visits – Page 2 – Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society

A visit to Long Barn Gardens, Kent

The courtyard at Long Barn Gardens, June 2025

Among the services offered by Perennial are a range of garden tours, many to gardens which are not often open to the public. Long Barn Gardens is one of those. Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West bought Sissinghurst in 1930, but for 15 years before that they lived at Long Barn and it is interesting to look for the elements here which they later expanded and refined at Sissinghurst. On the edge of the village of Sevenoaks Weald, the garden has retained its long views over wooded countryside and has been the family home of Rebecca Lemonius and her husband who have lived here since 2007.

Like the house itself, the garden has developed as a kind of hotch-potch with bits added on over the years and there is a wonderful informality and intimacy about the place. Rebecca emphasises that although they garden with Vita Sackville-West’s ethos and style in mind, the emphasis is on the atmosphere which she created.

Have you been to Beckenham Place Park lately?

Signpost in Beckenham Place Park, April 2024

Not too far away (and on the 54 bus route from Charlton and Blackheath!) lies a ‘new’ old park: Beckenham Place Park. The name can be confusing – it lies on the border between the London Boroughs of Bromley and Lewisham, but is run by Lewisham Council. It is larger than you might think, at 96 hectares (well over 200 acres), and stretches from Beckenham Hill railway station in the north to Ravensbourne railway station in the south, west into Beckenham ‘proper’ and east toward Bromley.

Beckenham Place Park information sign (2024) — Park map with trails: download

Beloved of dogwalkers, wild swimmers, park runners, bluebell spotters and vintage shoppers, since Heritage Lottery Funding was awarded in 2016 there have been many changes and a huge increase in community use. Old features of the 18^th century estate have been brought back, playgrounds added and the 1762 mansion (which was formerly a golf club house with a small visitor centre) is now home to artists’ studios, a café, a vintage shop and hosts multiple events.

But to the gardens…

Keukenhof, April 2025

I returned to Keukenhof for a brief visit again this year. Transport in the Netherlands makes this a very easy trip and it is well worth making a stopover in Haarlem, which is a lovely town. I have little to add to the descriptions of my previous visits (April 2022, April 2023) so have just included a selection of photos which lovers of colour and tulips might enjoy!

Vija V

Pashley Manor Trip

A lovely day was had by all, despite the rain, for our visit to Pashley Manor Gardens, on Wednesday 14 September. The first wow factor was the magnificent and absolutely huge 500-year-old spreading oak tree that is the same age as the frontage of the Manor House. The second wow factor are the gardens: exquisitely beautiful, divided into several colour-co-ordinated garden ‘rooms’ which lead to the fabulous terrace, with sweeping views of the long borders, lawns, lake (once a moat) and surrounding trees to the countryside beyond. After a refreshing coffee, many joined a half-hour gardener’s dahlia ‘talk and walk’ around sections of the garden’s long borders. I loved the gardens so much that I am aiming to visit again on a sunny day so that I can relax on the terrace and absorb the spirit of the place.

Anna

Coach trip to RHS Wisley

On Wednesday 11 May, a coachload of CABAHS members went on a much anticipated trip to RHS Wisley. This was my first experience of a CABAHS coach trip and it was brilliantly organised by Anna (thank you Anna!).

Just before the rain started… RHS Wisley May 2022

After experiencing dry weather for weeks, the forecast was for rain mid-afternoon, so it felt important to pack as much in as possible before the rain started. Several members had signed up for a tour with a Wisley volunteer, but as the tours started, so did the rain – several hours earlier than forecast! We were, however, undeterred.

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.

‘The Gatehouse’

A selection of photos of Ruth & Matthew’s beautiful garden ‘The Gatehouse’. CABAHS members attended a lovely open evening, wandering around their garden recently, with donations in aid of the Hospice.

Roses (red one is WB Yeats) grown in a bed in the shape of a Tudor Rose

Chihuly glass sculptures at Kew Gardens

Thoroughly recommend visiting this exhibition if you can. We combined it with a visit to the Marianne North gallery and took all day over it. The sculptures are all based on plants and have been beautifully set around the gardens.

RHS Orchid Show 2019

Members Lori and Mary visited the RHS Orchid Show (8-10 April) at the Horticultural Halls in Vincent Square, and sent in these pictures of orchids awarded Gold. There was a marvellous display from the Writhlington School Orchid Project, which is an enterprise run mainly by Years 7 to 13, where income generated goes to fund school trips to places like Rwanda and Sikkim to promote conservation.