tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56721454619033289742024-03-13T03:31:34.552+00:00Tales from Duck Island CottageWe are Open Garden Square Weekend and we celebrate London’s little-known green spaces. For one weekend every June around 200 gardens are opened up to the public. Palaces, prestigious garden squares, roof and community gardens - all take part.
We’re based at Duck Island Cottage – in St James’s Park, so we are really at the heart of things!
Our blog will explore a unique garden every month, leading up to the June event, hopefully giving you ideas and inspiration.Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-71981092424454044402017-06-13T15:47:00.001+01:002017-06-15T01:13:27.146+01:00A Triangle of Tranquillity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the many things I have always loved about London is its ability to continually surprise you. London's garden squares take after the city and are often astonishing finds. When I discovered this garden square, Formosa Garden, it simply took my breath away. This is the entrance to it. No imposing gate or railings through which the outsider is enticed to peek. Just a solid, impassable barrier, with no hint, and with no leaf or plant peeking out to give you a clue as to what you might find behind.</div>
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At first the view isn't very promising, and it is only when you reach the end of this side path that the garden reveals itself.<br />
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A huge triangle of green stands before you, bordered by pruned plane trees, which stand guard between the garden and the backs of long terraces of houses. Coming in at about three acres in size, this is an amazing space to have to yourself as you step out from your back gate. A mini Highbury Fields or a Clapham Common in fact.<br />
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Far off, off-centre from the middle of the garden, one plane tree has been allowed to show off its true form. It's a lovely reminder of what all the trees could have grown into, but being practical, it's not unreasonable that they have been pruned over the years to accommodate the enjoyment of the space by residents. However, some of the trees are now showing their age and many only have 15 to 25 years of life left. </div>
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Plans have been drawn up by garden designer Mark Lutyens to change the garden as the plane trees die in future years. The plane trees will be replaced with British broad-leaf trees and little garden glades are being created in various scattered locations across the garden. This process is also being managed by the gardener, Robert Player, from Garden Associates, and Westbourne Block Management.<br />
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The residents have been consulted and feedback from them has been taken into account in the final design. The essential nature of the garden as a secret place will remain. Formosa Garden, and its nearby sister gardens, Crescent Gardens and Triangle, were created in the 1860s with a different concept to the well-known garden squares of Kensington and Notting Hill, which flaunted their wealth and tantalised passers-by who peeked through the railings. Here at Formosa Garden the idea from the start was to retain secrecy and not be visible to the riff-raff of the day. </div>
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You can see here the new trees being planted, each surrounded by a protective piece of ground, some bordered by low, natural fencing. </div>
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The new glades incorporate different plantings . There is a Mediterranean bed with a Mediterranean olive tree and a copper beech tree with shrubs.</div>
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Residents pay rent for their garden, under a rent charge deed issued in 1981-2 by the Church Commissioners, who used to own Maida Vale, where the garden is located. The new design, incorporating open space with pockets of planting, has been through five meetings to thrash out and explain the changes and seven or eight draft plans - a good example of consultation to create beauty from the back windows of the houses. As I left the garden, the houses began to take over the space as the path led up to the exit, and I turned sadly to recall the magic of the garden beyond. A quiet place in the day, and busier in the evenings when families return home from work and school, this garden will only be open to the public over Open Garden Squares Weekend, on the afternoon of Sunday June 18th. With the weather forecast set to be fair and sunny (fingers crossed), it's time to stride out and visit a hidden gem.</div>
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This year there will be a new <a href="http://opensquares.org/hiddengems/index.html" target="_blank">Hidden Gem Treasure Trail</a>, and you can find all the details on our Open Garden Squares Weekend website. Look for the logo shown above and fill out the entry form. Visitors can visit four 'Hidden Gems' and enter a competition for a unique opportunity for tea at Duck Island Cottage, shown below. Formosa Garden is a prime example of a hidden gem garden in London. Don't miss it. <br />
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<a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Formosa.html" target="_blank">Further information on visiting Formosa Garden on Open Garden Squares Weekend.</a></div>
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Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-77811758235965688802017-05-12T20:33:00.000+01:002017-05-12T22:10:37.402+01:00Where have all the graveyards gone?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Vestry House is one of our 31 new gardens for 2017 - opening for the very first time to the public on the Sunday. Small but perfectly formed, it has been created on the site of the graveyard of St Laurence Pountney parish church, which was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and never rebuilt. You can see here one of the sarcophagi which would have filled the space in times gone by. The planting tubs complement the tomb which remains and when I visited they were spilling out tall black tulips and the ferns had just unfurled their new fronds. </div>
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In fact, many of the gardens in the City of London used to be churchyards in an earlier life. Some churches were burnt down in the Great Fire and others were bombed during the London blitz. In the intervening Victorian period, an act was passed which turned many of the City's churchyards and burial grounds into gardens. Most of these churchyard gardens are owned by the diocese (or the Bishop of London) and are managed by the City of London Corporation. But Vestry House was sold about six years ago and its new owners, Eduard Truell and Cedriane de Boucard/Truell, have been taking their horticultural responsibilities seriously. Vestry House is the London office of Disruptive Capital (their business) and the Eduard Truell Foundation (a Conservation Foundation), and just across the lane is the Rectory House garden, the sister garden to Vestry House. Alas Rectory House is not open to the public, but you can peek through the railings as you leave. It was built after the Great Fire of London, and stands on parts of an old Roman wall and palace. It has had a variety of owners including wine merchants and the l'Anson family, and the front garden is also a bit of the old churchyard of Laurence Pountney church. </div>
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As you stroll down Laurence Pountney Hill, you will find the garden on the corner on your left, a street up from the River Thames, protected by sturdy iron railings adjacent to Vestry House. Passing through the gate, there is a striking display of bamboo wigwams set inside box hedging, with a variety of David Austen roses to scent the air. In the winter months the hellebores hold sway here. </div>
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On the path ahead of you are two arches of blue wisteria. Despite all the tender care of Marion Blair, the Head Gardener from Lavenders Blue, they have stubbornly restricted themselves to leaves for the past four years - but her magical touch and a heavier hand with the secateurs this year have produced the first flowers, still seeking cover amongst the greenery, below. Across the road, a white wisteria is much more forthcoming with its flowers. </div>
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Marion has introduced woodland planting to the garden, bringing in bio-diversity with herbaceous plants and bulbs. And the flowers have loved the extra sunshine which the pruning of a very large London plane tree has created. </div>
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Once through the wisteria arches, there is a quiet meeting area, used by the staff in Vestry House. <i>Geum</i> 'Tangerine' and fresh, new hosta leaves, with a camellia hedge or espaliered fruit trees (pear and apple) in the background give this space a restful feel for meetings. </div>
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The lines of the garden from east to west help to elongate the small space and draw the eye onwards.</div>
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Acers flourish in the mixed woodland planting. The challenge of the garden has been the shade, but <i>Centaura</i>, hydrangea, begonia, <i>Dicentra</i>, <i>Alchemilla mollis</i> and white cyclamen have settled down happily with foxgloves, proving the old adage of right plant for the right place. From this location, you can get a glimpse of Rectory House and garden across the road from Vestry House .<br>
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In the summer the tulips in this sunnier area of the garden will be replaced with <i>Verbena bonariensis</i> and <i>Gaura</i>, in a theme which will combine red, orange and purple flowers and there will also be a sweet pea wigwam. The children at the St Paul's Cathedral School are busy working on an insect hotel, and we hope the bees will be delighting in the new flowers and visitors will come and take time to pause and smell the roses.</div>
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<a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Vestry.html" target="_blank">More information on visiting Vestry House on Open Garden Squares Weekend</a></div>
Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-78504647196781188792017-04-08T20:47:00.001+01:002017-04-08T20:47:15.791+01:00Three Gardeners and an Ice Cream Man<div>
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Bina Gardens East is a privately owned delight of a garden, hidden by houses and railings off the Old Brompton Road. When you enter the garden you are greeted by a magnificent specimen of a wedding cake tree (<i>Cornus contraversa</i> 'Variegata'), whose branches reach outwards in symmetrical, horizontal layers. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">The leaves are tiny at first, like this, but flesh out as summer comes, until the tree stands proudly for everyone to admire its layers, just like a traditional wedding cake.</span></div>
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When Alice Ulm, the garden's owner, first saved Bina Gardens East, she found the tree surviving as a tiny stump about two foot high. It stayed that height, sulking, for about five years until it decided it had better get on with growing and has never looked back.</div>
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Bina Gardens East guards its charms from the world and has to be discovered by strolling along from Gloucester Road tube station, until you find Dove Mews, and peer through the railings. The garden was laid out by the Gunter Estate in the 1880s, and some of the original rope-edged tiles for delineating the paths still remain. James Gunter (1731-1819), whose wealth from confectionery secured the original purchase of the land, specialised in ice cream, a treat much loved in the Georgian London of the day. </div>
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The shelter provided by the houses around has resulted in several hot spots - with an orange tree showing off its oranges in one corner when I visited - alas it is still not hot enough to eat the oranges. But the gardeners have been inventive with plantings in hot corners, and banana trees coexist happily alongside echias and ginger lilies.<br />
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Although the garden is privately owned, it is shared with residents of the neighbouring streets, who can subscribe to use it, with all the proceeds of their annual fee going to the garden. Some other private garden squares in Kensington have formal committees with the rent historically collected by the council with the rates, an advantage for an assured income of a garden square; but in Bina Gardens East they collect the subscriptions themselves. Less committees, more gardening. </div>
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The use of modern statues and ornaments draws the eye along paths and down into the depths of the garden. Care has been taken in restoring the garden to try to follow what was left of the original layout of paths and in one corner a knot garden has been planted. After the garden was first created by the Gunter Estate, ownership changed and at one stage it was owned by Falkner House School nearby until it was put up for auction, Alice Ulm bought it, and became a very proficient gardener, learning on the job as she restored it. </div>
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In actual fact, three gardeners are the mainstay and backbone of the garden. Alice Ulm, on the left is the owner gardener, Lisa Simmonds in the centre is the Head Gardener and Susie Maier on the right is the assistant gardener. Here they are in March, with the garden already green and pleasant around them so early in the year. Alice and Lisa have a long history of gardening in Kent and they all agree that Lisa, with her lifelong passion for plants and horticultural knowledge "basically tells us what to do". Susie's horticultural knowledge has also developed since she started helping them at Bina Gardens East and they were all instrumental in different ways in saving the garden. A true friendship of a shared love of horticulture. </div>
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They work jointly on new projects each year. Last year the bed by the railings behind this bench had red-leaved bananas to contrast with the green of euphorbia, and was topped by the cup and saucer climber (<i>Cobaea scandens</i>) shown below. It had continued to flower throughout the winter. You'll have to visit in June to see what they transform the bed into for 2017. Whatever they decide, the new plants will be clearly labelled - the labels with full Latin names come out in the summer, courtesy of Lisa.</div>
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A wall on one side of the garden was covered in the star-like flowers of <i>Clematis montana</i>. Nearby in summer the hot lips salvia (<i>Salvia argentea</i>) blooms brightly in red, and elsewhere you will find a variety of shrubs and plants including several tree ferns, Chinese privet (<i>Ligustrum lucidum</i>), <i>Skimmia reevesiana</i>, <i>Viburnum x bodnantense</i>, and climbing hydrangea (<i>Pileostegia viburnoides</i>) to name but a few.</div>
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The <i>Echium pininana</i>, shown above, delighted visitors in 2016, and they are hopeful it will perform again in 2017. </div>
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And this is what, in their different ways, three gardeners and an ice cream man saved for posterity - the garden in all its splendour in summer. In 2017 Bina Gardens East has been chosen as a 'Hidden Gem', so look out for it in the Open Garden Squares Weekend guidebook and see if you can complete the 'Hidden Gems' competition and win a unique invitation to tea at Duck Island Cottage in St James's Park.<br />
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<a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/BinaEast.html" target="_blank">Information on visiting Bina Gardens East on Open Garden Squares Weekend</a> »</div>
Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-90196169531519952102017-03-08T19:07:00.000+00:002017-03-08T19:07:16.005+00:00Windy times<br />
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I visited Winterton House Organic Garden on a cold morning just after storm Doris had wreaked its destructive winds over London gardens. A large shrub had been uprooted but although the garden sits in a wind vortex zone at the foot of Europe's (yes, really, Europe's) tallest brick-built residential block (24 storeys, no less), it had survived the storm relatively unscathed. It is set near the heart of Shadwell in East London and has been rightly chosen as one of our 'Hidden Gem' gardens for 2017.</div>
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You can just about make out the small group of allotments at the back of the garden in this photo by their green plastic polytunnels, and see the trees which flank the land on the other side. There are 14 vegetable plots in all: 10 share a home with the chickens in the vegetable part of the garden, and 4 nestle alongside the main garden, which is a riot of colour in June. When I arrived, Antonio, a plot holder, was busy tending his plot, bringing kitchen waste from home for his compost bin. He was a man in search of Valerian, a herb, which he had been told speeds up the compost process, but the black gold in his bin was well on its way to nurturing his plants later in the spring without it. </div>
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There are four types of chicken kept in the vegetable garden: Polands, Golden Silkies, Cream Legbars and Buff Orpingtons. The Polands are shown below, and are particularly pretty, but not now the best layers of eggs. </div>
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Normally the chickens would be out and about, clearing the soil of slugs and snails for the gardeners, but, alas, since January they have been confined to barracks because of concerns about the spread of avian flu. Shadwell is not far from the Thames and the main threat comes from the river. Geese, ducks and swans are the main conveyors of the disease, and pigeons also present a constant menace for such a small gardening space. Ducks, which were happy neighbours for the chickens, have been evacuated to the countryside for their own safety while the avian flu threat continues to exist. The current restrictions were due to end at the end of February, but the gardeners may have to call on the goodwill of companies in the City of London and their bands of volunteers to construct higher netting so that the chickens can roam around again in safety. Volunteers from Barclays Bank and other companies have already helped to construct a new wooden pergola and chicken sheds.<br />
