Salvia – Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society

Sedum or Hylotelephium? Aster or Symphyotrichum?

Hylotelephium telephium 'Touchdown Teak'

But which is which?

I’m sure you know by now that herb garden favourite rosemary had its botanical name changed following DNA testing. It was reclassified to the Salvia family and its proper name is now Salvia rosmarinus (while the common name of course remains ‘rosemary’). Another common garden plant, Perovskia (aka Russian sage), has been renamed Salvia yangii. And then there are the sedums, some (but not all) of which must have needed a few more syllables to sound properly botanical!

Gardeners often wonder why this happens, and feel like botanical names are simply there to confuse us. Many gardeners choose to stick to the ‘old’ names, and occasionally (but not usually!) this is rewarded as science progresses, as is pointed out in this useful article from Gardens Illustrated.

September – from my window

Sometime ago, Anna wrote an entry for CABAHS on what she could see from her kitchen window and the pleasure this gave her. At various times of year, most of us can look out of a window and see something to delight – it may not even be in our own garden! My neighbour grows fabulous roses and I can see these from an upstairs window.

This year I have planted Thunbergia Alata (Black-eyed-Susan) and Rhodochiton atrosanguineus (Purple Bells) in containers to clamber up tripods made of canes strung together.

Tripod covered in Thunbergia Alata (Black-eyed-Susan) and Rhodochiton atrosanguineus (Purple Bells)

In this container, the Thunbergia is a lovely dark orange, while in other pots it is the usual paler colour. Here, the two climbers have made friends with the velvety deep pink Salvia Curviflora. Seen from my kitchen, this combination has been a joy throughout this dismal summer.

Great Dixter

Throughout the year Great Dixter hold various events for their Friends membership. So, on yet another dismal July evening this year, Pat and I drove to Sussex. The evening began with drinks and canapes and a talk from Fergus which should have been held on the front lawn but, due to the inclement weather, was inside in the Great Hall. Three boxes of plants from the nursery, designed for dry, wet and shady aspects of the garden, were raffled at £5.00 a ticket. Surprisingly, as Fergus was talking, the sun came out and what could have been a wet evening turned into a very pleasant one. Although the colour of the sky in the photo demonstrates it was still fairly cloudy!

We had arrived slightly early, so were already able to explore the garden which is always full of surprises. The phlox were particularly beautiful and Pat and I were trying to note varieties for our own gardens! Following Fergus’ talk, which was generally about the work of Great Dixter and collaborative projects that were ongoing including one with Hastings council, we divided up into groups according to our chosen tour/talk. Each one of these was conducted by one of the students at Great Dixter. Pat and I had opted for the Long Border and Jungle Garden (although we popped out of the latter and into the Nursery!). The students are articulate and engaging and certainly know their material. Having watched Fergus’ lectures on the Long Border, it was interesting to see this in practice and explained to us by Andrew Wiley, one of the Chanticleer Scholars. A particularly interesting stand of Salvia Indigo Spires was a huge clump of individual cuttings rather than one big plant. Also in use was a lovely creamy apricot Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus Apricotta) – a colour which we have seen a lot in other gardens this year and can be picked out in the photo (one to be ordered for sowing next year!). We always leave these gardens full of ideas and plans!

Vija V

Never say ‘Never’

A few years ago I cleared out my greenhouse following the losses of the winter and dumped in my compost the remains of pelargoniums and other dead items. It’s always a little sad to lose much loved plants which have given you their best. I then had some fun ordering new plants to replace the old ones (and some others!). A couple of weeks later, I found several of my ‘dead’ pelargoniums lying in the compost and sprouting new shoots from the roots. Of course, I swiftly took them out and potted them up to achieve lovely healthy plants. I am now a little less impatient to discard anything that looks dead.

Sussex Prairie Gardens

The Sussex Prairie Garden is a six acre garden with naturalistic planting, created by Paul and Pauline McBride, who worked with Piet Oudolf some years ago. The garden is on a farm and surrounded by oak trees, featuring a wide range of herbaceous perennials, Veronicastrums, Thalictrums, Persicarias, Sanguisorbas, Kniphofias and Hemerocallis. Huge drifts of ornamental grasses and Asters extend the season of interest hugely. In addition to the planting in the borders there are some massive pots beautifully planted up with huge salvias, Melianthus Major and splendid Pelargonium Tomentosum. The expansive beds are planned with winding rough paths to allow visitors to wander through, brushing grasses and Heleniums as they pass. It is definitely a garden for a late summer visit and seems to have managed remarkably well through this hot summer of 2022.

The plant fair on the day of our visit was spread out through the garden and accompanied by a band and stalls selling refreshments. It had a decidedly festive air! There are dozens of varieties of Miscanthus, Panicums, Molinias, Sporobolis and Penisetum and several of the plant stalls capitalize on this by selling a good selection of grasses.

Beds of mixed grasses and herbaceous perennials

The garden is at its best in late summer and into the autumn as might be expected from the nature of the plants. I have visited earlier in the year when there is far less to see.

The planting is bold and on a grand scale, not much of it less than a metre tall, but for anyone interested in growing prairie type plants or simply just interested, this is a garden well worth visiting.

Vija

Perch Hill

Thinking we would take advantage of the extra days made available for visits to Perch Hill, we chose the one for container planting. However, on the day it was the dahlias that stole the show and which we will remember!

Although rain was not forecast, we arrived to a little bit of a mizzle and a very grey sky – in the photographs this has tended to deaden the exuberant colours. We were knocked out by Penhill Watermelon, Geri Scott and the delicious Apricot Desire, but it would be impossible to choose one favourite out of all the lovely colours. Although some are critical of the Sarah Raven enterprise, there is no question that the gardens are beautifully styled. Of course, plants are labelled so that anything you see you will find on their website, but it is a commercial business. In fact, it is good to find a label so that you can identify what you are looking at! Salvias are everywhere, edging the herbaceous borders, in pots as well as mixed through the beds. These are such versatile plants.

OPG diary – September 2021

The Long Border has its Autumn colours on. Orange Tithonia ‘Torch’ and marigold Tagetes ‘Cinnabar’, with Salvia ‘Black & Blue’ stunning in the background.

Charlton House gardens - Long Border, September 2021

A visit to Great Comp

CABAHS members enjoyed visiting Great Comp Garden on 21 and 25 September 2020. The garden is looking so good at this time of year, it really is Salvia heaven.

CABAHS visit to Great Comp, September 2020

July 2019 – Question Time and Salvias

Here is our panel of amateur experts, getting ready to answer members questions! It was a very enjoyable evening for the 63 members who came out on a hot summer’s evening (and braved the night filming going on at Charlton House masquerading as a gothic mansion!)

We had some very varied questions, a useful demonstration on taking cuttings (thank you Terry), some good debates about composts and chemicals and some very funny anecdotes. Hope you all enjoyed it!

We also collected a beautiful range of Salvias from our gardens, here are the pics: