Roehampton Garden Society

Category Archives: Update2024

used in an email update


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Don’t Anger the Crows

This briefing appeared in the New York Times:

Crows are ferociously intelligent. They can mimic human speech, use tools and gather for what seem to be funeral rites when another crow dies or is killed. They can identify and remember faces, even among large crowds.

And crows can also harbor resentment for longer than you might expect. When a murder (or group) of crows singles out a person as dangerous, its wrath can be passed along well beyond an individual crow’s life span — creating, in short, multigenerational grudges.

Gene Carter, a computer specialist in Seattle, saw crows encroaching on a robin’s nest in his backyard and launched a rake into the air. For the better part of a year, he said, the crows would scream at him or divebomb him. Eventually, they even learned to identify his bus — and to wait for him at the bus stop. (The harassment stopped only when he moved.)

with thanks to Helen Finch


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Michael Gilson talk and book signing


In Michael’s interesting and lively talk he first spoke about the beginnings of the RGS, in particular how Richard Sudell, the forgotten man of garden history, led the new cottage estate of Roehampton (now known as the Dover House Estate) on its garden journey in the interwar years of the last century. He explained how Roehampton became one of the leading garden estates in Britain as our country became the ‘nation of gardeners’ it is known as today.


Michael’s new book Behind the Privet Hedge: Richard Sudell, the Suburban Garden the Beautification of Britain has been highly praised by reviewers and he signed copies for members. We were delighted to welcome him to our AGM.

Photographs by Jackie Savage


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History of the RGS

At our AGM in November, author Michael Gilson, spoke about the early days of the Dover House Estate, created on ‘Garden City’ principles as part of the house building initiative after the first world war. ‘Homes for Heroes’ were declared by prime minister Lloyd-George – which would include the right to green space to grow food. Each house would have it’s own green space and allotment plots would be part of the design.

Of course, many who rented the houses were not naturally green fingered, and had never owned a garden before, so Richard Sudell, a Quaker and political firebrand as well as a well known plantsman and garden writer took on the challenge of helping. He set up training allotments and gave lessons, forming the Roehampton Estate Garden Society. It seems that meetings of the committee took place in the basement at St. Margaret’s church, just below where we have our AGM. Roehampton became one of the leading garden estates in Britain as the country became the ‘nation of gardeners’./

Our centenary exhibition featured boards about this history – which are now in PDF form. We hope you will read and enjoy them. You may have to use the links after each page to read the whole pdf. Use the slider bars on the right if you see them (desktop only).

READ about the building of the Dover House Estate

1914-1932-Board3-DoverHouse-Development

READ about Richard Sudell and the founding of the RGS

1914-1939-Board4-RS-and-founding-of-REGS

READ about Living on the Dover House Estate

1914-1939-Board5-DoverHouse-Living

In 1955 the two Roehampton horticultural societies merged together to become Roehampton Garden Society.

Michael Gilson’s fascinating book, Behind the Privet Hedge, is now available from booksellers.


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Farming of the future

Agriculture and food growing is a huge growth area for robotics. With current difficulties in finding a skilled workforce to plant and pick, this may be the future.

M&S have just announced successful automated growing of parsnips – an industry first. The technology, includes two robots for bed forming, planting and weeding, two different types of drone to monitor and maintain crop health, and scientific testing on soil health and carbon impact. Green fertiliser, less diesel, less ploughing all combine to reduce the carbon emissions by an amazing 46 per cent. See more here

In another research project Cambridge university has trained a robot to pick iceberg lettuce – one of the most difficult crops to harvest! See more here

It’s still a challenge to train a robot to judge a ripe fruit or notice disease or damage as well as a human can, but the advances are fascinating. Take a look at the latest types of intelligent agricultural machinery.

Strawberry picking

13 types (!) of automated farm machinery working now

For anyone interested in a deep dive into how horticulture uses robots, this article from ‘Grower Experts’ explains how automation is used. Link here

with thanks to Helen Finch


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The Great Garlic Debate

There’s been a debate going on about growing garlic. Should you buy seed garlic – or can you use a supermarket bulb? Is it best to plant now (even September I have seen mentioned) or wait until early next year. How much water should you use – that balance between tiny bulbs and rotting stems.

Monty Don certainly caused controversy by planting a supermarket variety – some swear they grow well – but it will be next spring before the results of the Gardener’s World experiments are known. The latest information suggests that for good results you need garlic that grows in a cold climate – not that imported from sunnier climes. Also concerns have been raised about possible viruses on supermarket bulbs. Both of these concerns are valid.

