ insects were shared with us such as the Shield Bug from Thailand whose back very much looks like the face of Elvis.

The horrifying statistics on insect decline were shown, particularly over the last 30 to 40 years. Studies show that the decline is around 75%. He has researched the Shrill Carder Bee which was common across Southern England pre-1960 but by the year 2000 the populations of this bee had greatly decreased and there were only about six populations left. Since 2000, the population which inhabited the Salisbury Levels has become extinct.

King John’s Nursery and Garden, Etchingham, Sussex

On a gloriously sunny day in May, a visit was paid to the garden at King John’s Nursery. This ‘naturalistic’ garden is set within a beautiful landscape of ancient trees and meadows. We were given a laminated map of the garden layout and proceeded through the old honeysuckle-clad, wrought-iron gate to the garden beyond. This led us to the first garden room, beautifully planted in soft-pinks, the focal point being a circular, brick-built pond, fed by an imaginative water-gully. This led us into the gravel garden room, consisting of sun-loving and tender plants displayed to great effect on a slab-table, an artefact that many of us would love to possess for our own gardens!

Honeysuckle-clad wrought iron gate entrance to the garden

First garden room, planted with soft-pink flowers — Honeysuckle-clad wrought iron gate entrance to the garden

From there we entered a magical place – a charming meadow with mauve-blue spires of camassias threading through and rising above the grasses, a stunning contrast to the shades of green all around. White-flowered camassias were in bud, ready to take over and bloom in the next week or so. In one corner of the meadow sat a toadstool circle, an enchanting addition for children to let their imaginations run wild. We exit beneath the clipped hedge archway into a larger meadow which includes an herbaceous long border, consisting of many taller plants such as grasses and flowering angelica. We follow the path around, to a shaded woodland dell and admire the luminosity of the rhododendron’s stunning white flowers by a gateway entrance, cow-parsley billowing alongside solomon’s seal and pass beneath the 350-year-old oak tree. Amongst the grasses, glistening in the sun, wild orchids are to be admired. We sat on the bench to absorb the idyllic setting before us, noticing glimpses of an old apple orchard beyond the boundary.

May Plant Sales 2024

May is the month for plant sales! We held two this year, our big annual one was held at Charlton House on Saturday May 18th, along with the Blackheath & Greenwich WI and a select group of other market stalls. The plants were all set out in the Peace Garden which is not only a lovely setting but also meant we didn’t have to carry them too far! Visitors started queueing outside the gates before we opened at 10, aiming for a bargain and a bit of horticultural conversation.

People buying plants — Peace Garden 10.05 am

Queue to buy plants — Peace Garden 10.05 am

Our plants had mostly sold out by 12.30, which was a bit sad for latecomers. But volunteers were on hand to chat about the gardens and Stella presented her findings about the history of the garden in the Old Library.

We also had a “Bugs in the Beds” trail for the little ones and Frilly’s was open all day.

Plant of the Month: Iris (May 2024)

The show gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show each May just zing with the stunning colours of the irises in bloom and they really are one of the main attractions (apart from roses) that are on display. Being ‘show-stoppers’, their impact allows the designers to then infill and arrange around them the more delicate flowers and foliage to an harmonious effect. Visitors admire, with ‘oooh’s and aaah’s’ at the soft, subtle shades and again, of the deeply-rich and vibrant colours of each and every iris grouping.

The name Iris means rainbow and in Greek mythology ‘Goddess of the Rainbow’. The petals and roots of several species, including Iris germanica (bearded) and Iris pallida (Dalmatian/Orris root) are used in the beauty industry, in the manufacture of perfumes, lotions, in food such as spices and even added to gin. Seemingly, the dried root, after 3 years, has the aroma of violets. This industry goes back to the ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians and probably long before their time.

I have an Iris pallida flowering in my front garden, low-growing, which is highly fragrant. This was kindly given to me by Penny S some years ago. The flower is fading so unfortunately not worthy of a photograph but it certainly should be grown, as the variegated grey-foliage blends nicely with neighbouring plants. I wouldn’t be without it.

My number-one favourite, though, is Iris ‘Langport Wren’, a Kelways‘ introduction from 1973 and deservedly worthy of the RHS Award of Garden Merit. It was flowering in my front garden until a few days ago when the slugs/snails chomped its head off! The fragrance is reputedly of orange and chocolate – but I wouldn’t know as I haven’t had the chance to find out!!! The first photo below is of this delectable flower, a painterly amalgamation of browns, purples and russets, growing in Margaret T’s garden.

Spring in Cornwall

I have just spent a very happy week at Duloe Manor, a complex of self-catering holiday apartments and cottages near Looe in Cornwall. The main house was built in the 1690s for the Rectors of the local church. The whole complex is set in lush gardens of around three acres: a few mixed beds contained lovely combinations of saxifrages, irises and other familiar perennials while in less formal areas, swathes of wild garlic provided backdrops for beautiful pink campions as well as English bluebells in full bloom. In the car park several banks of pale yellow primroses remained stubbornly but delightfully in flower! Majestic rhododendrons provided splashes of magenta and purple.

