Roehampton Garden Society

Category Archives: Update2022

this post was used for 2022 Update


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Wandsworth Heritage Festival – some local events to try:

The Heritage Festival is half way through – but with many interesting events remain to join in.

Below are one or two that may be of interest.

The whole programme is available here and if online events are of interest, they can be found here

Walks, talks and exhibitions next week:

Walk: Crossing the River – a Putney and Fulham Heritage Walk
Organised by Chris Van Hayden Tourist Guide
In this fascinating walk Blue Badge Tour Guide Chris Van Hayden will share the rich history of these two villages. The tour’s main themes are rowing, the English Civil Wars, Mary
Wollstonecraft, sewers, the two churches, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Bishops’ palace.
• Wednesday 8th June, 1pm
• £10
• Meet on the corner of Festing Road/Putney Embankment SW15 1LB
• Booking required – contact bluebadgeguide@chrisvanhaydentours.uk 

Walk: Industrial Heritage of the River Wandle
Organised by the Wandle Industrial Museum
John Sheridan will lead this walk along the River Wandle from Earlsfield to the Thames.
Similar to his walk last year (a virtual version of which is on the Wandle Industrial Museum YouTube channel), but containing new material reflecting this year’s theme.
• Wednesday 8th June, 2pm
• FREE
• Meet at Earlsfield Station entrance, Garratt Lane SW18 3DL
• Booking required – contact john.sheridan08@gmail.com

Talk: Wandsworth’s Lost Fishing Village
Organised by the Wandsworth Historical Society
From the seventeenth century to the nineteenth, an area dominated by fishermen and
watermen flourished near Wandsworth Bridge. Dorian Gerhold tells the story of this
remarkable settlement and the families who lived and worked there.
• Wednesday 8th June, 6.30pm
• FREE
• Wandsworth Town Library, 11 Garratt Lane SW18 4AQ
• Booking advised – contact Wandsworth Town Library on 020 8877 1742

Talk: Stories from the post mortem casebooks of St George’s Hospital, 1841-1946
Organised by Archives and Special Collections, St George’s Hospital
Archivist Dr Juulia Ahvensalmi and Curator of the Museum of Human Diseases Dr Carol
Shiels delve into the historical post mortem casebooks of St George’s Hospital with stories about the patients and diseases in the casebooks, from smallpox to murder cases.
• Thursday 9th June, 1pm
• FREE
• Library, St George’s, University of London, Cranmer Terrace SW17 0RE
• Book via Eventbrite: sgul-pm.eventbrite.co.uk

Talk: A Brief History of Rowing in Putney
Organised jointly by the Putney Society and the Wandsworth Society
Local historian Philip Evison charts the development of rowing in Putney and the people and events which became part of its history along the way.
• Thursday 9th June, 8pm
• FREE
• West Side Church Hall, corner of Melody Road/Allfarthing Lane SW18 2QQ
• Booking not required, but any queries can be sent to jennyafmassey@aol.com 

Exhibition: Wandsworth Prison Museum open weekend
Organised by the Wandsworth Prison Museum
The prison history in over 450 photos and objects. Stories of staff, prisoners, escapes, and hangings. Featuring Oscar Wilde, acid bath murderer John Haigh, traitor William Joyce
(Lord Haw Haw), and great train robber Ronnie Biggs.
• Saturday 11th June and Sunday 12th June, 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm
• FREE
• Wandsworth Prison Museum, North Gate Car Park, Heathfield Road SW18 3HR
• Booking not required


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Time to stop using Glyphosate: weedkiller damages wild bee colonies, study reveals.

We’ve suspected for a long time that the most widely used weedkiller in history might be harming our bees – and now we know its true…….the most widely used weedkiller in history harms a critical ability of bumblebees to regulate nest temperature, making it harder for them to survive.

Many of us will have a small amount of glyphosate on our plots – possibly for the dreaded bindweed. This tells us that we shouldn’t be using it. At all costs keep it away from insects. It’s our responsibility not to damage wildlife.

It will take years to determine whether using glyphosate, even under controlled circumstances, also affects the insect food chain and therefore other useful creatures. The statistics for beneficial insect decline are horrific – let’s not take chances. Don’t use weedkillers.

