1. It’s a good time to take softwood cuttings of both tender and hardy perennials such as pelargoniums, anthemis and penstemons. Place in a shady spot until roots begin to form.
2. Put plant supports in place to stop things flopping and make them yourself from shrubby prunings or just push prunings in the soil around the plant.
3. I’ve Chelsea chopped my phlox today and also done a few clematis as they are far too tall and leggy after all the rain we’ve had.
1. Prune hardy fuchsias now both in pots and in the ground to promote new growth and to prevent the plants from becoming too woody.
2. Plant out pot grown sweet peas now making sure to pinch out the shoots to promote bushy plants. You can also sow directly in the ground now if you didn’t sow earlier but watch out for slugs munching new seedlings.
3. Someone said the other day that they hadn’t cut back their clematis but I don’t think its too late as the growth on them is phenomenal. It just means they will flower a bit later but then that extends the season.
To be honest it has been so wet and now so cold that the ground is frozen but if conditions return to normal maybe you can try some of the following…..we live in hope!
1. Today according to the RHS is National Houseplant Appreciation Day so try giving those houseplants some attention and if they’re not looking good, treat yourself to a new one checking you have the right conditions for it.
2. Remove old hellebore leaves right back to the base to show off their flowers and to stop any leaf spot or other diseases from spreading.
3. All my violas in my front window box have died and a good gardening friend reminded me it could be vine weevil larvae chewing the roots which I haven’t had for ages so turn out the window box and check for those grubs and replace with fresh compost.
4. Start pruning roses cutting back with a slanting cut to above a bud and use the resulting prunings for cuttings 6 to 12 inches long and insert into either a pot or the ground so that 2/3 of the cutting are below the soil. They take a good while to root but its worth the free plants if they root.
5. Winter prune wisteria by cutting back shoots to 3 or 4 buds from the main stem.
6. Cut back really tatty herbaceous plants but leave anything with hollow stems or stems and foliage that may harbour overwintering insects. I started cutting back a bay tree until I saw the ladybirds amongst the stems.
7. Seed potatoes can be chitted from now on by placing them so they don’t touch in boxes, egg cartons are ideal, and placing in a light frost free place. Don’t forget to label the variety.
8. Prune established soft fruit bushes such as gooseberries, red and white currants removing any dead wood and cutting back main shoots by a quarter. If grown as a bush aim for a goblet shape with an open centre to aid air circulation.
9. Look at your seed catalogues and order anything you especially want before they run out.
10. Make sure to have some scented flowering shrubs either in the garden or in pots for pollinators to include winter honeysuckle, sarcococca, daphne and viburnham and aim to plant some by your door so you can catch the scent.
Happy gardening all!
Pat K
Ed: The RHS has a shop at Bluewater, perfect for browsing for some houseplant updates, all UK grown. (Note they don’t take National Garden Vouchers though)
I was very pleased to receive the award for the heaviest potato yield this year at the Autumn Show, but this was only part of my potato story for 2023. We have a small garden and so the space for growing vegetables isn’t great, but I’ve grown potatoes in containers for a number of years. My older grandchild, George, has often been involved and now he and his father grow potatoes in their own garden.
When we went to buy our seed potatoes this year, George quickly filled his bag with the remaining Charlottes that were available so I was left with Casablanca, a variety I’d never heard of before. In fact, I bought more than my garden could accommodate, and it was around this time that CABAHS were distributing the potatoes for the annual competition. This was the inspiration for me to use my extras in a similar way…..
I shared the spares with 11 family members, including the two grandchildren, and gave them pretty much the same information as CABAHS issues. This was met by great enthusiasm all round and with a general competitive buzz and with regular progress reports throughout the year.
Fast forward to July 31, our results day. Instructions were similar to CABAHS except there were three categories – the heaviest total yield, the heaviest single potato, and the total number of potatoes, with junior sections for each.
