roses – Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society

Pat’s 10 jobs for February 2026

1. It’s time to prune your Group 3 Clematis (the Viticella and Jackmanii type) to tackle tangled growth at the base so they can grow away strongly. Take all growth back hard to about 6 to 12 inches above the ground, cutting above a leaf joint. Then give them a feed and a mulch. It seems drastic but they respond well and will grow quickly. If it’s a fairly new plant check around the base for slugs which can quickly eat any weak new growth.

Clematis viticella 'Betty Corning' before February pruning — *Clematis viticella* ‘Betty Corning’ before and after a hard prune

Clematis viticella 'Betty Corning' after February pruning — *Clematis viticella* ‘Betty Corning’ before and after a hard prune

2. Cut back all spent foliage on grasses making sure not to snip emerging shoots. And look out for any seedlings to pot up for our plant sales table if you don’t want them!

Plant(s) of the Month: December flowers

What a mild 2025 December we are having! So mild, the weather is confusing some plants, such as lavender, Calendula and yellow-flowered Phlomis, out in flower at present.

One of the joys of winter is admiring all the window boxes, the wide variety of beautiful Christmas door-wreaths and observing what’s flowering in front gardens whilst out strolling.

Calendula officinalis flowering in December — A confused pot marigold, beautiful Camellia sasanqua and festive Abutilon

A confused pot marigold, beautiful Camellia sasanqua and festive Abutilon

Pat’s 10 jobs for November 2025

1. You can start planting tulips now, either in pots or in the ground. The deeper they are planted in the ground the more chance there is of them reappearing next year – but do protect them well from squirrels who love to eat them.

2. It’s not too late to plant Narcissus and other bulbs like Allium, but again as deep as you can if planting in the ground as squirrels do love to lunch on Allium.

Narcissus 'Elka' bulbs — It’s not too late to plant Narcissus, and the perfect time to plant tulip bulbs for a beautiful display next year!

Tulips in spring — It’s not too late to plant Narcissus, and the perfect time to plant tulip bulbs for a beautiful display next year!

September 2025 Talk: Clare Lanes on the Greenwich Park Rose Garden

Clare Lanes talking about the Greenwich Park Rose Garden renovation project.
CABAHS September 2025 — Clare Lanes explaining the Greenwich Park Rose Garden renovation project.

CABAHS members were delighted to welcome Clare Lanes, Project Manager of the ambitious Greenwich Park Revealed project, to talk to us about ‘The Greenwich Park Rose Garden: Renovation and Redesign 2023-2025‘.

Tackling this has been a thorny issue – no pun intended – amongst park users as the Rose Garden was a much-loved feature. Somewhat surprisingly the Rose Garden, as it was when Head Gardener Tom Brown began work on the replanting in 2021, was not one of the heritage areas that fell under the Greenwich Park Revealed project. The garden had first been laid out only in the 1960s with some updates taking place in the 1990s.

A visit to Kiftsgate

Kiftsgate Court, with terrace in front. August 2025

I first visited Kiftsgate Court Gardens near Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire in 2018 and always vowed to visit again, which we did at the end of August. This magnificent Manor House is located opposite Hidcote Manor (owned by the National Trust), so in a day you can visit both beautiful gardens.

Kiftsgate was originally bought by Heather Muir and her husband in 1920. She designed the garden, advised and influenced by her friend Lawrence Johnson who designed the famous Hidcote. Heather Muir’s daughter Diany Binny became the next custodian, and it is now run by her daughter Ann Chambers and husband Johnny who are very hands on and always present in the garden.

A visit to Hidcote

Hidcote Manor has existed in one form or another for centuries, but the present garden was only established in the early twentieth century when Lawrence Johnston bought the property at auction on behalf of his mother and the two moved in in 1908, adapting the house to suit their requirements. Having been farmland for much of its history, Johnston had a blank canvas on which to begin work. He was a keen plantsman and went on plant-hunting expeditions himself – today Hidcote’s plant collection still contains many species regarded as of national importance, and many gardeners will be familiar with Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ and Rosa ‘Lawrence Johnston’.

Plants of the Month: The Oranges! (August 2025)

Rosa glauca garland, with hips — Rosa glauca adorning a pergola

After a brilliant summer, autumn is not too far away and this is when we start to notice more and more orange-flowered plants and berries becoming features in gardens and parks. Orange is a warm and comforting colour, and I’ve listed three that you might be interested in:

A visit to the Old English Garden in Battersea Park

Pergola cathedral.
Old English Garden, Battersea Park, July 2025

A group of enthusiastic members visited the Old English Garden in Battersea Park last weekend, led by Ruth, who worked there for Thrive, during the period during which it was transformed from a rather overgrown historic site to an award winning and inspirational garden reimagined by a well-known designer.

The original garden was designed by JJ Sexby in the early 1900s and renovated a couple of times in the 1960s and 1980s, during which the lily pond was drained and filled with bedding schemes, the hard landscaping changed to crazy paving and then to the current brick pavers, and the splendid Wisteria pergola deteriorated.

Old English Garden with sundial and Wisteria pergola. Battersea Park, July 2025

Old English Garden. Battersea Park, July 2025

August Flower, Fruit & Vegetable Display 2025 – classes to enter

This year’s Autumn Show will be held a month earlier than usual, on Monday 18 August, at 7.30pm in the Old Library at Charlton House.
Please note that due to the earlier date, the Potato competition will be judged as part of the Show Table at September’s meeting.

Here’s a reminder of last year’s efforts!

Whole table of entries, Autumn Show 2024

The classes you can enter this year are shown below, please have a go at as many as you like!

June 2025: Gardeners Question Time

This is now a regular and popular event in which our panel answer questions sent through in advance from members, some with illustrations or examples sent in plastic bags. The panel this year consisted of our very own CABAHS committee member and all-round plant guru Pat K, our President Sir Nicolas Bevan and horticulturalist and teacher Joe Woodcock. Sir Nicolas invited advice and contributions from the audience too, saying that in a room full of gardeners, the panel did not “have the monopoly on wisdom”. We did our best!

Our 'Amateur Gardeners' Question Time' panel, June 2025 — Our esteemed panel: Pat, Nicolas and Joe

Last year we were all overwhelmed by slugs and snails, this year’s scourge is aphids! The first question related to a particularly damaging infestation on Buddleja, which seemed to have caused a virus. Several people, including Joe, have experienced the same this year. He was able to tell us that it is likely to be a specific species, the Melon-cotton aphid, which the RHS are monitoring (you can report cases to the RHS here).