“Glyphosate is the most widely used pesticide in history, intended to kill only plants. The harm to bumblebees – vital pollinators – was not identified in regulatory risk assessments, which only test whether a pesticide rapidly kills healthy, individual bees. However, the collective failure to regulate colony temperature could have a massive impact on its ability to produce the next generation, the scientists said.”

The Guardian, June 2022

Read the full article in the Guardian here


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Pictures at an Exhibition

The RGS Centenary Exhibition is in Putney Library from 28th May to 12th June 2022

Part of Wandsworth Heritage week, the exhibition looks at the roots of the RGS, set in local history of its times. There is quite a lot to read, and to see. There are also some lovely paintings of our allotments to see, and Andrew Wilson’s photos of wildlife on our allotments. You are warmly invited to visit. Please do sign the visitor’s book.


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Jubilee Room Centenary Event

RGS members at the House of Commons

At our AGM last November when Fleur Anderson heard this year would be the RGS’s centenary year, she invited us to have an event at the House of Commons Jubilee Room as part of our centenary celebrations. Numbers had to be very restricted, so only members who have made a contribution to the running of RGS activities were invited. All costs were covered by those who attended the event.

It was a very special evening to remember in such an auspicious place. Fleur made it clear in her speech that she is very committed to preserving and supporting allotments and that environmental issues in general are very important to her. We are very fortunate to have Fleur as our President and MP who is so passionate about these important issues that are so in line with the values of RGS.

Fleur and her team made the evening run very smoothly and were very supportive in organising the event at our end too. The event was very enjoyable as a result – many thanks to Fleur and her team.

Helen Finch


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What happened at the Plant Sale…

Notes from the Easter Sunday Plant Sale

On Site 2, Easter Sunday 17 April, we held a very successful Plant Sale in aid of Glass Door, a charity that partners with churches and community centres to give shelter and support for homeless people. Our local church, St Margaret’s actively supports this charity.

It was a lovely sunny day and the sale tables, filled with produce, looked very inviting under gazebos and bunting. Virtually everything was sold on the day, with the few remaining plants being sold on the following Sunday. We made just over £200, all of which goes to Glass Door.

Thanks go to Sue Hodgson, Carol Martinez, Gill Tamsett and Sylvie Willcox who helped on the Sunday, and to all those who donated plants without which the sale would not have been possible.

Vivien Fowler


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The RGS and Local Schools

In order to make our lovely allotments accessible to children in our area who do not have families with plots or have a garden at home, we often welcome small groups from local schools to visit. Only one school, Paddock, rents a plot but there are visiting groups from other schools. Not only do the children learn about the seasons, the plants and the bugs but sometimes they get a real treat with a difference! Courtney,a pupil at Granard School, wrote:

“On Mondays, we go to the allotments to see all the plants. This week we saw two dogs called Barley and Hugo and a cool cat called Simba. The dogs were cute and friendly to everyone. 

When Hugo saw us, he got very excited and started to jump and run around like a raccoon.  
Simba the cat is three years old.​​ When Simba saw Barley, he wanted to hunt, but instead he jumped up in the tree.  Simba loves going on trips by himself. When he was young, he would squeeze under the gate to reach the allotments. However, now he can’t go under the gate because he is too big. Simba loves going in the trees to look out for food. If you offer him some delicious treats, he will sit down and give you his paw. I like the way he looks. “

with thanks to Jackie Savage


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Blooming Marvellous – the Putney Society starts a new campaign…

Putney is a great place to live but it would be even better if we could stem the wave of concrete burying our front gardens. If we all do our bit to turn our gardens green, together we can encourage wildlife, improve air quality, help to prevent flooding (by letting water drain into the earth and not down the drain) and enhance our health and wellbeing…..say the Putney Society

Click to read more – is your street included?

Launching a Garden Award scheme in Central Putney, over two weekends at the beginning of May, they will be offering plants and garden advice to residents of central Putney. Come along to plant stalls at the corner of Burstock Road and Montserrat Road on 7 May and at the corner of Chelverton Road and Charlwood Road on 14 May (10am to 2pm) to see find plants suitable for containers or small front gardens as well as growing advice.