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The summer splendour of the garden is a great contrast to the rather austere environment in which it sits, with the tower block an ever-present feature looming over it. Five years ago Melvyn Smith sat in his flat looking down at the windswept scrubland that it was - a neglected garden, the odd evergreen shrub, pruned religiously, with the odd useful feature such as a brick pergola. The council announced plans to turn the 'garden' into a car park and this galvanised Melvyn into action - and he was swiftly joined by fellow resident Ken Davis. The rest is history.</div>
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Now the organic garden has a small pond, to complement the flowers, vegetables and chickens. <br />
Vines now trail over the brick pergola. I didn't enquire as to the vintage of the produce it gives, but feel sure that its grapes or its wine would be delectable.<br />
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The residents have successfully established one raised alpine bed and are starting on the second, alongside a dry garden with grasses and gravel.<br />
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They take their veg growing seriously here, and Ken started chitting his potatoes in January - now they are bedded down in this home grown solarium, next to a recycled greenhouse below.</div>
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Ken already has the seeds sprouting in the greenhouse he has created from discarded materials - with the local market and district a good source of resources. Local school students with learning difficulties look after two small veg plots in the main garden and cabbage, kale and flowers were already sprouting in the greenhouse.</div>
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The people who garden here and fill these allotments with an abundance of produce for the summer come from all walks of life and backgrounds. Gardening is a marvellous leveller. Actors brush shoulders with social workers, consultant psychologists, post office engineers and managing directors with many people from different professions now enjoying their retirement here. A Bulgarian prunes and tends the grapes, others are Londoners, with their rich heritage from so many countries, Yorkshire, Birmingham and Bangladesh included.</div>
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Last year they won an innovation award for growing cotton, and not to be outdone, they are planning on trying to grow flax this year. The cotton flower is shown below.<br />
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The roses in summer are superb. They have great teas and plant sales over the Open Garden Squares Weekend. Their fame spread, and attracted a senior civil servant, who brought along friends from her church to sample the delights of this hidden gem. </div>
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So impressed was she with the displays of flowers and the tale of the creation of the garden, that she decided to lobby for recognition for Melvyn and Ken and pestered the Cabinet Office until she won its attention. Invitations to a Buckingham Palace Garden Party have just plopped through Melvyn and Ken's letterboxes and they are both overjoyed. So good to see the perks of life sometimes go to the right people.</div>
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Winterton House Organic Garden are now used to winning garden awards - the innovation award for growing cotton, Tower Hamlets in Bloom award, an RHS Gold in 2016 and Outstanding and Diploma of Recognition awards in other years. The gardeners are joined by 2-3 regular volunteers each year.<br />
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This is Melvyn at the front of the block, which is managed by Tower Hamlets Community Housing. Watch out for the 2017 Open Garden Squares guidebook. An emerald green gem logo will delineate gardens selected for the 'Hidden Gem' competition with details of how to enter. <br />
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If I lived in this tower block I'd be down in the garden every day. There is a warm welcome for all the residents in the block - don't just look down and admire, glorious as that must be in summer - go down to smell the flowers.<br />
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<a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Winterton.html" target="_blank">Information on visiting Winterton House Organic Garden on Open Garden Squares Weekend</a> »</div>
Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-7653638846380512372017-02-01T07:48:00.000+00:002017-02-08T09:14:13.688+00:00Temples by the Thames<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In a week when judges seized the headlines not far away from this Temple hall, I contemplated the gardens lawyers can relax in on the banks of the Thames. The Temple Gardens at Middle Temple Inn were my focus, just a stone's throw away from the north bank of the Thames and here they are in all their summer splendour. Trainee barristers eat their dinners here and study to become fully fledged lawyers, in majestic, historic surroundings which date back to the twelfth century, when the site was owned by the Knights Templar. </div>
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The main lawn of the gardens used to be much closer to the river in times gone by; but the vista down to the Thames has retained its beauty today as a landscape to be enjoyed by people through the hard work and vision of its gardener, Kate Jenrick, and her assistant who, between them work an eight-day week planting, weeding and maintaining the lawns. Two ‘Master Gardeners’ from the inns of court help them plant bulbs and open the gardens for Open Garden Squares Weekend. Underneath the lawn there is a ginormous tank with 20,000 litres of water collected from the buildings, which is used to keep the lawns green and lush all summer long in a sustainable way. </div>
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As well as the expanse of lawn, most of the gardens comprise a series of courtyards. This one is Fountain Court, one of the oldest gardens in the whole of London, with three very impressive trees, a plane, horse chestnut and mulberry and a water fountain - one of the earliest public fountains in London. There used to be another plane tree, which died, and its demise has let in more light for new fuchsias and camellias, whilst retaining the feeling of green under the tree canopies. Charles Dickens had lodgings here at the time he wrote <i>Martin Chuzzlewit</i>.<br>
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Gas lamps still light the way around the courtyards in keeping with the cloister and ancient university feel of the architecture. But Kate has sought to ring the changes during her eight years of stewardship of the gardens, bringing in new planting schemes with more perennials for year-round colour. Currants and gooseberries, a styrax tree as well as rosemary, cosmos, livinias, marigolds and a variety of perennials have been introduced. Kate is one of three custodians that look after gardens of London Inns of Court, (Inner Temple, Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn) who all bring their common experience of studying at Kew Gardens to their roles and so are known as the Kew Ladies. </div>
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Here is an <i>Agastache</i> with its green candles, planted in front of old roses, of which there is a historic tale. Shakespeare's play Henry VI Part 1 talks of the plucking of red and white roses in Temple Garden. People wonder if it refers to Middle Temple or Inner Temple, but the idea certainly came from hereabouts.</div>
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Roses float above the courtyard plantings. They are pruned to half their height in December or January, but, alas, some are suffering from honey fungus and will benefit from new plantings shortly. In other areas the traditional combination of rose and lavender has successfully been replaced with <i>Gaura</i>, hibiscus and <i>Agastache</i> rather than summer bedding plants, with spring bulbs, violas and primroses providing spring colour. </div>
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The changes in plantings to the courtyards have been noticed in Elm Court and Church Court, for instance, and recognised in recent years with City in Bloom awards. Plumbago flowers well in the shelter of Elm Court, where the rubble from war bombings has meant lots of compost has had to be imported and dug in. Now there are lilies of the valley in the shady areas, dogwood for winter colour along one side and a carefully designed successional planting scheme has been established.</div>
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Middle Temple's emblem is a Paschal Lamb, adorned with a halo and staff, and it reflects the Inn's links with the Knights Templar. You can see it adorning many of the buildings as you walk around the streets of the Inn. </div>
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I visited the gardens with other Open Garden Squares Coordinators and had the privilege of a private tour by the Gardener. We are all volunteers and look after the different areas of London, helping gardens as they get ready for opening for Open Garden Squares Weekend. It's a very rewarding and fascinating role, but one of the drawbacks is that we don't get a lot of chance to visit gardens outside our area over the weekend, so we came up with the idea of meeting occasionally at different gardens, which has proved very popular. Just as we started to walk around the gardens, we met a procession of people in full regalia walking the cobbled streets. It turned out this was in honour of the Middle Temple Treasurer meeting Sheriffs of the City of London for the ‘Quit Rents’ annual ceremony.</div>
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In the middle of the Temple we came across this intriguing gate and steps - which invite you to peek through the railings and discover the secrets of the garden inside. This is part of the charm of many of the London gardens which open over Open Garden Squares Weekend - discovering the garden behind the gate, door or fence. </div>
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And here is what we found - the Master's Garden. Just lovely.<br>
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Wandering around Middle Temple is a fascinating combination of history and horticulture. As you turn a corner into a new alleyway, there is a sense sometimes of <i>déjà vu</i>. Not surprising when you realise that the streets and courtyards have been the setting for Downton Abbey and more recently, the new series, Taboo. It's a garden well worth discovering.</div>
Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-82970241934502773542017-01-06T19:38:00.001+00:002017-01-06T19:38:44.350+00:00A Hidden Gem - London's smallest, secret wood.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sunlight filtering down through trees into a wooden glade in June. Peaceful and idyllic. Who would know that this picture is from a mature, natural wood, pretty much entirely surrounded by houses near the centre of London? It's to be found in Islington and it is one of the hidden gems we have chosen for a special quest for our visitors to gardens during the next Open Garden Squares Weekend in 2017.<br />
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Visitors will be able to enter a new competition if they visit a designated number of hidden gems like this one. And the prize for the lucky winners will be tea at Duck Island Cottage, the picturesque cottage by the lake in St James' Park. For the Islington and St Pancras area, Barnsbury Wood is the chosen hidden gem.<br />
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Last year, in addition to guided tours around the wood, Barnsbury Wood hosted a poet, one of several who spent the day in our gardens, providing a taste of poetry in addition to the delights of horticulture. He loved the wood and the visitors loved him.<br />
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The entrance to the wood is through a gap in the terraces of houses which surround it. Until the mid nineteenth century the whole area was pastoral land, but in the 1840s the member of parliament for Huntingdon, George Thornhill, built houses around the nearby Thornhill Square, and the enclosed triangle of land, which today forms Barnsbury Wood was shown on the first ordnance survey map in 1971 as a private garden to 7 Huntingdon Street, where George Thornhill lived. By the turn of the century the garden was abandoned. The land was sold to a developer and in 1974 it was bought by the Borough Counci's Social Services Department, with the intention to develop it. Local residents then met with the Council in 1977-8 and it was agreed to keep the garden as open space. At this time it was entirely surrounded by houses, and entrance could only be gained through one of them. The Council owned the houses at 1 and 2 Crescent Street, which were squatted, but when the squatters were evicted, it was decided to demolish the houses in order to create access from the street for the first time. <br />
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Another attempt by a new council to build houses over the wood was foiled by residents' protests in 1980-81 and since then the site has been very sensitively managed by the Parks Department, achieving Local Nature Reserve status in 1996, the smallest nature reserve in London, measuring a third of a hectare. A small nature reserve in keeping with its borough, Islington, which has the smallest amount of green space of any London borough.<br />
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I met Louise Roscoe, Islington's Nature Conservation Officer with responsibility for Barnsbury Wood for the past 13 years, at the wood in November. The leaning horse chestnut tree from the opening photograph was a gaunt skeleton then, but still dominated over the entrance to the wood. She was accompanied by a new apprentice on his fourth day in the job, and together they were checking the wood for any litter, of which there was surprisingly little.<br />
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The conservation staff seek to keep the balance between access to the wood and wildlife value. They have built some hurdles using dead wood to guard a circle in the centre from humans, where a fox lives, and have established good relations with the residents, who let them use water and electricity. Together they seek to safeguard the wood, with some residents volunteering help in its management. The residents did save it from development, after all.<br />
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"The wood is always changing" explained Louise. Storms open up change as trees fall and are battered by wind. The trees are predominantly ash, with some sycamore, lime, cherry, wych elm, English oak and the horse chestnut, with hawthorn, elder, and hazel underneath. Conservation staff offer guided tree walks in the wood from time to time - I went to one a couple of years ago and learned a great deal about identifying trees, from their fallen twigs as much as from the trees themselves.<br />
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Although dead trees fall and create space, they are sometimes allowed to stand, as standing dead wood is a delight for woodpeckers and other wild life. The tree above is a good example and Louise showed me what fun the woodpeckers have had boring holes into it. Fungi grow on dead wood and the chicken of the woods fungus, which stands out as a bright, yellow, orange, edible mushroom can be found here, as well as the bracket fungus on dead oak wood. There is a split oak tree in the wood which may end up completely dead too in the not too distant future. Logs which come from fallen dead wood are now often planted vertically deep into the soil and house lesser stag beetles. <br />
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At the back of the wood the area was overrun with poplar trees. 40% have now been taken out and this has enabled a diverse array of wild flowers and bulbs to flourish. Lesser celandine, wild garlic and bluebells sprout forth in the spring. Last year sparrowhawks chose Barnsbury Wood for their nest. </div>
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This circle was created after the space was created by fallen trees. It is now used for an innovative educational programme for adults and children. Barnsbury Wood works in partnership with a children's centre and a school which uses the principle of 'forest schools'. Forest schools originated in Scandinavia and believe in teaching children in the outdoors. Children come equipped in suitable clothing for the elements, make whistles from whittling elder tree branches, go bug hunting and learn a range of woodland skills in small groups of six or seven. There is also a therapeutic art group for adults recovering from trauma, singing classes and even an amateur dramatic society which will perform Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream next July.</div>
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What joy it would be to live in a house with a wood at the end of your garden - to be able to walk into central London and enjoy the attractions of a great city as well as spotting toads in a beautiful wood! Barnsbury Wood is opened by volunteers every Tuesday afternoon, on Saturday afternoons in summer and on the Sunday of Open Garden Squares Weekend. Don't miss it in 2017. It is very special.</div>
Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-91757204767861113662016-11-08T08:35:00.000+00:002016-11-08T08:35:46.897+00:00Valuing the Volunteers<div>
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This was the active scene which greeted me when I visited the Stave Hill Ecological Park in Rotherhithe - volunteers performing a variety of essential roles under the guidance of Rebeka Clark, their magical multi-tasking site manager, just as they do every day. She has calculated that there are 4500 volunteer visits here each year, and I was seriously impressed at the scale of their presence in the woods, in the vegetable garden and at the Urban Ecology Office of the Conservation Volunteers located here.
