The October meeting saw rather fewer submissions for the Show Table than usual (perhaps everyone was exhausted from helping at the Plant Sale the day before?), but nonetheless, it was an exquisite selection of autumn beauties.
Our version of Gardeners’ Question Time was back for the June meeting and proved once again to be an informative and enjoyable event.
The evening started with a pleasant stroll around the Old Pond Garden, admiring the plants and taking in the evening sun.
Back in the Old Library, we set about tackling questions that had been submitted by members before the meeting. In a change to previous years, there was no formal panel or guest expert. Instead, questions were answered by our very own experts with lots of discussion and contributions from CABAHS members, compered by Kathy and illustrated with slides.
Continue reading June 2026: Gardeners’ Question Time1. Time to trim back lavender hard if it has finished flowering, but try not to cut into the old wood. If you’re lucky you may get a few late flowers.
2. And time to give that Wisteria and Campsis a hack back by removing all the whippy growth and tidying up for the autumn.
3. Azaleas. Camellias and Rhododendrons are making their flowers for next year and need regular water at their roots or they’ll drop their buds and have no spring blooms.
Continue reading Pat’s 10 jobs for August 20251. If herbs like thyme have finished flowering, trim them back to keep them compact and use the trimmings to do some cuttings.
2. Stake Dahlias before they get too tall and straggly or the stems may snap. Keep well watered in this dry weather.
3. To conserve water and before we get a hosepipe ban, just water around the roots of plants and mulch them if you can. Some are really suffering at the moment. So why not start sowing seeds of Eryngium giganteum ‘Miss Wilmott’s Ghost’ for a drought proof plant for next year? Loved by pollinators too.
This is a photo of an amazing arch support on one of the plots on my allotment site. It is covered in two varieties of beans and a range of squashes.
Vija