A mixed bed contained lovely combinations of saxifrages, irises and other familiar perennials

Majestic rhododendrons provided splashes of magenta and purple

Pat’s Jobs for May

1. It’s a good time to take softwood cuttings of both tender and hardy perennials such as pelargoniums, anthemis and penstemons. Place in a shady spot until roots begin to form.

2. Put plant supports in place to stop things flopping and make them yourself from shrubby prunings or just push prunings in the soil around the plant.

3. I’ve Chelsea chopped my phlox today and also done a few clematis as they are far too tall and leggy after all the rain we’ve had.

Plant Sale, Cakes, Trails, Tours, Talks!

Date for your Diary: Saturday May 18th from 10am

Preparations for our annual Plant Sale are well under way and it’s shaping up to be a GOOD DAY! The Garden volunteers have been potting up for weeks and CABAHS members have been sowing, taking cuttings and splitting their prized perennials. We will have a lovely selection for sale. They are not garden-centre plants – they are better, because we know how well suited they are to our local conditions!

The WI bakers have also been busy, and promise their usual delectable display of cakes. There will be other market stalls too and Frilly’s will be open for drinks and snacks.

For the kids, we have a “Bugs in the Bed” discovery trail around the Old Pond Garden, with a prize if (when) they solve the puzzle.

Centre for Wildlife Gardening

28 Marsden Road SE15 4EE, Open Sunday to Thursday inclusive, 10.30 to 16.30. No charge

We are members of the London Wildlife Trust, which runs the Centre for Wildlife Gardening (CWG), but it was word-of-mouth from a volunteer at Christchurch Community Garden that made us aware. We visited on London Marathon Day, passing through a crowded Blackheath Station on our way to Peckham Rye Station.

Marsden Road itself is remarkable: its houses all along have designer ironwork gates & railings on wildlife themes, and each lamppost has a ‘squirrel’ high above. These, and the wildlife-themed iron gates to CWG, were designed by Heather Burrell: bollards at the entrance and within were designed by Antony Gormley: a gable-end has a large mural of a Goshawk.

Book Review: Sissinghurst – an Unfinished History

Adam Nicolson, Sissinghurst: An Unfinished History - book cover

If you are a history buff, this book will engross you from start to finish. Adam Nicolson’s extensive research reveals that a Sissinghurst dwelling was recorded on the site in AD 843. The Kentish inhabitants’ lives of hard work, industry and hardship over the centuries are brought to life by descriptions of everyday life. The expansion of a smaller house into a Manor House in the sixteenth century by a local lad made good, to the sad demise of the dwelling and its appalling conditions during the housing of the French prisoners in the 18th century is vividly told.

Plant of the Month: Tree Peonies (April 2024)

One morning in mid-April – the warmest of the month so far, I had the pleasure of visiting our ex-chairman, Jillian S, to see the display of her stunningly beautiful tree peony flowers. These are well established shrubs with one or two still in bud and the rest nearly finished flowering, apart from the 2-metre species Paeonia delavayi, which is covered in red flowers and buds.

Every gardener should possess at least one tree peony – just to experience their few weeks of fleeting beauty – and, of course, their very handsome and large foliage, which is an added bonus to every garden for many months of the year.

I noticed that Jillian’s tree peonies have or had far more buds than mine, which is about 20 years old. Why is that? Jillian tells me that she has always had a strict policy upon purchasing any plant, including the tree peonies, and that is to immediately repot the plant with one-third multi-purpose and two-thirds of soil from her own garden. Only when the roots have established themselves in the new soil mix does Jillian then plant them in her borders. This method ensures there are fewer plant losses as the roots get the chance to adjust slowly to the change of soil, with the outcome being much stronger and robust root systems and, ultimately, stronger and healthier plants. And, that is the best gardening tip I have ever received!

Jillian tells me that all her peony varieties (Paeonia x suffruticosa) arrived as ‘freebies’ during 2009 and 2011, as special offers advertised in one of our major newspapers. They would arrive in good condition: an 18” stem with two or three branches and a sturdy root system of approximately 9” in length. These would, after potting on, be left for around 9 months to 1-year before being planted into a bed. In springtime, from then on, when the soil is still moist, a mulch of homegrown compost is added around the base of the plants to retain the health of these specimens.

Paeonia x suffruticosa possibly Huang Hu Huang Dao Jin

Paeonia x suffruticosa possibly Wu Long Peng Sheng

Over the years, Jillian has diligently and systematically recorded in notebooks all of her purchases. And in one of her notebooks she has found her notes on the exact dates the tree peonies arrived:
4th June 2009: Hai Huang Yao (yellow) and Huang Hu Huang Dao Jin (cerise with white splashes).
11th November 2009: Wu Long Peng Sheng (pink/red) and Honxia Hu Hong (pink).
23rd April 2011: Wedding Day.

Peonies prefer morning sun and dappled shade if possible and Jillian’s peonies are perfectly positioned, growing on the north side in the spring garden, some protected by the apple trees. Very little pruning is necessary but I notice that Jillian’s tree peonies are more elegant than my shrub, so a little judicious pruning on my part would not go amiss!

Anna L