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The Ecological Park is run by the Conservation Volunteers (TCV) under TCV Urban Ecology, a national organisation with a small handful of permanent sites. This one is one of the jewels in their crown, created as part of the redevelopment of the Rotherhithe area in the mid 1980s. This was Surrey Docks, which had degenerated from a large, working London dock into an area of neglect, with rubbish dumped into the tanks which used to store timber for the capital. Nature is now protected as a mosaic of grassland, woodland, scrub and wetland habitats. One of the curious contrasts of this area is that, from Canada Water station, you walk through long avenues of brick-paved streets and pavements before the nature site reveals itself and the seemingly interminable bricks disappear. It's a forgotten but newish area of London, which makes the discovery of the Park all the more special. And the views from the enormous mound which makes Stave Hill itself are a new way of seeing Canary Wharf and London's river and skyline.
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Volunteers really are at the heart of the park. The website features them prominently and promotes their involvement as as a fun and life-affirming activity. They help with the large five-acre grassland site and the smaller half-acre compound garden, where there is always a welcome cup of tea and a biscuit for the helpers. The last fourteen years have seen a visitor centre built, a multi-purpose space which doubles as a classroom, and - in keeping with the park's philosophy of using reclaimed or repurposed materials wherever possible - this centre is proud to have given a home to paving slabs from Trafalgar Square.<br />
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The central compound has different focal points. This is a <span style="font-size: 12pt;">‘</span>Tea pea<span style="font-size: 12pt;">’</span>, a replica of which will go to a local primary school. It has been planted with strawberries, horseradish, mange-tout, beetroot and herbs.<br />
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And this is the Creature Feature, a series of insect houses, which I thought reflected the external high-rise environment. The aim is to change the primacy of bees for nature conservation, emphasising the role of ladybirds and lacewings. Not that they neglect bees - in fact the beehives they used to have in an adjoining field, are expected to return soon, once the field's habitat has been enhanced for them. Around the Creature Feature the plantings are an attractive mixture of pinks, <i>Verbena bonariensis</i>, crow garlic, rose garlic, teasels and crocosmia.
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Over in the vegetable plot, cucamelons, currants, raspberries and cherry tomatoes make happy bedfellows. Pumpkins and onions thrived here this year, with an ingenious system of using a bicycle to pump waste water around the plot. Paul has been its volunteer guardian for many years and he proudly showed off his Jerusalem artichokes and a common chaser dragon fly which flew by and settled on a stalk.<br />
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Claire showed me around the compound. She is one of 28 Natural Network trainees funded through a grant from the Heritage lottery and is seen here in the woodland area, where a fern garden has a section for lilies of the valley and wild strawberries line some of the paths. There are projects galore which she helps Rebeka to coordinate such as a <span style="font-size: 12pt;">‘</span>gentlemen's convenience<span style="font-size: 12pt;">’</span>, which will use urine to interact with straw and make compost, a fox box and a sound room being planned from bales of straw.<br />
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Exchange students from Spain created this structure, planting herbs and saxifrages in plastic water bottles. <br />
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Workers from Price Waterhouse Coopers were being trained by Rebeka on my visit - learning how to use a saw to make noggins (squares of wood) for trellises they were building - cleverly designed to provide homes for yet more insects. Here they are taking a break from their work for a quick selfie in front of the Creature Feature. You can see here too the length and size of the Creature Feature - planned to accommodate a visit from a class of schoolchildren so they can all peer inside at the same time and observe insect behaviour. There was so much diverse volunteer activity going on - from the supervision of power scythe training to the assembly of a green roof - all coordinated by a very dedicated site manager and her team of amazing volunteers.</div>
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It's a very happy Ecological Park to visit - which takes you through an area not often frequented by tourists, or even Londoners. Put it in your diary for next June and you won't be disappointed.</div>
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Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-47950845590896222702016-10-07T18:08:00.000+01:002016-10-07T18:08:45.407+01:00The Constant Gardener<div>
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Stephen Crisp has been Head Gardener at Winfield House since 1987. As Winfield House is the Official Residence of the Ambassador of the United States of America to the Court of St.James's, he's seen a lot of presidents and prime ministers come and go - and ambassadors too. When he started, Margaret Thatcher was best friends with Ronald Reagan. Since then there have been ten ambassadors and it is Stephen who has been the constant gardener throughout this time, shaping and developing the garden in keeping with its different needs, status, and setting - and the results blew me away.</div>
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The entrance to Winfield House is through some modest iron gates on the Inner Circle of Regent's Park. Once through security, I was met by eglantine pink roses at the lodge house, skirting the front of the formal knot-type topiary on the wall and blowing gently in the wind.</div>
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The garden is exceedingly big - twelve and a half acres in all and the second largest private garden in London after Buckingham Palace. The garden has to be there for the private needs of the Ambassador's family, visits of official guests, and garden parties and BBQs. All managed by Stephen and two other gardeners. Here they have been rather innovative with what was a traditional pyracantha hedge, pruning it into a cloud hedge. </div>
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There are formal parts to the garden where Stephen has tried to move away from using roses - with some success. The heleniums and dahlias he has chosen here, alongside pittosporum hedges, tall grasses and verbena bonariensis worked well. In another part of the garden he replaced some climbing roses with hornbeam to equally good effect.</div>
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But roses have not entirely disappeared and still steal the show when they are at their best.</div>
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Stephen and his team guard their time and use it to good effect - important if only three of you are managing twelve and a half acres. Central to his gardening philosophy is the tenet of leaving no bare earth, to minimise the need for weeding. Leaves are swept onto beds in the autumn and wood clippings are shredded and used liberally as cover - in addition to compost. He also believes that the work you do in January is as important as that in July.<br />
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Winfield House and the whole estate was developed by Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth heiress. Formerly Hertford Villa, and then St Dunstan's Villa, she bought the house in 1936 as a home for her new son, where he would be safe and secure. No expense was spared in the renovation, and for a brief time parties were hosted here on a grand scale. But, with war looming and her marriage failing, she returned to America in 1939. She came back to the house with her new husband, Cary Grant, after the war but the building had fallen into disrepair and she gave it to the American government for a dollar. This statue is of Barbara Hutton. </div>
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Near the front of the house roses have also been replaced with hollyhocks, teasels, euphorbia, aquilegia and phormium. They give height to the border and mostly support themselves without any staking. All the annuals in the garden are grown on site - with the help of some very impressive greenhouses, where we were treated to a tasting of some early sungold cherry tomatoes.<br />
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This is known as the gold border, on the right of the main house, with a beautiful yellow and green herbaceous border. The garden furniture was repainted dark green and the white plastic pots given a Farrow and Ball make-over. Elsewhere plants in the herbaceous borders include phlomis, yellow tree peonies, <i>Begonia grandis</i> subsp. <i>evansiana</i>, Californian tree poppies and geraniums.<br />
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The little gate is a cute touch at the edge of this wild area and brings a smile to visitors' faces. Nearby I saw a fox skipping across the grass. Walking on, the sweep of the land with its natural grass and wild flower planting before Winfield House is superb. You could forget entirely that you were in central London.<br />
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Grasses are a strong feature of the garden. As well as delighting in the open meadow areas, many of the 150 new trees that have been planted are surrounded by large wild grass circles, complementing the deciduous Eurasian hardwoods and exotic ornamentals that have been chosen.<br />
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Last year Michelle Obama planted a pear tree in the garden, which stands out as one of the few fruit trees you see. As she leaves office as First Lady and a new president appoints another ambassador for London, Stephen Crisp will be here to welcome them into their new garden and to continue to keep it so beautifully well tended. </div>
Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-8418203631183664242016-09-09T15:59:00.002+01:002016-09-09T15:59:46.112+01:00Everlasting Flowers and Meadows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">The first time I saw an installation by Rebecca Louise Law, I stood, staring upwards for ages, transfixed by its beauty. This time her artwork was the first exhibit in the newly established City Centre of the City of London, and it was just as captivating the second time. </span></div>
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She had created this art installation, entitled 'The City Garden' by collecting flowers and natural materials from across the public gardens and spaces in the City of London. Sponsored by the London Wall Place Partnership, they were hung, using copper wire, across the ceiling of the reception hall of the centre. They aren't, unfortunately, completely everlasting - this was an art installation of limited duration - but as they hung in their dried state, they reminded me of everlasting flowers like helichrysum and echinops. And they were one of two gems I saw in the City on Open Garden Squares weekend last June.</div>
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Just a short distance away, the second treat awaited me in the recently planted Beech Gardens in the Barbican, where its designer, Nigel Dunnett was due to come to talk about his new creation. He arrived at the City Centre and we snaked off in ones and twos in his wake to discover the new gardens, escorted by volunteers from the Friends of City Gardens.</div>
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Professor Nigel Dunnett, to give him his full title, is the Professor of Planting Design and Horticulture at Sheffield University. He will go down in history as one of the creators of the meadow-type plantings, which stole the nation's heart at the 2012 London Olympics. As he said to us, he considered the plants in the Olympic Park to be its best legacy - the plants, not just the buildings, were the stars of the show. </div>
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Nigel recounted to us his childhood love of gardening. His parents were keen gardeners, which always helps, and he grew up in a world of traditional English gardens, devouring seed catalogues for bedtime reading. Aged 11, he joined a local garden club, and after the lure of seed catalogues he discovered the now famous paperback book by Christopher Lloyd, <i>The Well Tempered Garden</i>, which opened his eyes. Living in a village in Kent, he found a teacher who took him on nature walks, where he learned the common names of wild flowers and discovered the joyous, uplifting and happy feelings of being in a woodland environment. In a woodland you are part of the whole experience, the scent, the smell, and the waft of the breeze. </div>
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Nigel works according to two main principles - the art form, tuned to nature; and a belief in creating healthy cities and liveable places. Here is a pic of him planting Beech Gardens, where he used a framework of woody plants and shrubs, with perennials and annual coming up through and by their growth. He loves the simplicity of wild flower meadows, which often have only two or three plants flowering at one time, but is clear that in his work he does not seek to copy or ape a wild flower meadow but to create something akin but new. </div>
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This plan was his concept for the gardens. He has now travelled across the world, taking in wild flower meadows in China grazed by yaks, and brought back his findings to help cities as they struggle with climate change - using the experiences of wet meadow land to design plantings capable of sustaining floods and water run-off, reducing road widths, designing storm water cascades, and planting flowers and grasses which are loved by urban dwellers. Loved so much, that the workers at the John Lewis HQ took to eating their packed lunches on the edge of his creation on a roundabout. His work in Sheffield, at the John Lewis HQ and the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace are examples of the diversity of his work.</div>
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Nigel sells his seed mixes through his company, appropriately named Pictorial Meadows, and the picture above shows one of his more recent creations. In Trentham Gardens in Stoke on Trent there is even a garden railway running through one of the meadows. </div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/nigeldunnett" target="_blank">Twitter - @nigeldunnett</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.pictorialmeadows.co.uk/">www.pictorialmeadows.co.uk</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.thecitycentre.london/">http://www.thecitycentre.london</a>/</div>
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<a href="http://www.rebeccalouiselaw.com/">rebeccalouiselaw.com</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Friendsofcitygardens">@Friendsofcitygardens on Facebook</a></div>
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Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-83815691358887479422016-08-01T19:45:00.000+01:002016-08-01T19:45:52.073+01:00The secret world of banking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Walking along the Strand in London you might wonder what goes on behind the doors of the famous Coutts Bank. A few lucky Open Garden Squares Weekend ticket holders had the chance to find out when their names came up in the draw for an exclusive visit. I hurried along to join them at the start of the weekend and we were stunned to find out what happens on the roof above the bank.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Executive Chef Peter Fiori and his Head Chef Toby gave very freely of their time that Saturday morning to showcase the bank's secret. They led us up to the roof where we had a personal tour of the bank's astounding kitchen garden. Coutts Skyline Garden is there to serve the restaurant at the bank. Conceived by Peter Fiori, and with the invaluable help of the late Richard Vine, his horticultural consultant, we were led along a series of narrow walkways.</span></div>
