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.
This month we welcomed Ruth Cornett, one of our own members, who talked to us about Flowers in Art, building on some of the themes she had developed in an earlier presentation.
Ruth demonstrated that, over the years, artists have used flowers in their work to indicate and symbolise a range of meanings, from simple decoration to literary references. Depending on the context, flowers have been used to deliver a hidden message, promote certain ideas, to educate, to convey a Christian story or describe the cycle of life. Ruth’s presentation used one or two paintings to illustrate each of these themes.
The October meeting at CABAHS featured tea. coffee and biscuits, a raffle, bulbs for sale, the Show Table and an enlightening talk from Ruth Cornett about ‘Flowers in Art’.
Continue reading October 2025 Meeting and Show TableThis year’s ‘autumn colour’ seems to have developed quite suddenly and intensely, but may be short-lived. So we asked CABAHS members to share photographs of the colour they could find in their gardens this week. The weather has been dull and grey most of the time, yet these late flowers and glowing leaves shine out of the gloom. You can click on the images for more information and to see at full size.
Take a tour…
We tend to focus on brightly coloured leaves when we think of autumn colour, but several groups of flowers add plenty of zing to the October garden. Salvia really is ‘Plant of the Month‘!
Salvia doesn’t get all the glory though – there’s competition from another richly-coloured group, the Dahlias.
Continue reading Autumn Colour in Members’ GardensThank you to everyone who supported our October plant sale at Charlton House Horn Fair! Whether you helped on a stall, donated plants or bought plants – or all three in many cases – it was a fabulous effort. In addition to the serious and successful business of fund raising, everyone seemed to have fun, meet new people (maybe new members or volunteers..!) and of course, talk about plants.
1. Salvias are flowering their hearts out now but make sure you have some cuttings on stand by to cover any winter losses. And remember that quite a few are tender and will need winter protection in the colder months.
2. Last year I dug up my Dahlia tubers and potted them up once they had died down but lost quite a few despite keeping them frost free. So this time I will try leaving some in the ground and giving them a thick mulch. Of course, the problem then is trying to protect the new growth in spring from slugs and snails, so they’ll need keeping an eye on.
A few years ago, my garden would be looking quite green at this time of the year. But not this year; I am pleased to say that it’s actually very colourful, all due to my collection of salvias, which I’ve added to year-on-year. As you know, they are not 100% hardy as they originate from hotter climates, but, they do appear to survive in sheltered, London gardens if the winters are not too severe. And, as a precaution, we have learnt to take cuttings – just in case!
CABAHS members were delighted to welcome Clare Lanes, Project Manager of the ambitious Greenwich Park Revealed project, to talk to us about ‘The Greenwich Park Rose Garden: Renovation and Redesign 2023-2025‘.
Tackling this has been a thorny issue – no pun intended – amongst park users as the Rose Garden was a much-loved feature. Somewhat surprisingly the Rose Garden, as it was when Head Gardener Tom Brown began work on the replanting in 2021, was not one of the heritage areas that fell under the Greenwich Park Revealed project. The garden had first been laid out only in the 1960s with some updates taking place in the 1990s.
Continue reading September 2025 Talk: Clare Lanes on the Greenwich Park Rose GardenThis month’s meeting included an interesting talk from Clare Lanes about the three-year renovation project of the Rose Garden at Greenwich Park, the monthly Show Table display, the raffle, the potato competition, the sales table and of course plenty of chat and information about upcoming events (NB: Horn Fair on 19 October!).
I first visited Kiftsgate Court Gardens near Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire in 2018 and always vowed to visit again, which we did at the end of August. This magnificent Manor House is located opposite Hidcote Manor (owned by the National Trust), so in a day you can visit both beautiful gardens.
Kiftsgate was originally bought by Heather Muir and her husband in 1920. She designed the garden, advised and influenced by her friend Lawrence Johnson who designed the famous Hidcote. Heather Muir’s daughter Diany Binny became the next custodian, and it is now run by her daughter Ann Chambers and husband Johnny who are very hands on and always present in the garden.
Continue reading A visit to Kiftsgate
Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society 