1. Prune Wisteria this month and next by taking all side shoots back to 2 or 3 buds. Very old plants may need severe pruning to show off the flowers.
Very tangled Wisteria in need of pruning!
2. Start pruning roses in earnest although some are still unbelievably flowering. Remove any foliage with blackspot and don’t compost. Old roses respond well to hard pruning so don’t be afraid, removing all dead and dying wood and cutting stems back to above a bud.
3. I had to remove dead Clematis shoots from a Daphne Jacqueline Postill and in doing so pulled off some of the flowers so take care and do it soon if you can. But leave the main prune until next month.
Another cold start to a new year allowed the volunteers to take a step back from gardening and undertake a second survey of plants in flower at Charlton House. This had been done at the beginning of January 2024 and it was interesting to compare during a gentle walk round on 9th January 2025. At first glance there seemed to be little flowering. Making a thorough search with fifteen of us, along with Jason, we found many that were on last year’s list as well as some unexpected interlopers.
One of the joys of walking around the neighbourhood is noticing what’s growing in front gardens and I like to stop and admire the imaginatively designed Xmas wreaths on doors at this time of year, planted window boxes and containers, and see what else is flowering in residents’ borders. And, when at bus stops, I have more time to absorb what’s around me.
So, at a bus stop a few days ago I noticed Clematis ‘Freckles’ cascading over the wall of CABAHS member Linda W’s garden.
Linda tells me that she bought the clematis six years ago at around this time of the year – with its grey, dank days – “when one needs cheering up and it has not disappointed.” Linda also says that although the vine was slow to establish when planted on the cooler side of the property, it has really taken off. It was planted with a honeysuckle and it flowers profusely in the south/south-west boundary wall. In the summer months it can soak up the sun and in the winter is sheltered by the brick boundary wall.
The park is sparkling! Our visit to the first night of Sparkle was very impressive, the light installations have been fitted really thoughtfully around the layout of Charlton House grounds.
The trail starts by the Mulberry, and the avenue of trees have been lit up beautifully as you walk through a snow storm and then past installations based on Christmases in Ukraine, St Lucia and Lagos. We loved the Ukrainian stars decorated by local schoolchildren.
At the end of the avenue you turn back towards the House – and can’t miss the glowing giant spheres (sorry, I didn’t note down the artistic reasoning for those, but they are certainly eye-catching!) and beautiful blue and white snowflakes played onto the back of the House.
Although I have written about both these plants in the past, I have chosen them again as ‘Plants of the Month’ because the flower colouring of each is in harmony with one another and both brighten up a garden during the long winter months.
Salvia ‘Black and Blue’ with Westringia in the background (plus orange flower of Pineapple Sage)
Westringia fruticosa (Coastal/Australian Rosemary): This is second plant I have grown of this variety over the years: the first, given to me as a rooted cutting, had a good branch structure and lasted several years in a pot, positioned on a south-facing table; the second was purchased this June from a specialist nursery at the Horniman Plant Fair and, once again, it has an attractive rounded shape, which means they are suitable for growing in pots whilst they are small.
1. Check for blackspot on roses and make sure to remove the leaves by checking the bush itself and below it. But don’t add to the compost heap.
Blackspot on roses
2. If you have to, this is the best time to move trees and shrubs, but have your planting hole ready, and dig up with all the root ball and replant quickly, watering well until settled.
3. Plant your tulips and hyacinths now. either in the ground or in pots – but protect from squirrels.
Plant tulips and hyacinths
4. If you sowed sweet peas last month. harden them off now and it’s still not too late to get some going for an early crop.
I have a choice plant in my garden which, amazingly, I have managed to keep alive all these years and it’s all thanks to Margaret T, who kindly gave me an off-shoot such a long time ago.
To make sure it was protected, I planted this bergenia in a pot on the shady side of the steps, so that the plant would stand out and not get damaged. It flowers every winter and has been flowering all through February this year and the elegant white, nodding flowers are still hanging on, fading to a shade of blush-pink. The rhizomes have outgrown the pot now so I will be thrilled if I can return the favour and offer Margaret T an off-shoot of this beautiful plant. Plants are difficult to obtain but I understand seed might be available on the market.
The botanists and growers regard this species as the most elegant of all the Bergenias and I can see why, as this compact plant with its rosette of neat, oval, apple-green, shiny leaves enhances the dainty flowers, which are held aloft on elegant, often blush-pink stems.
Seed was first collected from the limestone cliffs in Sichuan in the Himalayan mountains in 1935 and again in 1982 by Roy Lancaster who introduced the species to the UK. Cambridge Botanic Garden website mentions that Bergenia emeiensis can be seen growing in their Alpine House and that they are also trialling the species in their woodland area. The plant used to be regarded as tender but I regard it as a hardy perennial in my small courtyard garden which, like many London gardens, has its own micro-climate. Even so, I do, unfortunately, sometimes lose plants during colder winters but this species has not yet been damaged and so it’s a great treat to be able to admire this handsome specimen from my kitchen window.
I, too, have a comfy seat looking out on my garden where I spend many happy hours deciding what changes need to be made in my garden (there is always something).
I am currently enjoying watching my pots of bulbs grow and begin to flower. I posted a photo on Facebook of my Harmony irises and my friend in Norfolk (who I think was rather envious) suggested I had a microclimate in my garden. It is very sheltered and faces west so maybe I do.
I have just decided to empty my rather unsightly compost bin and replace it with a smaller, more discreet one. I therefore have a large pile of compost which I am in the process of shovelling around the garden. I am expecting a spectacular display later in the year!
My Clematis Armandii under the tree is budding nicely. I planted it some years ago and was disappointed last year that I had so few flowers on it. That was until I looked out from the upstairs window and discovered that my neighbours were enjoying a beautiful display! It had put all its energy into growing to a lighter spot in the garden next door!
I find this time of year quite difficult garden-wise, especially when the weather is mild, as it is at the moment. I am having to restrain myself from going wild with the secateurs and cutting everything back. I shall wait another month before giving my clematis, roses and salvia a good hair cut. I think it is also time to give the Hibiscus Syriacus Woodbridge a trim as it has grown rather tall and thin.
I hope other people will write about their views, as Kathy suggested.
After the busyness of a visit during half-term to the Imperial War Museum, it was relaxing to visit the adjacent Tibetan Peace Garden on an amazingly warm and sunny, winter’s day in February.
This is a lovely, partially enclosed garden which was opened by the Dalal Lama in 1999 and it was named ‘Samten Kyil’, meaning the Garden of Contemplation and this is exactly what the designers have achieved.
The garden is made up of two parts: an outer garden of trees and lawn sweeping around and enclosing the inner circular garden, the whole bordered by a circular pathway in which to enjoy the views. White-barked Himalayan Birches, making a striking contrast against the green and blue of the grass and the sky, are interspersed with Weeping Cherries and Prunus serrula (Tibetan Cherry) with polished, red-purple bark.
1. Prune Group 3 clematis (late flowering viticella types) now by cutting all stems back just above a leaf node starting from the ground up. Don’t be timid as they respond well. Then feed around the plant base with an organic feed making sure to avoid emerging shoots and mulch with compost.
Clematis viticella Romantica (Group 3) in bloomClematis Comtesse de Bouchard (Group 3) in bloom
2. If you have some, mulch your beds with homemade compost or leafmould. If you don’t have enough just mulch around your favourite plants.
Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society 