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L<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">ooking down, London's double decker buses passed along the Strand, and the views of Charing Cross and its neighbouring buildings were framed with flowers and vegetables.</span></div>
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The purple flowers of potatoes were out. The gardeners and their helpers from the <a href="http://theclinkcharity.org/" target="_blank">Clink Charity</a> at HMP High Down, are proud to supply a wide variety of heritage and traditional potatoes for the restaurant at Coutts. Over 100 kilos of potatoes are grown here each year. Amazing what you can achieve when you turn an idea into reality. The bank's clients get a very delicious and organic meal when they receive an invitation to dine - not an invite to be refused if you love good food and sustainability.</div>
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Although the walkways are narrow and squeezed in between the roof and the street boundary, they were just big enough to enable a disabled visitor to join the group as we walked along more than 300 metres of raised beds, with the first strawberries of the year sprouting at our ankles.</div>
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Every vegetable was meticulously labelled and the display was such that I wanted to rush back to my veg patch to emulate some of the very pretty salad varieties grown. </div>
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Up above fruit was ripening, and the peas were climbing. </div>
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The society garlic shown here was just one of a dazzling array of unusual vegetables and herbs up on the roof. I spotted pepino melons, Turkish and Persian cucumbers, pinwheel and cocozelle courgettes, strawberry spinach, blackcurrant sage, tangerine sage with red flowers and sea kale with white ones.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">And as we walked along, jaws dropping at every new plant we saw, we were also treated to some of the recipes and tricks of the chefs - who make their own lovage oil from the tall lovage herb grown here, and are liberal in their use of flowers from all their plants, including the sea kale, to adorn their dishes. There's an edible flower for all seasons at Coutts.</span></div>
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The different aspects of the garden have led to the creation of four zones, a fruit garden, country garden, kitchen garden and meadow garden. There is white tea, lemongrass, Vietnamese coriander and edible violet. They didn't give up trying to grow wasabi, and although it wasn't easy to do, they succeeded, as well as growing the Szechuan pepper you see below.</div>
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Inside, we passed through a magnificent boardroom, whose walls were adorned with wallpaper brought back by the UK's first ambassador to China. As small worlds so abound, we took in our stride the fact that one of the members of the tour was a relative of said ambassador. </div>
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I imagined reclining in an armchair like this, with a tantalising view of the garden, after a meal in the dining area. </div>
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You can find out more about the garden by watching episode 12 of this year's Gardeners' World or checking the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CouttsSkylineGarden/" target="_blank">Facebook page of Coutts Skyline Garden</a>, just in case you're not one of the lucky names drawn out of the hat for the tour next year. Facebook gives a good update on developments on the roof above the bank. </div>
Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-3880463578499517752016-07-10T20:07:00.002+01:002016-07-10T20:07:22.141+01:00Blackbirds nesting in the jasmine<div>
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There<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> were blackbirds nesting in the jasmine when I visited the bijou Highgate Day Centre garden. I heard one swooping in and saw the jasmine shiver as its wings fluttered through the leaves, but, alas, didn't manage to capture the moment on film however still I stood - such is often the way with the best things in life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Blackbirds nest in this garden every June, usually in the jasmine on the opposite wall - maybe they want a good spot to watch the volunteers making their final preparations for the garden opening - but this year they had to be flexible on nest location. Scaffolding covered their usual choice - an unfriendly chancer had snuck in at night and made off with the roof lead, but they ignored the very attractive bird box which the Centre users had thoughtfully provided for them and chose another jasmine instead. </span></div>
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The tiny courtyard garden has been transformed by Ben Ledden, the gardener, and those who have volunteered to help him. Benches that looked past their sell-by date have been reclaimed, cleaned and painted lime green and magenta and they are weighed down with the propagated plants the volunteers have successfully learned to grow. The jasmine has been transmogrified many times over and sold in cuttings to adorn neighbouring gardens in Camden. </div>
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Ben and his merry band of volunteers were proud to show off their hard work and effort for their 2016 opening. Ben is admiringly described as 'our Monty Don', and he is the orchestrator of the garden's development, constantly planning new funding sources and plantings. Two gardening sessions take place each week and the tranquility of the garden is enjoyed by all the users, many of whom can be found enjoying a cup of tea here and a calm moment of reflection. A woodland planting of ferns, hostas and <i>Fatsia japonica</i> is the newest arrangement, under the jasmine.</div>
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A yellow climbing rose is at its best in June and is complemented by a lilac blue clematis - perfect companions, alongside oriental poppies, hostas and globe thistles. </div>
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And here is a close-up. Maybe June and July roses are always my favourite of all those that adorn gardens in summer. </div>
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Highgate Day Centre offers a range of services for local people with severe mental health issues. Funded by Camden Council and the NHS, the range of activities they have kept going during these difficult times of austerity cuts is impressive. Ben aims to develop a group of mentors to help new service users in the future. On Open Garden Squares Weekend, there was an art studio offering a botanical art workshop, part of a trend of gardens opening offering extra activities for visitors.</div>
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And on my visit, I was given this lovely sketch to take home with me. </div>
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Along a narrow, shaded passageway off the courtyard, an insect hotel has been built near a small pond.</div>
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The pond is in need of rejuvenating and reclaiming from the bamboo which continually threatens to engulf it, and the Centre has applied for a grant from the Metropolitan Parks and Gardens Association as part of its next stage of development. We wish it well.</div>
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Over the past two years, Ben has successfully led a team which has taken on an unpromising, tiny space and created a beautiful sanctuary. An impressive achievement for the whole community! </div>
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<a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/HighgateC.html" target="_blank">Further information on visiting Highgate Day Centre on Open Garden Squares Weekend</a></div>
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Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-58399414870477318732016-06-04T20:13:00.001+01:002016-06-04T20:13:17.192+01:00A garden too big for its boots"My garden is too big for its boots" declared Edward Augustus Bowles who lived at, designed and planted Myddelton House Gardens in Enfield (1865 to 1954). He was right about its size. Spanning eight acres in all, these gardens are seriously historic and impressive. I came for what I thought was just a morning visit and ended up spending a very pleasant whole day there, entranced by the tales told by the gardeners, and the variety of horticultural treats round every corner.<br />
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The gardens are the life's work of Edward Bowles, known to his friends as Gussie. His legacy includes snowdrops, violas, crocuses and colchicums with the Bowles name a familiar one in the titles of countless plants, e.g Viola Bowles Black. He was a significant member of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) of his day, chairing its scientific committee and active in its work right up to his death. One of his famous creations, the Eremurus bed, includes foxtail lillies, eucomis, ornamental grasses, sedums and dianthus, but parts of the garden now suffer from the self-seeded few-flowered garlic, said to be more invasive than wild garlic - there's lots here to keep the gardeners busy.</div>
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The glorious wisteria, whose bare branches you can see below, was grown by ‘Gussie’ from seed and now climbs high into a tree, smothering it in blue every May. The ostrich sculptures in wire have replaced the original lead ostriches which used to adorn this bridge, under which the New River ran.</div>
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The garden is at its very best in spring, although the imaginative gardening team led by their very able Head Gardener, James Hall, have planned for more summer colour this year, gardening in the style of Bowles – experimental and creative. Tulips were one of Bowles's many passions and the bulbs were usually out in profusion for his birthday in the Tulip Terrace, where he invited local boys and others in the Enfield community for a birthday tulip tea party every year.</div>
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Irises get special treatment at Myddelton House Gardens. Many prize-winning specimens can be seen in their full beauty here.</div>
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The greenhouses are striking features, with peaches in one, espalier trained onto bamboo, their buds ready to fruit when I visited. It was in one of the hot houses that I met one of the garden's ‘Heebeegeebies’ working on potting up <i>Lotus maculatus</i> plants. Heebeegeebies (derived from HBGBS, Historic and Botanic Garden Bursary Scheme, run by English Heritage) are trainee gardeners, who have been part of the gardening team here for six or seven years. They specialise during their two-year traineeship in different aspects of horticulture and Myddleton House Gardens is rightly very proud of them.</div>
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Bowles built a famous rockery, which is currently being restored, with the aim of re-introducing a water stream through the rocks. After his death in 1954, the garden was kept alive, but some areas, like the rockery, became a bit overrun. Interestingly, the Royal Free Hospital and the London School of Pharmacy, who took over the garden, introduced pharmacological plants, and a pharmacognosy area remains to this day, although ownership of the garden has now passed to the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. The National Lottery has given large grants of recent years, which have helped improve the grounds immensely.<br />
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Unusual and exotic plants abound, including the purple toothwort, a parasite which doesn't photosynthesise. There is also an area dubbed by Bowles as the ‘Lunatic Asylum’, where he put any odd species he came across including some, like the twisted hazel, which have since become more commonplace in gardens. He also grew Japanese knotweed, which mercifully hasn't self seeded everywhere, unlike other imports Bowles brought home.<br />
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A beautiful replica of an Alpine meadow, full of plants from Bowles' travels abroad, has beehives, snowdrops, scillia, cow parsley and a three-cornered leek. Bowles enjoyed travelling throughout Europe seeking out new plants for the garden, reaching out as far afield as Egypt. </div>
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Here is the three cornered leek up close, with its triangular shaped stem.</div>
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There is so much more to tell and discover about Bowles and his garden. There's a kitchen garden, with produce on sale, a lake, a rose bed and pergola and lots more. I enjoyed reading <i>The Crocus King</i>, written by one of the gardeners, Bryan Hewitt, in honour of the man. It's on sale near the excellent café on site. If you visit on Open Garden Squares Weekend (only just over a fortnight away now!) on June 18th or 19th, you may be lucky enough to join Bryan or one of the Heegeebeebies on one of the tours of the gardens.</div>
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Bowles was a charming eccentric, partially sighted as a child, who had a genuine love of philanthropy as well as botany and botanical drawing. His care of underprivileged children, known as the Bowles Boys (girls, unfortunately, didn't get a look-in) was as important to him as horticulture. The variety and extent of his labours in the garden are evident in the beauty and enormity of what he created. Often to be found on all fours weeding, he once said "I come out here sometimes and do an hour's weeding and when I finish I think I've spoilt it all".<br />
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<a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Myddelton.html" target="_blank">Information on visiting Myddelton House Gardens on Open Garden Squares Weekend</a> »</div>
Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-34385041209135607842016-05-02T19:49:00.001+01:002016-05-02T19:49:16.460+01:00Plants to dye forWalking down to the bottom of Mare Street in Hackney, you could be forgiven if you missed the slip of land which is Cordwainers Garden. It's tucked down the side of what used to be Cordwainers College building and is a treasure trove of plants used for dyeing cloth, on land reclaimed in 2010 by nearby residents from the brambles that threatened to engulf it.<br />
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This garment was made from plants grown here, and across a wide network of community gardens, schools, city farms, park groups, housing estates, local residents, individuals and the London College of Fashion.</div>
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I was amazed to see and learn about the range of colours you can make from plants. Madder is a favourite staple for dyeing but they also use dahlia, avocado, carrot tops, tansy, woad, chamomile, sweet woodruff, marigold, nettles, rudbeckia and soapwort - to name a selection of plants used in the dyeing process and grown here.</div>
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They have made bunting of the different colours, and it shows the beauty of the delicate tones of colour, and how they all complement one another, as you can see above. </div>
