March – Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society

Le Jardin Majorelle, 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.

Bunnies in the Beds 2026

Bunnies again, doesn’t it come around quickly! Although Bunnies is now a Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust annual event, CABAHS is still very involved, with 27 of our members and garden volunteers turning out to help on the last Sunday in March. This year the Bunnies went to Wonderland, and we had enormous fun with the Lewis Carroll characters and quotes. “Every adventure requires a first step…”

We had 178 small Bunny Hunters and it felt like a lot more with all their families and canine friends! We also had visitors just coming along to enjoy the day, it was great to be able to display some new plantings, especially the tulips – Tulip praestans ‘Shogun’ is a showstopper in the Old Pond Garden. Lots of places for the Bunnies to hide this year.

Plant(s) of the Month: The Blues (March 2026)

My garden has suddenly come alive with spring colour, mainly yellow, mauve and blue flowers, but I’ve had to work at it: the result being some gorgeously blue-flowering plants purchased (as a contrast to the in-situ yellows) for growing in containers. They have worked their magic, basking in the sunshine and enticing me into the garden with their beauty and my admiration!

This year, I decided, firstly, to recreate my spring ‘blue garden’ in a galvanised planter, first digging out unwanted material. I chose blue flowering plants with different shapes and sizes of flowers for harmony and these are the varieties I planted (including a purple Viola and Agapanthus to give depth to the arrangement):

Veronica umbrosa ‘Georgia Blue’ (alpine speedwell)
A enchanting little ground cover perennial, preferring full sun, if possible, and flowering during the spring months.

Pat’s 10 jobs for March 2026

1. Time to cut back Buddleja davidii hard… don’t be timid, take it right back to 40cm to a pair of buds. If you want a taller plant make the cuts higher up the stem. It will grow back in no time. The prunings make good hardwood cuttings and root easily straight in the ground.

Buddleja davidii in need of a hard prune — *Buddlejas* before and after a hard prune (not the same plant!)

Buddleja davidii after a fairly hard prune - already developing new shoots! — *Buddlejas* before and after a hard prune (not the same plant!)

2. You can pot up Dahlia tubers now by placing in pots or trays of peat-free compost in a frost-free place, and water once with no need to water again until shoots appear. Make sure the tubers are firm with no sign of rot.

What to look out for in the Old Pond Garden: March 2026

We hope you enjoy a spring walk around the walled gardens at Charlton House! Look out for:

Daffodil (Narcissus ‘Elka’)

Narcissus 'Elke' in the Peace Garden at Charlton House

A fragrant, small and early-flowering daffodil, you can spot Narcissus ‘Elka’ spreading gently in the Peace Garden. It has pale petals and a creamy yellow trumpet. The name ‘Elka’ comes from a combination of the names of two ‘lady daffodil growers’: Elizabeth and Kate.

Wood spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae)

Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae (wood spurge / Mrs Robb's Bonnet) in the Old Pond Garden, Charlton House, March 2024

Wood spurge is in the Euphorbia family, so take care! If the stems are broken, they gush with a thick milky latex substance that can cause irritation. They are handsome perennial plants, shade loving, with zingy lime-green flowers in late Spring and rosettes of glossy dark green leaves. Another name for this plant is ‘Mrs Robb’s Bonnet’ – we would like to see the hat that inspired that name!

Orchids at Kew Gardens

It’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.

Orchids at Kew, February 2026 — The magnificent variety of Orchids on display at Kew Gardens

This year, China is the inspiration for the exhibition, in particular the Yunnan Province, where 1,000 species of Orchid are to be found.

March 2025 Talk: Fiona Davison on Pioneering Women Gardeners

Fiona Davidson is the head of Libraries and Exhibitions at the RHS as well as being an author. Her talk at our March meeting was based on her recent book ‘An Almost Impossible Thing – the radical lives of Britain’s pioneering women gardeners’ (previously reviewed by Stella). She described the lives of female gardeners in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, a reflection of the restricted lives led by women in general during this time. Yet despite this, some pioneers became gardeners and had successful careers in gardening.

Fiona Davison talking about pioneering women gardeners, CABAHS March 2025. Showing a quotation from the RHS about Olive Harrisson (medal pictured) being denied the gardening scholarship she had won.

March 2025 Meeting and Show Table

A packed library for the March meeting, and the first Show Table of the year – congratulations to Kathy for winning this month’s Best on the Table prize with her Narcissus ‘St Patrick’s Day’.

There was also a Plant Sales table and the usual raffle with lots of lovely plant prizes. The main event was a talk by Fiona Davison, author of ‘An Almost Impossible Thing: The radical lives of Britain’s pioneering women gardeners‘.

Ali H

Plant of the Month: Camellia (March 2025)

During March, when the changeable weather still surprises us, it is wonderful to see the Camellias in flower, as they provide the much-needed WOW factor during the colder days – their profusion of flowers, colours, shapes and patterns add an immediate vibrancy and character to any garden or parkland.

In my neighbour Linda B’s garden, there are three Camellias but one stands out. The flowers are smaller and single, white (blush-pink as they age), scented and beautiful. The leaves are also different: matt-green and elongated and the overall appearance of the shrub is more elegant. It has grown, albeit slowly, and is now approximately 2’ in height. A plant app identifies it as possibly Camellia sasanqua.

What to look out for in the Old Pond Garden: March 2025

We hope you enjoy a spring walk around the walled gardens at Charlton House! Look out for:

Daffodil (Narcissus ‘Elka’)

Narcissus 'Elke' in the Old Pond Garden at Charlton House

A fragrant, small and early-flowering daffodil, you can spot Narcissis ‘Elka’ in the Peace Garden. It has pale petals and a creamy yellow trumpet. The name ‘Elka’ is apparently from a combination of the names of two ‘lady daffodil growers’: Elizabeth and Kate.

Wood spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae)

Wood spurge is in the Euphorbia family, so take care! If the stems are broken, they gush with a thick milky latex substance that can cause blisters on skin. They are handsome perennial plants, shade loving, with zingy lime-green flowers in late Spring and rosettes of glossy dark green leaves. Another name for this plant is ‘Mrs Robb’s Bonnet’ – we would like to see the hat that inspired that name!