This variegated Japanese Pittosporum — P. tobira ‘Neige du Mont Ventoux’ — is a lovely addition to any garden, and particularly courtyard gardens, where space is at a premium, as it is the perfect specimen for growing in a container.
It was at a rare plant fair in Kent many years ago when I spotted this very appealing shrub. It was “twinkling” at me so, naturally, I found I just could not resist it and brought it home! Because of its branched structure, it was placed in a terracotta container and there it has remained, contented, to this day. I hadn’t realised at the time though, that this variety is very suitable for a container, as its height and width is generally no more than one metre at maturity.
There was a great turnout for the CABAHS May meeting, even after the exertions of the previous day’s Plant Sale! A small but beautiful range of items on the Show Table, from a cornucopia of Spring flowers to a single rose and a cactus. Congratulations to Kathy for winning this month’s ‘Best on the Table’ prize with a vase of Salvia, Cerinthe, Teucrium, Hesperis, Centranthus, Luzula and chives.
1. Border irises are really doing their thing now and the show can be brief but make sure to keep the soil around their roots free of weeds so their rhizomes can bake a bit in the sun.
2. Time to Chelsea chop your tall perennials to stop them flopping later or to extend flowering. Good candidates are Phlox, Penstemon, Helianthus, Sedum/Hylotelephium – and I include vigorous Clematis too. You can either do the whole plant at once or just some stems to extend flowering, although it may result in smaller flowers.
3. Deadhead displays of pot plants like Violas to keep them flowering and stop them going to seed. Remember to give them a feed to keep the display going.
What a day was had at yesterday’s plant sale in the Peace Garden! We had more plants for sale than ever before, longer queues than ever before, and made more money than ever before. The CABAHS members and Charlton House garden volunteers worked harder than ever before too – but it was absolutely worth it. Between us we raised well over £4000 to be divided between the Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice and the gardens maintenance fund.
Those of you who are regular viewers of BBC Gardeners’ World will most likely have noted Monty Don’s table of potted plants, which varies throughout the seasons and looks like something most of us can only dream of! In a recent article by Alice Vincent, she describes what she calls Monty Don’s ‘Fantasy table’. (My latest garden fantasy? An elegant table covered in flower pots)
The scale of Don’s table and the amount he has displayed is something many of us may aspire to, myself included! On a recent visit to Anna L’s garden, I was impressed by how she had similarly grouped a range of plants in pots, a mix of bulbs, a small Phlox stolonifera, Violas, a Clematis waiting to be planted and a miniature Hosta. Anna very kindly listed the plants for me and you can see from this that a display does not have to be carefully curated, but a selection of whatever takes your fancy!
Anna’s plant table in late spring, featuring: Narcissus ‘Thalia’ and N. ‘Pipit’; Clematis ‘Rising Star’ and C. ‘Bees’ Jubilee’; Pelargonium australe; Phlox stolonifera ‘Fran’s Purple’; Anemone de Caen blue-flowered; Primula ‘Stella Neon Violet’; Phormium; purple Viola; Hosta ‘Lemon Stiletto’
A member of the hedgerow cranesbill family, seen commonly in roadside verges – but what a star! It was named after Mr Bill Wallis, a passionate plantsman, who chanced upon the original seedling sporting electric violet flowers instead of the common pink hue. It is a low sprawling perennial which shows its vivid purple flowers from late Spring until late Autumn. Lovely ground cover for sun or shade. Resistant to drought and avoided by snails – what’s not to like!
Tiarella ‘Spring Symphony’ – Foam Flower
Enjoy a symphony of colour with this extraordinary Tiarella! A charming, shade loving relative of the Heuchera. In spring, slender stems rise above the leaves and hold a mass of pink and white starry flowers, giving a frothy effect – hence the common name the Foam Flower.
This variety has an Award of Garden Merit from the RHS and it copes in the difficult dry shade conditions under the Lime trees in the Old Pond Garden.
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.
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.
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 gardenFirst garden room, planted with soft-pink flowersPond and water feature in the first garden roomSecond garden room featuring sun-loving and tender plants on the slab-table
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 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.
Peace Garden 10.05 amQueue!
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.
Satisfied customer
We also had a “Bugs in the Beds” trail for the little ones and Frilly’s was open all day.
Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society 