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To make the garment, flax, as in the picture below, was grown. It took 70 square metres of land to produce enough flax. </div>
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Then it was harvested.</div>
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And stored.</div>
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Before being spun into thread and then woven and dyed, mainly using madder, alongside the different natural hues of the flax from the different places where it was grown.</div>
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There's nothing daunting about the dyeing process the way it is presented by Cordwainers Garden. It can be done simply at the table on the plot.<br />
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And people can take delight in the results the same day - as you can see below.</div>
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Cordwainers has been growing dye plants for over five years, and has run classes to spread knowledge about the process. The volunteers at the garden have also created a small garden for medicinal herbs and plants, tend 17 small vegetable plots, and manage to fit beehives and a pond into a wild corner.</div>
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As if this wasn't enough to occupy them, they are constantly out and about in their community, taking exciting and innovative projects to residents, such as making herbal tea bags, lip balms and willow crowns. Earlier this year they led a group along Mare Street to record the variety of weeds in an urban street.</div>
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From time to time they get a little help in their endeavours - from 'The Good Gym', Barclays, Aviva and Standard Chartered. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed, visits from royalty and Joe Swift of Gardeners' World fame have helped to spread the word about their excellent community work.</div>
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They are promoting good health through awareness of diet, and will be devoting one of their vegetable beds to South East Asian plants, reflecting the food eaten by the people of Vietnamese origin in the vicinity.</div>
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So, on Open Garden Squares Weekend, take a wander down Mare Street and look for the signs for the University of the Arts, and the garden behind the wire fence hoarding. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Last year this was how you could spot it.</div>
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You can find out more about the garden on the following link to its blog</div>
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<a href="https://cordwainersgarden.wordpress.com/">https://cordwainersgarden.wordpress.com/</a></div>
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Or on Twitter @<a href="https://twitter.com/cordwainersgrow" target="_blank">cordwainersgrow</a><br />
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<a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Cordwainers.html" target="_blank">Further information on visiting Cordwainers Garden on Open Garden Squares Weekend</a></div>
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Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-11229498433714419492016-04-04T20:41:00.000+01:002016-04-05T16:03:15.850+01:00Gardeners who make our souls blossom<div><br></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-41m-AFyAtYs/Vv4yR8WFRlI/AAAAAAAASJc/YMRDQV3GEWo/s640/blogger-image-536439691.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-41m-AFyAtYs/Vv4yR8WFRlI/AAAAAAAASJc/YMRDQV3GEWo/s640/blogger-image-536439691.jpg"></a></div><br></span></div>It was a sunny day in March that Kevin Powell, the Head Gardener of Park Crescent and Park Square Gardens, let me into his secret gardens, which border Regents Park. The skies were blue but March winds bit into your face and you longed for some warm soil under your feet. </span><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">This is a garden where trees take pride of place within a layout designed by John Nash. The famous, semicircular, Nash terrace of houses borders the south of the gardens on the other side from Regent's Park and it was for the residents of the terrace and nearby houses, that the gardens were originally created.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DxA-FQHqBWc/Vv5LEzGitEI/AAAAAAAASKA/1w1BGARqqzw/s640/blogger-image--149699146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DxA-FQHqBWc/Vv5LEzGitEI/AAAAAAAASKA/1w1BGARqqzw/s640/blogger-image--149699146.jpg"></a></div><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Unique to these gardens is a connecting tunnel, called the Nusemaids' Tunnel, which burrows under the busy Marylebone Road. Nursemaids from the houses did indeed steer their prams down the gentle slopes to the tunnel.</div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--3EYZNyc7iw/Vv5LFx4xbvI/AAAAAAAASKE/KEOh_PjRBMc/s640/blogger-image--1287325286.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--3EYZNyc7iw/Vv5LFx4xbvI/AAAAAAAASKE/KEOh_PjRBMc/s640/blogger-image--1287325286.jpg"></a></div><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div>The tunnel is so designed and its approaches accordingly planted, that from ground level, looking across the gardens, it is cleverly concealed so that you wouldn't know it existed.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IHrsxto8_zo/VwJlwuvbm_I/AAAAAAAASNA/Az0XVq4zsEQ/s640/blogger-image-356813708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IHrsxto8_zo/VwJlwuvbm_I/AAAAAAAASNA/Az0XVq4zsEQ/s640/blogger-image-356813708.jpg"></a></div><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">But it is a very beautiful tunnel. So lovely and, more to the point, so centrally located that it attracted the attentions of the board of the Metropolitan Line, who tried to demolish it. They were stopped by the matter being taken to Parliament, and a further underground tunnel had to be dug under the Nursemaid's tunnel for the railway. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">The banks on one side of the tunnel approach were covered with an unusual periwinkle with curved petals. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6J5-3bLFI50/VwJuOu6qr6I/AAAAAAAASNU/-q_GBdbRuPY/s640/blogger-image-1297074726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6J5-3bLFI50/VwJuOu6qr6I/AAAAAAAASNU/-q_GBdbRuPY/s640/blogger-image-1297074726.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">The gardens are beautifully maintained by the Crown Estate Paving Commission, which was set up in 1824 for this purpose, and, come June they should look a bit like the photo below</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dMaYZz647-0/VwJlvWmMWDI/AAAAAAAASM8/4I3j7wxLXRA/s640/blogger-image-1705880397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dMaYZz647-0/VwJlvWmMWDI/AAAAAAAASM8/4I3j7wxLXRA/s640/blogger-image-1705880397.jpg"></a></div><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">There will be lots of inspiring plant borders to view as you wander along ancient brick-lined paths laid out just as they were planned in 1817. Some have acanthus at the back bordered by catmint at the front, others have agapanthus, globe thistles, echinops, fennel, bee balm, and achillea, to name but a few. And the simple formality of several small rose beds, all immaculately pruned, should also be glorious in June. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Behind the scenes, in one of the sheds, I also got a glimpse of what the residents might get up to in the summer months on the secret lawns - a spot of croquet or chess, anyone?</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cDaonct0ZyU/VwJz0l3aRnI/AAAAAAAASNo/l-j0iBQlAbc/s640/blogger-image-498094894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cDaonct0ZyU/VwJz0l3aRnI/AAAAAAAASNo/l-j0iBQlAbc/s640/blogger-image-498094894.jpg"></a></div><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">At this time of year camellias were starting to bloom and there were several to admire like this one as well as daphnes and other winter-scented plants.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_OBoiqQ6sBM/VwJuPxls8oI/AAAAAAAASNY/GXHUgJK4AwU/s640/blogger-image--1795269820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_OBoiqQ6sBM/VwJuPxls8oI/AAAAAAAASNY/GXHUgJK4AwU/s640/blogger-image--1795269820.jpg"></a></div><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Kevin and his team of nine gardeners look after all the mature trees, including a beautiful Tulip tree, and try to maintain the traditional lay out of the space. They are conscious of the historic urban environment in which the park sits, with the BT Tower popping up from one viewpoint, and the Nash Terrace from another. Along many of the restored iron railings, the hedges have been replanted to give space to each individual shrub and a degree of flow and informality, creating an evergreen screen, rather than formal, clipped hedging, to preserve the privacy of the gardens. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Around each tree the gardeners have cleared the grass and put down a wood mulch, a technique which benefits the trees and also creates interest across the lawns. Some of these 'tree circles' have been planted with crocuses and it was here that I spotted my first bee of the year.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EioZaCt99hg/Vv4zRcRpvjI/AAAAAAAASJk/eK-BGHnz8pI/s640/blogger-image--1483992214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EioZaCt99hg/Vv4zRcRpvjI/AAAAAAAASJk/eK-BGHnz8pI/s640/blogger-image--1483992214.jpg"></a></div><br></span><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">As I bent down to look at the bee, one of the gardeners was passing and he remarked that the crocuses had come into bloom that morning. He and the whole team take a sincere interest in their work and really value opening the gardens for Open Garden Squares Weekend, as this is the one time a year when they can showcase the fruits of their labour to the wider public. Go along this June, enjoy what you see, and give the gardeners a bit of well-deserved praise.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">As Marcel Proust said - " </span><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.</i><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">" </span></div></div></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><br></div>Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-71971346983549595062016-03-01T17:55:00.001+00:002016-03-01T21:35:43.494+00:00Waiting for Spring<div class="page" title="Page 1">
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I felt the first stirrings of spring when I visited Cleveland Square at the end of February and sensed that shoots might soon be poking their heads through their thick winter blanket of compost. Suzanne Etherton, the square's volunteer garden manager, was quickening her work rate as she tried to keep ahead of the relentless pace of nature and the seasons. </div>
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This magnolia caught my eye as its branches, laden with just-opening buds, strained towards the light, eager to lap up what it could before the canopies of plane trees and prunus asserted themselves. Magnolia is one of the most ancient of the flowering plants and is said to have appeared on the planet before the bees did.</div>
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<a data-ved="0ahUKEwjq7Mno05_LAhVqMZoKHQdeCw0QjRwIBw" href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjq7Mno05_LAhVqMZoKHQdeCw0QjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.retiremove.co.uk%2Flondon-garden-squares-open-weekend%2F&psig=AFQjCNH7oCdhZvafrFHjPGVguDF9bDCo2A&ust=1456927271803945" id="irc_mil" jsaction="mousedown:irc.rl;keydown:irc.rlk;irc.il;" style="border-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.retiremove.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Cleveland-Square-10.jpg" height="393" id="irc_mi" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="590"></a><br>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">A <span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">local resident, Suzanne Etherton, started the transformation of the square five years ago when she was persuaded to take on the job. Her horticultural skills had been spotted on her small terrace nearby, and this Victorian garden square desperately needed a saviour. Suzanne has grand garden squares in her blood, having been born next to the wide expanses of Ladbroke Square in Notting Hill Gate, where her mother bought her first plant from Woolworths and got the bug for gardening. As well as these laudable London influences, her style of planting draws inspiration from Karen Junker, Sarah Raven, Dan Pearson and Tom Stuart Smith.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Suzanne's first priority was the improvement of the soil, importing vast quantities of the very best compost so that plants had a chance of success in their competition with the trees for nutrition. She also planted thousands of bulbs for a good show of colour in her first year, aided by funding from local estate agents, Lurot Brand, and a small army of children. Bulbs continue to feature - this pot of miniature daffodils is underplanted with three layers of tulips for a long display, and white narcissus as well as tulips abound in many of the beds. This year alone 7- 8000 bulbs have been planted. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Suzanne and her flexible workforce of gardening assistants have developed the square extensively. Using a classical garden square structure, there is now a raised circular bed at the centre, under a cherry tree, where plantings of fritillaria, hosta, crocuses and geranium lie in the centre, with clematis spelling over the edge of the supporting wall. The geraniums include the bright blue 'Rozanne' variety as well as 'Hilary' and 'Beth Chatto', with purple lupins peeking up against the hosta as well as Japanese anemones. A lesser known, smaller and less invasive anemone - the wild swan anemone also flowers later in the season.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Around the edge of the central circle there are four beds which include a riot of complementary plants, carefully chosen for a long season of flowers, such as peonies, tulips, lupins, echinacea, monarda, knautia, astrantia and dahlias. At the end of two of these beds are two white wisteria, trained just like standard roses, whose white tumbrels cover the bare branches later in spring. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">The iron supports for peonies and other tall plants stand proud at this time of the year, providing interest and expectation against the bare ground. Plants such as cardamine quinquefolia, which was already out, disappear when the hostas emerge, continuing their vigorous growth underneath. </span></span><br>
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Good gardening takes account of its environment and puts on a display in the darkest corners. Here, much use has been made of plants with lime green foliage which bring brightness to shady spots. Acanthus (Loddon Anna) is a good example, as is Millium Effusum 'Aureum' and trilliums such as Silene Fimbriata, and hydrangea 'Annabelle' provides a contrast with its cream flower heads. They can't stop creating new, beautiful spaces in this square in Bayswater. The latest project, part-funded by Knight Frank, is an incline in a soggy and boggy area with circle blocks on the ground from a plane tree - hellebores will be planted at the top of the bank so that visitors do not have to stoop down to enjoy their nodding heads. </div>
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Fruit trees such as fig, plum, cherry and apricot are dotted about the garden, along with a variety of herbs and specimen trees such as Parrotia Persica (a relation of the witch hazel) and a Japanese Snowball (Stirax Japonica). And the juxtaposition of lupins, poppies and thistles above swathes of sweet rocket and stock in June, when the garden opens for Open Garden Squares weekend, is a joy not to be missed.</div>