Continue reading Inspired by CABAHSThe 2023 Autumn Show was held on Monday 18 September in the Old Library of Charlton House. We counted 74 attendees and there were nearly 100 wonderful entries across all the classes.
Judges Vija, Jason and Terry shared the task between them and explained the reasons for their choices of ‘Best in Class’ winners and ‘Highly Commended’ entries, as well as their final choice for Best in Show.
Crystal Fuchsia bowl for Class 5 Five Fuchsia blooms: Ruth Y
Silver Spade for Class 8 Display of Vegetables: Annie H
CABAHS biro for Class 14 Wildcard: Joe F
and of course
Packet of crisps for Class 15 Potato competition: Pat T
The Best in Show award went to Pat K’s beautiful display of herbs.
Winners awarded and prizes given, it was time for everyone to sample the cakes!
Ali
Our Autumn Show was held on Monday September 26th in the Old Library of Charlton House, having been delayed a week for the Queen’s funeral. We counted 56 attendees and there were nearly 100 entries across all the classes, a marvellous effort!
Our guest judge, Joe Woodcock, had agreed to undertake this onerous task again this year. He made it clear how impressed he was with all the entries, providing an encouraging commentary on the horticultural skills demonstrated, and explained why he selected the winning entry in each class.
The classes and winners were as follows:
1. Vase of flowers, 3 stems – Nicholas B
2. Bowl of mixed flowers – Georgina P
3. Vase of shrubs or foliage, 3 stems – Liz K
4. Display of ornamental seed heads – Viv P
5. Five Fuchsia blooms – Viv P
6. Ornamental pot plant – Pat K
7. Display of fruit, mixed – Lynda F
8. Display of vegetables, mixed – Annie H
9. Tomatoes (dish of 5) – Karen S
10. A display of herbs – Maggie T
11. Preserves – Maggie T
12. Baking – Coconut cake – Kathy A
13. Floral arrangement in a teacup – Debbie W
14. Largest Sunflower – Ruth Y
15. Highest yield, Potato – Ann F
Joe presented trophies to Annie H for Class 8, to Viv P for Class 5 and to Georgina P for Best in Show for her bowl of mixed flowers in Class 2.
This was held on Monday 20 September in the Long Gallery of Charlton House. As one of many new members of the Society since meetings were forced to stop by COVID-19, it was my first indoor meeting!
It was a very impressive event with a total of 66 entries and I didn’t envy our guest judge, Joe Woodcock, his task. But Joe made it clear how impressed he was with all the entries, providing an encouraging commentary on the horticultural skills demonstrated, and explained why he selected the winning entry in each class.
The classes and winners were as follows:
1. Vase with single stem of any flowering plant – Viv P
2. Bowl of mixed flowers – Margaret T
3. Five Fuchsia blooms – Ruth Y
4. Ornamental pot plant – Pat K
5. A display of fruit and vegetables – Mandy & Brownie
6. A display of herbs – Ruth Y
7. Floral arrangement in a teacup – Anna L
8a. Potato Competition – Pam D
8b. Sunflower head competition – Annie H
Joe selected as Best in Show Margaret T’s wonderful display of varieties of dahlia in Class 2. Class 7 the Floral Arrangement was selected by popular vote (using buttons) and the Potato Competition was weighed by the trusty scales of Hugh P.
Joe was kind enough to answer a few gardening questions at the end of proceedings, and tea, coffee and biscuits were provided to round off the evening.
We counted 56 attendees. Everyone seemed to enjoy the event and be grateful to be able to meet up in person again. Long may that continue!
Lynda
The winner of 2020’s competition was Tim, with an enormous harvest weighing 3lbs 13 oz! The prized packet of crisps was donated to the food bank instead of being presented to Tim as meetings were suspended. Close runner-up was Peter with a yield of 3lbs 8 3/4 oz. Peter’s consolation was that he had a well deserved bangers & mash supper. Thank you to everyone who competed and sent in their photos!
Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society 