renovation – Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society

February 2024 Talk about Working in Greenwich Park

Tom Stanier, the Horticultural Team Lead at Greenwich Park, gave a talk about his life as a gardener at the Park and a behind-the-scenes look at working there in these challenging times. He described how he came into gardening, his training and work at the Park and some of the Park infrastructure, policies and projects. It was great to hear from someone with hands-on experience there.

He said he felt a connection with Charlton House as he had been married there in 2018. His interest in gardening really took off in 2017 when he moved into a flat in Lewisham with his partner and began to grow plants on his balcony and indoors. He had a radical rethink of his life in 2018. Having a child particularly refocused his life on his choice of a future career. Having been in retail for ten years, he decided he wanted to work out of doors and do something flexible and tangible. He successfully applied for the 2 year Royal Parks Apprenticeship Scheme which is part practical and part college-based course and chose to work at Greenwich Park as he thought it was more interesting. He completed an RHS Certificate and has since taken over leadership of the Horticultural Team at the Park, working closely with the head gardener.

May 2023 Talk: Tresco Abbey Gardens

Dr John Hughes, an RHS judge and a long term friend of CABAHS, gave an entertaining and informative talk on Tresco Abbey Gardens in the Isles of Scilly, situated just 28 miles off the coast of Cornwall. Benefiting from the Gulf Stream and Atlantic Drift, it has a mild climate and the magnificent garden is full of exotic and glorious plants from every Mediterranean garden zone, including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Chile. It has been called a ‘Kew without the glass’. It is also home to a range of fauna including the red squirrel.

Dr John Hughes with the Acting Chair, Stella B

Augustus Smith, the founder of the garden, bought the island from the Duchy of Cornwall in 1830 and it has been in his family, who have remained keen horticulturalists, ever since – though all the land, except the garden and house which he had built on it, was given back to the Duchy in 1922. The seventeen acre garden has been designed around a ruined Benedictine Abbey and within a sympathetic hard core of paths and arches, including statues supplied by the latest owner.

OPG Diary – May/June

It’s been a while since there was an update on the walled gardens, it’s been busy! The Volunteers are going strong, and the Old Pond Garden is looking particularly wonderful.

The Long Border started to run away with us, but is getting under control and looking incredibly full and interesting, even if it doesn’t quite have that “designer” look yet! We are waiting for the quote for works to the vandalised iron gates and hoping to create step-free access to the gardens.

We are continuing to point out a “Star Plant” each week. The latest is Silene armeria ‘Electra’, or Garden Catchfly. The Catchfly group of plants exude a sticky brown substance on their stems, just below the flowerhead, where insects get stuck. Have a closer look next time you pass by!

New ideas: we have started a “What’s in Flower” display in Frilly’s café, to entice visitors to come into the garden and see the flowers in situ. Also an Information table in the gardens (when we are there) showing a bit of the background and pointing out the plants coming into flower that week. Looking for more volunteers to do this, if anyone is interested? It’s a sitting-down job!

Kathy was very pleased to be awarded a Certificate of Recognition from the Volunteer Centre Greenwich/ RBG, although she considers that the recognition is for all the volunteers, not just her! Terry accepted the award on her behalf from the Mayor of Greenwich. Thank you to the Trust for nominating us, we do feel appreciated.

Certificate of recognition for 250 volunteer hours and Terry accepting award.

And here are some more recent photos from the gardens this month:

OPG Diary Late March 2022

Charlton House gardens in Spring Sunshine — Old Pond Garden in Spring sunshine

Close up of Epimedium — Epimedium or Barrenwort

The blocks of Epimedium look stunning at the moment, the flowers show up beautifully – it was worth cutting back the old leaves at the beginning of the month. New green leaves are just coming through, with lovely red markings.

Lots of the existing shrubs are coming into flower now, especially in the Peace Garden.

Volunteers in the Long Border — Hand Weeding in the OPG

Volunteers weeding in the Old Pond Garden — Hand Weeding in the OPG

All Hail to the Volunteers! (Literally in this case, as our session was abandoned due to hail!)

A day trip to Gunnersbury Park

Inspired by Melanie’s wonderful talk to members about the various Rothschild gardens, Sharon & I accompanied her on a trip to see the restoration project at Gunnersbury Park. We had our volunteer project at Charlton House & Gardens firmly in mind throughout the day, and were pleased to find parallels – albeit on a much grander scale there! Gunnersbury was bought by Ealing & Acton council in 1925 (Charlton was bought by Greenwich Council in the 1920s) and used as a public park in much the same way that Charlton Park has been.

In 2018 the “Large Mansion” was restored using Heritage Lottery and other funding and opened as a Museum housing the borough archive. Major parts of the park were included in the funding, the Orangery, lake and orchards for example. The Friends of Gunnersbury Park were instrumental in the restoration effort, and volunteers clearly play a large part in the day-to-day running.

OPG Diary March 2022

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.