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Children have play areas in the square, which happily accommodates the mix of children exploring the undergrowth and great flower displays. Residents use the square well and even bring out cups of tea for the gardeners. When I visited, one resident was walking her cat, Eric, in the garden and he tiptoed gently across the lawn, expertly avoiding the soggy bits, until he stopped by a hose for a drink. </div>
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Cleveland Square was established in the 1850s. Plane trees flank the square on three sides, with one side having the pleasure of direct access to the garden from a terrace of houses. The Westbourne river runs under the square on its way to Hyde Park. Cleveland Gardens nearby has recently had its iron railings restored and Suzanne has plans for the future enhancement of this neighbouring square - so watch out for the emergence of another horticultural delight.<br></div><div class="section" style="background-color: white;" title="Page 1">
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<a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Cleveland1.html" target="_blank">More information on visiting Cleveland Square on Open Garden Squares Weekend</a> </div>
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Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-50301176424862606872016-02-01T16:04:00.000+00:002016-02-01T19:52:28.322+00:00Communities Cooking<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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On the White City Estate growing vegetables and herbs involves all parts of the community - residents, school children, and restaurants. And maybe it's that link with restaurants that has so successfully extended learning from just growing to cooking and preserving the fruits of the land.<br>
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And they do it all so beautifully too at Phoenix School Farm and Learning Zone, with flowers like these Sisyrinchiums adorning pathways <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">across this diverse and impressive space. An inner-city acre of special horticultural interest, which has won almost every gardening award in the book.</span></div>
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Owned by Phoenix High School and run in association with Hammersmith Community Gardens Association, the farm won the Green Flag Award for 2015-16 and was declared to be outstanding by the RHS Britain in Bloom award in 2015. 2015 also saw the garden open for the first time for Open Garden Squares Weekend. National Lottery funding for a community nutritionist has been used very imaginatively for a range of organic food promotions. A pop-up farm produce stall, as seen here, is now a much used community resource and focus for the garden.</div>
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Volunteers do everything to keep the garden running, including looking after the beehive and harvesting the honey. </div>
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The school uses the garden all year round as an outdoor resource for all subjects in the curriculum. There are regular growing sessions and healthy eating events at lunch time, after school and in the summer holidays. The children also look after the animals, which comprise seven chickens, two rabbits and five guinea pigs - and I watched as the chickens pecked at and gobbled up heritage rainbow corn seeds, red and pink and black. </div>
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There are three polytunnels and two greenhouses, one of which is also used for a meeting/gathering space. </div>
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School sixth-formers had been preparing for a lunch for local pensioners when I visited and bottles of chili oil were cheerily lined up ready for giving away - and they were awash with seed bombs of annuals such as sunflowers, calendula and nigella, all wrapped in clay and compost and labelled, ready to throw.</div>
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Taylor Woodrow workers often surface from tunnelling Crossrail to help the farm school. This oven is their latest project. They built the brick plinth and it is now awaiting a roof to complete the structure. Made of sand, clay and straw, local people helped trample down the mud concoction for the oven with their bare feet. With a bit of luck and some fair weather, you may be able to sample some baking from it at the next Open Garden Squares Weekend. There's always plenty for Taylor Woodrow to do - the latest inclusion on their list is repairing the grape arbour in the central seating area of the Learning Zone. Luckily the grapes had been harvested before the storm and next year the garden hopes to taste the wine from its first vintage.</div>
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Staff from four restaurants in the Salt Yard Group (Salt Yard, The Opera Tavern, Ember Yard and Dehesa) come every fortnight to taste and pick produce from the garden. Food preparation is taken very seriously by the garden and is accomplished with flair and innovation - witness the Food Explorers project with primary schools, which included a smoothie bike - basically a blender on the back of a pedal bike - which trundled off to deliver healthy breakfasts using garden produce. Fruity porridge, smoothies and scrambled eggs, courtesy of the chickens. Children have also made flour and bread and learned about herbs through making herb cheese</div>
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Cath Knight is the garden's Community Food Grower. When I met her, she was busy shelling pea beans - an old fashioned cross of peas and beans. She comes up with ideas for inspirational projects and is changing the eating habits of local people - one family is now switched on to the peppery delights of nasturtiums, and others now know from direct experience how good home-grown produce can be. Bringing communities together through growing and cooking is led by Cath with great panache.</div>
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Even as winter approached there was lots growing on the farm for the scarecrows to patrol. An ancient heritage barley was pushing forth its green shoots for next year's bread, and there were still curly kale and leeks to pick and savour. Blueberries were hunkering down for winter surrounded by heather. It's easy to see why this garden is loved so much by local people.<br>
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<a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/PhoenixFm.html" target="_blank">Information on visiting Phoenix Farm on Open Garden Squares Weekend</a> »</div>
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Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-45547197206738142942016-01-11T08:49:00.000+00:002016-01-11T16:12:35.249+00:00Open GloryAs if they weren't busy enough, Jackie Thompson and her dog Tilly, whom we featured last month, look after another secret garden in Hammersmith. I went with them across the borough to the John Betts sheltered housing scheme, a short drive away from Sycamore House.<br>
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John Betts House was constructed in 1964 by Hammersmith United Charities and extensively refurbished in 1998. Built up around an inner, secluded garden, it has presented its challenges to Jackie and her resident garden volunteers, as the garden area was used to dump the rubble from the building work - so the digging is hard. As we arrive, Jackie's dog, Tilly, goes running off up the stairs. We try to keep up but Tilly eludes us, and we suspect that Tilly has been kidnapped by an admiring resident who has treated her to a second breakfast. </div>
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Given the challenges of the soil here, the gardeners originally concluded that the only way was up and perfected the art of growing flowers in pots. The pots and hanging baskets which adorn the balconies overlooking the main, internal garden courtyard were still blooming in a very balmy December. And the horticultural endeavours of the residents are being recognised locally - last year John Betts came third in the small community garden category of the London Garden Society Competition - catching up on its successful sister garden, Sycamore House.</div>
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Residents benefit by having a designated area for growing vegetables in raised beds so there are strawberries and vegetables aplenty in the summer.</div>
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The garden's centrepiece is a series of arches which were planted last year to create a blowsy, flowing feel, with the plants and grasses spilling over the central path, brushing by visitors as they pass. Lilies, fuchsia, gauras, a variety of grasses including <i>Stipa gigantea</i> and alstroemerias combined well to create this effect, with the Judas tree in the background. </div>
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Planting up the many pots is undertaken together by residents, who take a very active part in preparing the garden for its annual opening during Open Garden Squares Weekend. It has become a local tradition to gather together in May around a long table to pot up the hanging baskets and enjoy a spot of lunch. They also organise everything that needs to be done for the big day, from selling tickets and plants to brewing tea and baking cakes. Even residents like Rose in her nineties love to play their part.</div>
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And, after their labours, they meet to consider what to do with the proceeds from the plant and cake stalls. Last year, as well as a generous donation to a charity in Africa, they bought a swing seat for the garden, which now holds pride of place on the lawn amidst the flowers.</div>
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John Betts residents, their love of their garden and the way they work together so impressed students who came to visit them, that one, Juliana Amaa, wrote a poem about what she saw at John Betts when the garden opened for Open Garden Squares Weekend. It's appropriately entitled 'Open Glory'.</div>
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June delivers warmth and sunshine<br>
Strawberries, ripe and plump<br>
Need only a handful. Red blotches<br>
Cover my hands<br>
The Damsons, the oranges, reds-mixing<br>
After eating the first one, I want more<br>
<i>The taste</i><br>
Like Summer's cinnamon. The fruits<br>
Tingle in my mouth.<br>
Licking my hands. Scarlet slurps soak up my hunger<br>
Gorging on jam sandwiches and honeysuckle buns<br>
Admiring the flowers<br>
Hours flowing<br>
Chatting, picking and eating<br>
Juice drenches my fingertips<br>
Gorging on strawberries and much more<br>
Savouring the essence of the day<br>
What I live for</blockquote>
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Poetry is now a feature of several gardens which open for the Open Garden Squares Weekend with poets in residence for the day reading and writing verse, with a little help from visitors. Watch out on <a href="http://opensquares.org/" target="_blank">our website</a> for details of the venues for June 18th and 19th this year.<br>
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<a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/JohnBetts.html" target="_blank">Further information on visiting John Betts House on Open Garden Squares Weekend</a> »<br>
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Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-90501906601862815502015-12-01T08:53:00.000+00:002015-12-01T08:59:00.223+00:00Havens and Almshouses - The winding walk<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Hammersmith United Charities has a clear focus for its work - helping the poor and those of limited means in the former metropolitan borough of Hammersmith. Sycamore House is one of two housing developments it has championed. There is a waiting list and need, income and past association with Hammersmith are the main criteria for gaining a place. </div>
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An old garden with mature shrubs and planting was here prior to 2012 , but it had to make way for new building and accommodation. However, the benefits of a garden was not forgotten in the redevelopment. Sycamore House's Community Gardener, Jackie Thompson, set herself the task of designing an even better garden, and, with the help of the architects, a delightful winding lane of plants now weaves its way between the sheltered housing. </div>
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The new garden is only three years old and has already won the Challenge Cup for large community gardens in almshouses run by the London Gardens' Society not once, but two years in a row, which is a tribute to the efforts of Jackie and her team of volunteer garden residents. </div>
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Founded on the principle of successional planting, there is colour whatever the weather. In November the Beautyberry (Callicarpa) was showing off its purple fruit, perfectly offset by a planting of pink neriums. A red salvia was in bloom not far away from this arbour and throughout plants have been carefully chosen to reflect scent, touch, colour and seasons.</div>
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Throughout the winding walk a variety of different fruits pop up out of the border - redcurrants, grapes, strawberries, kiwi fruits and an espalier-trained apple tree sit cheek by jowl with flowers, shrubs and grasses. </div>
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Despite designing the garden from scratch, Jackie does not dogmatically follow a set planting pattern and encourages the personalisation of the borders by the residents. Active involvement is key. She stresses that this is not an old people's home and it certainly feels very different.</div>
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Residents such as Evelyn (below) are important to the garden's success. Jackie is only part-time and relies on residents to water, dead-head and plant to keep the show on the road.</div>
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The residents do most of the organisation for the annual Open Garden Squares Weekend opening themselves, from potting plants for sale, to providing tea and cake. They positively enjoy it, knowing that what they have to offer is just as good, if not better, than many of the grand private squares in London. The charity runs its own awards to reward and thank them each year for their hard work. </div>
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Sycamore House is lucky to have found Jackie. A mandolin player in France in a former life, she learned to grow fruits and flowers there, before returning to the UK where she studied for hortcultural qualifications at Capel Manor College and began gardening as a career. She is a firm believer in building communities through active involvement and does it with style - followed everywhere by a faithful and very endearing dog called Tilly</div>
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Tilly is a cross between a doughty Scottie and a Jack Russell. Tilly follows Jackie everywhere, always carrying a ball in his mouth, just in case any passer-by fancies a game.....</div>
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I followed them both to their next gardening job of the day - and you can find out where in next month's tale from Duck Island Cottage. </div>
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Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-68851537335465069282015-11-01T08:10:00.000+00:002015-11-01T08:10:29.963+00:00An Astonishing School GardenThere are not many schools with gardens as astonishing as the ones at Whitgift School. And although the autumn sunshine we had been having deserted me on the day I visited, the new plantings in these extensive, magnificent gardens were very evident.<br />
