jungle – Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society

Sunday morning in the jungle

Last Sunday Jean, Val and I spent a very pleasant couple of hours in the jungle! The jungle in question is only a few minutes from Peckham High Street.

Bamboo next to the summer house in the jungle garden

Flowers to add colour to the jungle garden

The owner, Clive, generously opened the garden to CABAHS members for a private view. Some of you may have visited before as the garden is regularly open on Open Garden weekends and has featured on TV with Carol Klein.

Clive lives with various members of his family in a huge house in a leafy street in Camberwell. When they bought the house, the back garden had been severely neglected and was a ‘jungle’ of brambles. A digger sculpted out the different areas of the garden, paths were laid and interesting artefacts (many associated with Buddhism) added, to create a sense of discovery around each bend and corner. A few years ago, part of the next door garden was acquired, thus extending the original garden.

Range of heights and leaf shapes in the jungle garden

Sense of discovery round each corner in the jungle garden

There are numerous chairs, benches and sofas dotted around in quiet, sheltered corners and even a cosy shed/garden house full of interesting pictures and objects – perfect for a peaceful read on a summers day with just the swishing of the wind in the leaves for company.

July 2023 Talk: The Jungle Garden

Our Speaker, Philip Oostenbrink, has been the head gardener at Walmer Castle since 2020 and taught horticulture in the Netherlands for 8 years prior to coming to England. He gave a fascinating and visually illustrated talk on the increasingly fashionable Jungle Gardening. He described how to create at home a garden or patio full of lush, green foliage plants and how to combine different leaf shapes and textures. He said he has been passionate about plants since early childhood, describing himself as a “plantaholic”. He currently holds 4 National Plant Collections. His stall at the Hampton Court Flower Show this year won a gold medal. He said he was inspired by the tropical Tresco Abbey Gardens (see our previous talk on this) and Will Giles’ Exotic Garden in Norwich.

Philip Oostenbrink giving his talk on Jungle Gardens

June 2022: Steve Edney on ‘The Salutation Garden, Tenders and Tropicals’

We were back in the Old Library for an interesting and entertaining talk given by Steve Edney on his work as head gardener at Salutation and subsequent development of his own private garden and nursery. He is also a RHS volunteer trial judge involved in the Nepeta AGM.

Salutation House and garden is located in Sandwich by the River Stour. Designed by Edward Lutyens in 1912 as a weekend retreat for the three London-based Farrer brothers. Noted for the outstanding design symmetry between house and garden. Sold in 1945 when the brothers died, the magnificent gardens became somewhat overgrown and neglected over time. In the 1970’s Portland Stone was smashed up and laid as crazy paving!

Steve was appointed head gardener in 2005 to oversee the restoration. The owners by then were Steph and Dom of Gogglebox fame. With little interest in the garden apart from being a party space, they allowed him a somewhat free hand.

An initial task was stripping back an avenue of 50’ Holm trees to almost sticks. Our own Old Pond Garden volunteers were very interested in his idea of topiary using Holm Oaks, given how many we have at Charlton House!

Steve Edney giving lecture — Steve showing plans for No Name Nursery

Steve Edney giving lecture, showing Holm oaks topiary — Steve showing plans for No Name Nursery

2013 saw the garden devastated by salt water flooding and 1,500 plants, 9 mature trees and hedging were lost. 5 million litres of water became trapped in the lower third of the garden and had to be pumped out. Steve and his team overcame this and in 2019 they went on to win Gold at Chelsea for a winter border, which only cost £157! He followed with his Plant Hunter’s Jungle Camp taking best exhibit in the Floral Marquee at Hampton Court.