September – Page 2 – Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society

Autumn Flower, Fruit and Vegetable Display 2023

The 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.

Some entries for Class 1: Vase of flowers (3 stems of 1 cultivar), including Mandy O's winning entry. Autumn Show 2023 — Some entries for Class 1: Vase of flowers (3 stems of 1 cultivar)

An entry for Class 2: Bowl of mixed flowers. Autumn Show 2023 — Some entries for Class 1: Vase of flowers (3 stems of 1 cultivar)

Classes and winners:

Vase of flowers, 3 stems of 1 cultivar: Mandy O
Bowl of mixed flowers (emphasis on quality of flowers, not arrangement): Jean R
Vase of shrubs or foliage, 3 or more stems, mixed varieties: Terry G
Display of ornamental seed heads: Terry G
Five Fuchsia blooms, single variety or mixed (flower heads only): Ruth Y
Ornamental pot plant (incl. cacti & succulents): Anna L
Display of fruit, any mixed: Kathy A
Display of vegetables, mixed: Annie H
Tomatoes (dish of 5): Ann F
Display of herbs: Ruth Y
Preserves – jam, jelly or marmalade, chutney or relish: Fran A
Baking – Apple cake: Carole F
Floral Arrangement – display in a tea cup, all flowers to be home grown (emphasis on floral arrangement): Viv P
Wildcard: Joe F
Competition – yield from one potato supplied in April: Pat T (1392g!)

Winner of Class 1: Vase of flowers (3 stems of 1 cultivar)(Mandy O). Autumn Show 2023 — Best in Class 1: 3 stems of one cultivar

Winner of Class 2: Bowl of mixed flowers (Jean R). Autumn Show 2023 — Best in Class 1: 3 stems of one cultivar

Trophies and awards:

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

Annie H and her trophy for winning Class 8: Display of vegetables, mixed. Autumn Show 2023 — Annie H – winning vegetable display

Joe receiving a coveted CABAHS pen for his 'Wildcard' entry, Autumn Show 2023 — Annie H – winning vegetable display

And finally:

The Best in Show award went to Pat K’s beautiful display of herbs.

Best in Show, Autumn 2023! Pat K's unusual display of (mainly) flowering herbs, in Class 10. — Best in Show, Autumn 2023! Pat K’s unusual display of (mainly) flowering herbs

Winners awarded and prizes given, it was time for everyone to sample the cakes!

Ali

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.

What to look out for in the Old Pond Garden: September 2023

We hope you enjoy walking around the walled gardens at Charlton House!
This month, look out for:

Night moth Salvia (Salvia nachtvlinder)

Salvia 'Nachtvlinder' in the Old Pond Garden, Charlton House, September 2023

With velvety plum-purple flowers, this Salvia is attractive to moths and other pollinating insects and flowers over a long period – well into late Autumn.
It has deliciously blackcurrant-scented leaves and is said to protect roses against black spot when it is planted under them.

Michaelmas daisy (Aster x frikartii ‘Monch’)

Aster x frikartii 'Monch' in the Old Pond Garden, Charlton House, September 2023

A bushy perennial with clusters of yellow-centred, lavender-blue daisies that flower right through the Autumn, it is very attractive to pollinators. One of the most reliable and popular Michaelmas daisies (so called because they flower at the time of the feast of Michaelmas on 29 September), it was bred by a Swiss nurseryman called Frikart and named ‘Monch’ after a Swiss mountain.

Lullingstone World Garden

I made my first visit to the charming Lullingstone World Garden today, and am very sure I will be back! This is the most eccentric and fun walled garden, as you might expect if you are trying to fit a worldwide range of plants into it. I especially liked the plant labels everywhere, so you know what you are looking at.

World Garden gate — Entrance through the Moon gate

Australia house — Entrance through the Moon gate

There is a nursery selling high quality plants and a cafe serving great sandwiches and drinks, also lots of seating for picnics. The private House wasn’t open when I visited, but opens sometimes for events. Add it to your list for visiting!

Autumn Flower, Fruit & Vegetable Display 2023

This year’s Autumn Show will be held in the Old Library on Monday September 18th at 7.30pm. Here’s a reminder of last year’s efforts!

Class 2. Bowl of mixed flowers — Class 5. Five Fuchsia blooms

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

CLASSES:

1. Vase of flowers, 3 stems of 1 cultivar

2. Bowl of mixed flowers (emphasis on quality of flowers, not arrangement).

3. Vase of shrubs or foliage, 3 or more stems, mixed varieties

4. Display of ornamental seed heads

5. Five Fuchsia blooms, single variety or mixed (flower heads only)

6. Ornamental pot plant (incl. cacti & succulents)

7. Display of fruit, any mixed.

8. Display of vegetables, mixed

9. Tomatoes (dish of 5)

10. Display of herbs

11. Preserves: jam, jelly or marmalade, chutney or relish

12. Baking – Apple cake, your own recipe – but here’s an example recipe if you don’t have your own favourite!

13. Floral Arrangement – display in a tea cup, all flowers to be home grown. Emphasis on floral arrangement.

14. Wildcard – anything not covered by other classes!

15. Competition: Yield from one potato supplied in April. (washed, in named transparent bag)

Please bring your own vases, except for the Fuchsia heads (Class 5), where containers are supplied. Water will be available.

Remember this is not an RHS show, it’s a competition for fun! There are a few prizes to be won, and there will be a cup for Best in Show.

OPG Diary – September /October

September started off with the tail end of The Drought and as it became wetter the Volunteers were very grateful to get back to some proper gardening. The great news is that we hardly lost any plants at all.

Old Pond Garden looking towards Long Border in rain — Volunteers on Tea Break

Old Pond Garden towards House — Volunteers on Tea Break

The Peace Garden has benefited from our attention, with the last of the annoying stones on the path edges being removed, and work on the shrubs and climbers along the walls making them look much more defined and trim.

Removing stones in the Peace Garden — Removing the last loose stones, saving the lawn mower!

In the Old Pond Garden, many perennials went to seed earlier than usual, due to the drought, but the seedheads are quite spectacular.

The Volunteers were thrilled to receive a donation of jars of honey from the Charlton House Beekeepers. The bees had a bumper year, partly due to our lovely gardens. To stop any squabbling, we held a raffle to decide who got a jar and the happy winners are shown here:

Volunteers with Honey — Thank you for the lovely Honey!

Autumn Flower, Fruit and Vegetable Display 2022

Our Autumn Show was held on Monday September 26^th 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.

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.

Autumn Flower Fruit & Vegetable Display – classes to enter

Our Autumn Show will be on Monday, 26 September 2022 in the Old Library at 7.30pm. Please note the change of date, due to The Queen’s funeral. Even with the recent drought problems, there are hopefully some classes that you can enter!

Most plants seem to have adapted to the hot, dry conditions, although much has ripened earlier than expected. If all else fails, go for the dried seed heads class or bake a cake!

Classes are similar to previous years, but we have been made aware of some confusion between the Floral Arrangement (Class 13) and the Bowl of Flowers (Class 2). In the past, bought flowers were allowed for the Floral Arrangement, but this year we have decided that ALL flowers should be home grown. The emphasis for Class 13 is on the arrangement style of the flowers in the teacup. For Class 2, the Bowl of mixed Flowers, these should also be home grown but judging will be based on the content, the quality and type of flowers, no matter how they are arranged. Hope that helps!

Thanks to Chris and Anna for this year’s Coconut Cake recipe – as many entries as possible in this category please ( but do remember that Members are allowed to eat it after judging, so there is usually none left to take home!)