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Beside the entrance path to the school lie the school playing fields. Lush and green, they are kept immaculate by the grounds staff, and provide a successfully shared space for both cricket and rugby in their different seasons. <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A little behind the school name plaque shown below are rhododendrons which are surrounded by bulbs in spring. </span><br />
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Whitgift School, an independent boys school in Croydon, has an historic association with the Elizabethan era. Founded in 1596 by John Whitgift, the last Archbishop of Canterbury in the reign of Elizabeth I, the school chose another Elizabethan connection when it moved to Haling Park, Croydon, in 1931. The park was the former home of Lord Howard of Effingham, the Lord High Admiral of the fleet sent out against the Spanish Armada by Queen Elizabeth I. If you look closely in the photo below, you will spot a topiary of sailing ships, enabling you to imagine the boats setting off on their mission nearly half a millennium ago.<br />
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This square is known as the Andrew Quadrangle. As well as the box topiary, it has a wide variety of mature bonsai trees, which thrive outside in all weathers, just like fully-grown trees. They are fascinating.</div>
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Strikingly ornate, feathered birds wander around the quadrangle, perfectly at home in their surroundings and with the plants. I saw white cranes and purple-green peacocks, and elsewhere pink flamingos may cross your path. </div>
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Whitgift's gardener, Sophie Tatzkow, has been working her magic in the formal garden squares of the school (the Andrew Quadrangle, Boarding House Garden and the Founder's Garden) and the Mediterranean Border. She is assisted by three full-time gardeners and was appointed in order to introduce a new, horticultural element into the garden. It's a great credit to the school to see this commitment to horticulture and to see it enhancing its beautiful, formal, pleached hedges and many shrubs with a variety of perennial and sustainable plants. The results are to soften the formality with succession planting in herbaceous borders, whilst safeguarding the traditional - such as in the stunning, pink rose border.</div>
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The new plantings use white, purple and green to good effect, introducing splashes of other colours through the judicious use of bright grasses or perennial flowers. In autumn rudbeckia brings a splash of yellow cheer and in early summer pink poppies and purple alliums abound.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Sophie aims high and is seeking to make the garden the best school garden of all. I visited during half term so couldn't judge first hand the use made of the garden by the pupils; but if I were a homesick new boarder or a sixth-former seeking inspiration for an essay, these gardens would offer the perfect cure. Some of the boys have already formed a horticultural club and are learning to grow veg in a special area with raised beds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;">There is much more to see than the aforementioned gardens when the gates of Whitgift school are flung wide for Open Garden Squares Weekend. There is a well-established maze and a new wildlife meadow is being developed.</span></div>
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Whitgift opened for the weekend for the first time in 2015. Local residents were intrigued to see the spectacular gardens on their doorstep and will be sure to come back in 2016 to see the many horticultural developments. Volunteers who understand gardening and planting are welcomed by Sophie.</div>
Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-29947541450968658122015-10-01T08:27:00.000+01:002015-10-03T14:15:58.251+01:00Airs and Squares"We are so remarkably airy! - Mr Wingfield thinks the vicinity of Brunswick Square decidedly the most favourable as to air." So spoke Isabella, the sister of Emma in Jane Austen's famous book of the same name. And although located yards away from the busy Euston Road, lots of residents and workers were enjoying taking in its airs on the sunny September day when I visited.<br>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Brunswick Square started life in what once was the very edge of London. It was originally surrounded by Georgian houses on three sides with the Foundling Hospital to the East, and although time has taken its toll on the urban architecture, its original plane tree still stands proud. At over 200 years old, it lays claim to being the second oldest plane tree in London. The oldest is in Berkley Square. The tree was in full splendour before it prepared to shed its autumn leaves, with the dappled sunlight glowing through the green. </span></div>
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The circular flower bed in the middle of the square has recently been replanted and the new plants were being carefully protected and tended. They included Thyme, Sedum, pink Cosmos, Verbena Bonariensis, Bergena, Sissirynchium, Red Hot Poker, and Echinacea, alongside assorted grasses. It's good to see that Camden Council, supported and jollied along by residents and volunteers, can still sometimes give gardens the priority they need in these austere times. </div>
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The Friends of Brunswick Square also organised the planting of some tall, orange, striking, Mexican daisies at the west entrance to the square. They work with TCV Green Gym in their efforts to upgrade and improve the gardens.</div>
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The edges of the square are curved, and, in Jane Austen's day, one could imagine the wide circular sweeps taken up with carriages and horses trotting by. </div>
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Now there is a Grade II listed phone box on the edge of the park, which seems to be perfectly sited for posterity. </div>
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Brunswick Square had lots of famous residents in the past. Virginia Woolf used to live here with other members of the Bloomsbury group. Most evocative is the image the children's author, J. M. Barrie, conjured up of Peter Pan flying across the park into Wendy's bedroom window. The Georgian house Barrie lived in was demolished after the war, along with all the others around the park, but this is where it would have stood, just off the square. Barrie's estate later benefitted the establishment of nearby Great Ormond Street Children's hospital. </div>
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At first glance this London garden square feels like it is missing its Georgian houses and street scene, but<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> the residential and shopping area bordering the park on the west, The Brunswick Centre, built in the 1970s, is now Grade II listed instead. It provides a busy and pleasant eating, retail and recreational space, complete with Curzon cinema. </span></div>
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Nearby there are lots of adjoining garden squares and spaces through which you can wander. You'll need to be accompanied by a child to gain entry to Coram Fields though. This was the site of the Foundling Hospital, established by Thomas Coram (1668-1751). Child poverty was so bad at that time that when it received public funding and opened its doors to all-comers, it was inundated with 100 babies a day. </div>
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St George's Gardens nearby is very pretty - originally a graveyard when the local churches ran out of space for burial. Oliver Cromwell's favourite granddaughter, Anne, is buried here. Relatives had to guard the graves after burial to avoid the body snatchers taking their loved ones. Not far away there was a private anatomy school which boasted a tank with 17 cadavers.<br>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">This September Susan Jellis and the Friends of Brunswick celebrated 200 years of Jane Austen's association with the square with a wide variety of talks, walks and concerts in the Emma 200 Festival. They are a creative and energetic bunch of volunteers who promote their square widely, as well as opening it for a variety of events at the Open Garden Squares Weekend (taking place on June 18th and 19th in 2016).</span></div>
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To find out more about Brunswick Square, there is an excellent book by Ricci de Freitas (Tales of Brunswick Square, Bloomsbury's Untold Past) or check out past and future editions of the London Gardener, Journal of the London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust for articles by Susan Jellis. In the not too distant future, an article on Peter Pan is planned.<br>
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<a href="http://www.opensquares.org/detail/Brunswick.html" target="_blank">Information on visiting Brunswick Square on Open Garden Squares Weekend</a></div>
Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-40245147838696244472015-09-01T08:51:00.000+01:002015-09-01T08:51:43.461+01:00Painting the Square RedMaybe it's true that Sir Terry Farrell, designer of the MI6 building and Camden Lock's TV AM studios, painted the doors and windows of Wesley Square red because he found a bargain job lot of the stuff - or maybe it was secretly part of his grand plan to enhance the garden's greenery; but peek behind the plantings in this tranquil square, and you can easily spot the Wesley Square houses with their distinctive, bright red paintwork. The residents have grown to like the colour and now they repaint in the same red hue after the weather has taken its toll.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Wesley Square was created when a large swathe of slum housing was demolished to make way for new build in the 1970s. The housing is private with joint ownership of the freehold on a 999-year lease. Managed on a co-ownership basis by a not-for-profit company, the annual rent for the 50 houses in the square covers everything, including window cleaning as well as garden maintenance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The simple brick houses hide the square from public view. Reg, its green-fingered gardener, has worked the soil in these parts for the last 30 years. He started as a postman, and took happily to cutting the grass when he was asked. He remembers when the main lawn in the centre of Wesley Square resembled a hay field with a big hollow in the middle, which became a pool when there was heavy rainfall. Jordan is his faithful assistant and they both defer to Hilary, local resident and plantswoman.</span><br />
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Hilary's ideas for planting and Reg and Jordan's skills have transformed Wesley Square. Out went many of the shrubs and now you will find delightful perennials and herbs. A new bed containing lavender, nasturtium, Swiss chard, sage, horseradish, mint, bay and poppies has recently been planted along a main path. </div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The communal central gardens are complemented by the tiny front gardens of houses which lead directly on to the lawns and beds. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">And, reluctant to leave any bare ground unadorned, Wesley Square has also been cheering up its car park, planting Amelanchier trees, snowdrops, hollyhocks and grasses in the spaces between and alongside the cars. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The various entrances to the square are gradually being adorned with arbours, and trellises have been put on the sides of some of the houses for climbing plants, along which one house sports a mature wisteria.</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The site of 10 Rillington Place, the home of John Christie, a notorious serial killer in the 1950s, lies nearby. It belongs to St Andrew's Square. Having been demolished, the gruesome spot is now appropriately marked by a small, peaceful garden, which Reg also tends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">So successful have been the horticultural efforts of Wesley Square that it has started to win local gardening competitions, beating off several of the prestigious private squares around Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill. 2015 was the first year that the square opened to the public as part of the Open Garden Squares Weekend, and we hope that this participation will long continue. The residents are used to a bit of baking for their annual summer fetes, so teas are definitely worth a visit, as well as a chance to savour the smell of garden roses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Wesley.html" target="_blank">Information on visiting Wesley Square on Open Garden Squares Weekend</a></span></div>
Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-38351245274380818972015-08-01T18:53:00.001+01:002015-08-01T18:53:46.820+01:00Planting PlatformsThe Crossrail construction across London and the closure of Thameslink to Barbican left one platform at the station looking a bit forlorn. Marked by a couple of old terracotta pots, home to some tired and neglected plants, the platform stood forgotten until the eagle eyes of the Friends of City Gardens noticed it and took on the challenge to transform it and cheer up this corner of London.<br />
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They needed more than just gardening skills to complete their mission. Starting in November 2013, they spent eighteen months gathering supporters and sponsors for their vision - with the help of Transport for London. Along the way they met Gensler, an organisation specialising in global urban landscapes and design thinking, and the design of the new garden began to take shape. Mischka Ickstadt from Gensler designed the 100 metre long platform garden and Marion Blair, a volunteer, designed the planting.</div>
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They had two major obstacles to overcome to achieve their vision. Firstly the abandoned platform was performing an unbeknown function in the construction of the huge underground tunnel for Crossrail. On the side wall, lasers had been mounted, whose job was to monitor any movement caused by the tunnel boring machine to the surrounding infrastructure. The two boring machines were also due to meet up at the Barbican, where the abandoned platform will eventually be reconstructed to run from Barbican to Farringdon. The sight line from these lasers could not be obstructed, so the first design, which involved larger planters, had to be modified.</div>
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The second obstacle was that there was no elevator or lift to the platform, so all the construction materials and plants had to be carried down the flights of stairs. Four Friends of City Gardens, helped by six staff from Kelly ITS, carried 35 concrete planters down these stairs, along with 7,500 litres of soil - the total weight of which has been likened to that of a small elephant. The large trees were brought in during the night - in fact much of the work was done under cover of darkness when the station was closed. </div>
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And the result is a triumph of design. Based on the concept of movement and speed, the upright red spacers echo the red wiring along the platform and the familiar London tube sign</div>
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This red wave design is good seen up close and also from passing trains. For the best effect, catch an underground train from Moorgate to Farringdon on the Metropolitan Line. Sit on the left facing forward and watch the garden move as you depart Barbican station and the train picks up speed. </div>