The store has recommended varieties.

Here’s a great ‘No Dig’ video full of garlic information from Charles Dowding

Here’s a comprehensive growing guide from Gardener’s World… Gardener’s World Guide


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Inside the Word of Giant Vegetable Growing

Size does matter in the Canna UK National Giant Vegetables Championship at the Malvern Show.

UK and European records are set. You may not know that the EU record radish weighs more than 20Kg! Peter Glazebrook from Nottingham was this year’s champion. Find out more about the weird and wonderful world of giant vegetable growing …

Peter Glazebrook interview in the Independent

About the giant vegetables championship

2024 results from Malvern


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Autumn Show 24 – pot grown herbs

One of the fascinations about our shows is seeing what other people grow. This year class C33 was for “a pot of one type of home-grown annual herb, growing” and had some interesting entries. Fresh herbs can be difficult to source – and some quite expensive for a small bag, so, if you like to cook, growing them yourself makes sense. If seeds are difficult to germinate, you can often buy a tiny plant in Springtime and grow it on to full size – as good as any houseplant! Take a look below for inspiration…

Hai’s Leucocasia Gigantea – used to make sour fish soup
Greg and Sylvia’s Chilli plant
Raj’s Dark Basil


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The challenges to our trees

A rewilding project at Skiddaw will include 300,000 native trees

In the news this year has been the effect of climate change on our trees. Trees are slow to adapt – and although trees in our woodlands and forests are gradually spreading northwards as new seedlings grow, the pace is too slow and many of our native trees may not survive without help.


It’s good news that English oak trees may be more resilient to warmer climates than other species, but many other well-known species, such as the European beech, will struggle. Read more from New Scientist

Kew Gardens expects to lose 50% of it’s 11,000 trees to heat and drought before the end of the century and is already sourcing more tolerant tree varieties from Europe to fill the gaps. Read about Kew here

In our woodlands our native trees could die off equally suddenly. But should we be helping their migration? An interesting article in the Guardian explains the dilemma Read here

It’s a complicated argument – but one thing is clear, as we plant as many trees as possible in parks, gardens or rewilding ventures such as Skiddaw, the seedlings may need to come from further south if they are to survive. Seedlings from local areas need to populate projects northwards.


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Corn on the Cob: when to harvest

Each sweetcorn plant should produce one or two cobs. Sweetcorn cobs are ready to harvest when the silky tassels turn brown and the kernels, when pressed with a thumbnail, exude a milky liquid. Give cobs a sharp twist to remove. Pick moments before using, because the sugars start converting to starch the minute you harvest them. Supersweet varieties, however, will stay sweeter for a couple of days.

Advice from Gardener’s World

In a short clip from Gardener’s World, Monty shows how it’s done here


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Our NGS Open Day – a great success

Our 100 plus visitors to our Nation Garden’s Scheme open day were delighted with their allotment walk, commented on the many beautiful things that there were to see – in particular two lovely clematis covered arches, and the tea space by the potting shed! Many of them stopped and asked questions on the plots – some shared this year’s gardening challenges.


Most enjoyed the magnificent array of cakes and tea, with outside service provided by our younger helpers – thanks to you all! Many bought plants from the plant stall.


The event was very well organised by the committee, and our sincere thanks to them and to the many who came to help and participated . A huge effort, but very much rewarded.

More than £1000 was raised for the NGS charities.

View an online photo gallery of the occasion here. Photos by Vivienne Fowler and Bella Stebbings


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Enable is mapping Wandsworth biodiversity – can you help?

Stag Beetle

” Wandsworth is a treasure trove of biodiversity, boasting 24 different habitats from heathlands to the River Thames, supporting an astounding array of approximately 3,149 species. From common garden birds to rare bees and bats, and with 23% of the borough designated as Local Wildlife Sites, Wandsworth’s vision for biodiversity is clear: to recognise, value, conserve, enhance, and wisely use our diverse natural resources”…..

Enable need to map our borough’s wildlife and are asking all RGS members to help. Just pick your area, plot or garden, and tell them what you see by filling in the “On Your Street: What Can You Find in Your Garden?” survey online. You only need to do this once before 25th October – but please do contribute if you can.

More about “On your Street” here
Find the Survey Form here

The Survey asks about specific species that you may have seen in the last 5 years. This includes bats, hedgehogs, starlings, house sparrows, swifts, stag beetles…

if you’re unsure – here are some links to identify the birds and bugs in your garden….

Quick and easy garden bird sheet from the WWT

Identify Insects with the Wildlife Trust