The Pomegranate trees in the Peace Garden at Charlton House have come into fruit very early this year, on April 1st.. and lots of other Spring flowers are opening up, the Walled Gardens are definitely worth a visit. Open Mon-Fri 10-4.
Winter is over, swing in to Spring! The garden is waking up slowly, with Euphorbia amygdaloides robbiae showing signs of becoming a Star Plant. It’s rosettes of zingy lime green are unfurling and it really shines out in the sun.
These simple, unsophisticated plants, which rarely receive the recognition they deserve for all their efforts in growing and flowering, year in, year out, without asking for any help from anyone or anything, are among many unsung heroes of the gardening world.
Also showing off, Cornus mas or Cornelian Cherry in the Peace Garden, and lungwort, borage, rosemary, to name just a few.
All these are in flower in the Old Pond Garden and Peace Garden, they just take a bit of hunting for at this time of year! Come and visit and see what else you can find – the gardens are open from 4 January 2022. 10am-4pm Monday to Friday.
Wreath making and decorating this week. Our upcycled pallet makes a great Christmas Tree!
The volunteers wish everyone a very Happy Christmas!
Winter is coming, it’s all still very beautiful!
Removing the green hazel, making an enormous hole and then replanting with a bronze one! It will all be worth it.
Removing the ivy on the walls is going to be more of a long term project. Look at that wonderful brick work though.
A rainy start to October! Autumnal tones everywhere now. The bees are still out in force though.
Our Halloween Spooky Spiders Trail went down well with Charlton House Explorers this half term. There were 10 spooks to find around the garden, and it kept them all busy after their Ghosts and Gargoyles session in the Long Gallery. We had 140 children through the gardens over the two days, phew. Great fun, although we didn’t do much gardening this week!
The Long Border has its Autumn colours on. Orange Tithonia ‘Torch’ and marigold Tagetes ‘Cinnabar’, with Salvia ‘Black & Blue’ stunning in the background.
The Bank Holiday weekend was enlivened with a play “Family Tree” performed in the gardens, as part of the Greenwich & Docklands International Festival. Based on the life of Henrietta Lacks, it certainly lit up the garden!
A very tall flowering plant which is just coming out in the garden has been catching the attention of visitors and volunteers alike. It is Vernonia arkansana ‘Mammuth’ and was featured this week on Gardeners World when Nick Bailey visited Knoll Gardens. Very appropriate as we bought our own Vernonia from Knoll Gardens back in May!
Together 21: Volunteers were in the garden for the borough’s Together 21 Festival. Very sad for visitors that it was such a drizzly day, but at least the garden liked all the water. Spirits not dampened but umbrellas were up!
This is our bargain plant of the month – a Lysimachia clethroides specimen bought for £10 at Members’ recent trip to RHS Hyde Hall, and now split into 23 new plantlets. Filled up the whole corner of one bed, we are just so thrifty!
The garden is getting into it’s summer swing now, so much is in flower. It is amazing how complete it looks for a “first year”. Penstemon Garnet is just going on and on and on!
This is the view in July from the CABAHS 70th Anniversary bench:
A recent initiative – Star Plant of the Week. No contest: it was the teasels this week, they are gigantic, and covered in bees.
Betony and Phlox demonstrating The Clash!
And now it’s the turn of the Echinacea purpurea “Magnus”, with white Erigeron annuus frothing at the back and a yellow Patrinia photo-bombing in the front.
Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society 