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The Friends, Transport for London, Gensler and Crossrail were all grateful for the help given by Hamptons International, Redrow London, Kingston Smith, Skanska, Kelly ITS, the Barbican Centre, and the City of London Corporation. The garden was opened by Transport for London on 12th June and then for the Open Garden Squares Weekend in June 2015, when the pre-booked tours were all fully subscribed. Even so, over 100 other eager people turned up on the off-chance of a spare place, such was the interest the pop-up platform garden had generated. </div>
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There are vegetables and herbs as well as flowers and shrubs in the planters - harvesting of the lettuce, kale, broad beans and herbs has already begun. Volunteers from London Underground staff and the Friends water and tend the plants and we all wonder what its future will be after 2016, when building work will start on the platform.</div>
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The Friends of City Gardens hope their efforts will bring the odd smile to passing commuters. Unfortunately access to the platform itself is not allowed; but, if you've seen the platform garden and are around Barbican station, you could take the time to pop into the Barbican to see<a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Beech.html"> the new plantings there by Nigel Dunnett</a> (of London Olympic Park plantings fame). There's lots happening on the garden front at the Barbican nowadays. Here's a glimpse of them. </div>
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Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-63877940070219621262015-07-19T20:08:00.001+01:002015-07-24T07:44:29.698+01:00Through Instagrammers' Eyes and LensesOpen Garden Squares Weekend may be over a month ago but we have been looking at all your wonderful photos from the Weekend on Instagram. There are so many gardens and here at Duck Island we don’t always get to see everything; so it's brilliant to be able to experience the Weekend through your eyes and lenses! We’ve especially enjoyed your perspectives and creative angles on our gardens. Here are some of our favourites! <br />
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We love this looking-through photograph of <a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Belgrave.html" target="_blank">Belgrave Square</a> from <a href="https://instagram.com/pedroh1962" target="_blank">@pedroh1962 </a><br />
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Using the fencing to frame the garden visitors really captures the idea of unlocking your own secret garden experience! <br />
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This wonderful take on the Moroccan mosaic tile floor at <a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/MaRoCoCo.html" target="_blank">MaRoCoCo Garden Rococo Chocolates</a> is from <a href="https://instagram.com/thesilvercherry" target="_blank">@thesilvercherry</a><br />
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We had the pleasure of the London-based Instagram group <a href="http://instagramerslondon.com/" target="_blank">@igerslondon</a> joining us on the Saturday for an Instameet.<br />
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It was tough to choose a favourite from their meet-up pictures but we loved the simplicity of this image.<br />
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Up on the rooftop of the award-winning <a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Nomura.html" target="_blank">Nomura International PLC</a> garden there were birds of prey for visitors to meet, and many people were able to learn more about some of the nation's favourite birds. We love this snapshot of the inquisitive beautiful hawk from <a href="https://instagram.com/homepheonix/">@homepheonix</a> <br />
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This year we teamed up with Instagram sensation <a href="https://instagram.com/symmetrybreakfast">@symmetrybreakfast</a> to create a limited number of special breakfast hampers for visitors to enjoy picnic-style in the gardens. Instagrammer <a href="https://instagram.com/iswanting">@iswanting</a> not only took this fabulous picnic garden photo but also brought her own (symmetrical of course) breakfast trays to enjoy the hamper!<br />
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Proof that natural and man-made can exist in harmony, this lovely photo by <a href="https://instagram.com/monokraum" target="_blank">@monokraum</a> mixes the calm, tranquil gardens with modernist architecture of the Barbican at <a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Beech.html" target="_blank">Beech Gardens</a>, one of the newer gardens.<br />
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We absolutely love this photo by <a href="https://instagram.com/juliakolbeek" target="_blank">@juliakolbeek</a> of <a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Skip,html" target="_blank">The Skip Garden Global Generation</a> near King's Cross.<br />
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This clever reflectagram captures the spirit of the garden's organic urban agriculture and also incorporates art and installation.<br />
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Speaking of gardens and art, many of our gardens feature sculptures (you can use our <a href="http://opensquares.org/sculpture.html" target="_blank">on-line sculpture trail</a> to find many of them). <br />
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This striking David Harber features in <a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Eaton.html" target="_blank">Eaton Square</a> by <a href="https://instagram.com/pedroh1962" target="_blank">@pedroh1962</a><br />
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The classical female nude hidden in the trees in <a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Warwick.html" target="_blank">Warwick Square</a> by <a href="https://instagram.com/mjbaker72">@mjbaker</a><br />
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<a href="https://instagram.com/neversitstill">@neversitstill</a> took this photo of wonderful Dancers by David Wynne in <a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/CadoganPlN.html" target="_blank">Cadogan Place North Garden</a>. Evidence of the breadth of design of the sculptures and ambiance they bring to our gardens.<br />
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We also brought poetry to our gardens this year with The Poetry School’s Mixed Borders collaboration. This photo by <a href="https://instagram.com/londonse4">@londonse4</a> was taken in <a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Postmans.html" target="_blank">Postman's Park</a>.<br />
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Capturing the fantastic source of inspiration and truly moving nature of this garden.<br />
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Make sure you visit and follow our Instagram account <a href="https://instagram.com/opensquaresweekend/">@opensquaresweekend</a> and our featured Instagrammers for more wonderful photos from the weekend. You can use the tags #ogsw2015 and #opengardensquaresweekend to share your photos.<br />
<br />Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-4627817061949781492015-07-01T19:33:00.000+01:002015-07-07T19:37:15.737+01:00Bowling in the BacklandsTucked away near Notting Hill are the backlands, green spaces of different kinds, created for the St Quintin Estate, built between 1880 and 1900. One of the backlands has been a bowling club since its foundation in 1903, and despite its ups and downs, residents have kept the flag flying for this charming recreational space ever since.<br>
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The West London Bowling Club employs a professional greenkeeper to maintain the grass to a good standard for the 40 or so bowlers who use it regularly, but it is volunteers who have been beavering away since 2014 to reclaim the roses which surround it.<br>
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Roses have been given pride of place in the restoration of the garden. Along the side of the green a red rose lives happily next to a berberis, the colours of each complementing one another, while<br>
around the corner, alongside the scoring board for games, a genista was in full yellow bloom when I visited. Since local people brought back life to the bowling club in 2014, there has been a lot of<br>
propagation of roses with a view to not only maintaining and restoring those around the green, but also reclaiming a wilderness on the east side. This work is led by Dennis and his merry band of<br>
volunteers from a local allotment site, St Quintin Avenue Community Kitchen Garden, who turn up every Sunday afternoon to restore the garden here, once the eighth rink, where children used to learn to bowl. Albertine and Seagull roses have been planted, new peach and pink roses grafted to replace those strangled by ivy, brambles restrained, hops trained to climb high with the new roses, and all adorned by beautiful bird songs in the background. A treat to enjoy on Open Garden Squares weekend.<br>
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The bowling green was formally opened in 1920 and bowling has taken place here ever since, pretty much. Although other backlands on the St Quintin Estate became allotments when war started, here they continued bowling, and fortunately dodged falling bombs. The beauty of the garden was recognised in successive years from 1968 to 1978, when it was an annual prize winner of the Kensington and Chelsea Gardens Competitions, as well as producing many bowls champions. In the 1970s the ownership of the estate moved to the Legard family and the club is now one of the three remaining backlands of the area, with the Nursery Road site fighting creeping property development, and the Kelfield sports ground also remaining. The bowling club boasts a degree of protected status, but supports the other remaining backlands in their attempts to retain green space in the area, as well as improving its own.<br>
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Ruth Hillary, Chair of the Association, with the help of the St Helens Residents' Association, has been leading a successful make-over of the club since its re-opening in 2014. Up with all the new trends, barefoot bowling is possible here, and the clubhouse has an inviting bar and free wifi. Benches and tables have been sanded and scrubbed, new planters constructed, and there are<br>
good relations with neighbours, with fairs and events for local people in the summer and at Christmas. There is an emphasis on attracting and engaging local families, with a new orchard<br>
and pleasure ground for picnics and teas planned, not forgetting the local hedgehogs, who will still find shelter here in a wild corner, when the garden is completed. <br>
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<a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/WestLonBC.html" target="_blank">Information on visiting West London Bowling Club on Open Garden Squares Weekend</a> »Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5672145461903328974.post-65765517202155841402015-06-02T14:07:00.000+01:002015-06-02T17:14:10.351+01:00London’s Little Villages<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The film 'Notting Hill' captures a romantic London of the not-too-distant past and a beautiful, classical London garden square, Rosmead Garden, is the star of the show. There is a famous scene when, one moonlit evening, Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant climb over the railings beside a tall, locked gate to wander inside the garden where they kiss and fall in love. Hugh Grant, an impecunious travel bookseller, William Thacker, explains to Julia Roberts, playing the American film star, Anna Scott, what these gardens are, saying:</div>
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<i>“All these streets round here have these mysterious communal gardens. They are like little villages... They’re like private villages, only the people around the edges are allowed in.” </i><br />
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And he’s right. Notting Hill is a rabbit warren of private garden squares. Different developers in the nineteenth century built large estates and provided well for green space for their residents.<br />
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Rosmead is part of the Ladbroke Estate, originally conceived in Thomas Allom’s plan of 1823. This garden is part of the outer crescent of the Ladbroke Estate and dates from the 1860s. It used to be called Elgin and Lansdowne Gardens, but was changed to Rosmead, after the name of the nearby road.<br />
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It is a very generously sized garden which is actively used by its residents. Children play on the expanses of lawn, just as they did in the film, and Rosmead is amongst the few garden squares who allow them to play ball games and bring their dogs along. <br />
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There is both private and social housing along its borders, which co-exist happily and enjoy the benefits of their private, communal garden.<br />
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Rosmead is nearing the completion of a major restoration project to restore the beautiful original railings, the wall (using original London bricks) and the gate on Rosmead Road, using as much of the original materials as possible. When I first visited the old gate (on the left), which Hugh Grant struggled to scale, was being removed from its foundations. The top of the gate has now been altered to match the railings. Although film buffs may be sad to see it changed, the new gate, railings and wall are beautiful. Susan Walker is the architect overseeing works, with a foundry in Tottenham (MetalCraft) restoring all the metalwork. A very small amount of the metalwork and the coping had to be recast in Scotland. One and a half metres of vegetation and undergrowth bordering the old gate have been removed, giving a great opportunity for replanting. There is a plan for the rejuvenation of the garden’s planting in accordance with a common horticultural theme. The project is entirely self-funded, on budget and on time. Visitors on Sunday 14th June will be able to see the completed building works.<br />
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There is one gardener, Paul, who manages this garden on a part-time basis, and Nicola, a volunteer who co-ordinates the garden planting committee. When I visited, the quince and camellias were in bloom, the magnolias in bud, with hints of grey, blue, lilac and terracotta themes. The square cherishes its four old horse chestnut trees, which now require regular pruning and maintenance by The Tree Agency. Their lovely candelabra flowers may be over by mid-June, but there should be a good show of colour in the borders to enjoy.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">I</span></span>n past years at the Open Garden Squares Weekend, refreshments have been served in one of the adjoining house gardens like these above. Rosmead has been faithfully supporting a charity in Kenya, the Kipungani Schools Trust, which helps schoolchildren there.<br />
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Finding your way to Rosmead from Notting Hill Tube takes you past the tourist haunts, still selling memorabilia from the film, and then through a delightful array of streets with houses painted in pastel colours <br />
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Some visitors search in vain for the original bench where Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts kissed. Search instead for the long, low, stone megalith, which marks the spot and enjoy a romantic moment.<br />
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<a href="http://opensquares.org/detail/Rosmead.html" target="_blank">Information on visiting Rosmead Garden on Open Garden Squares Weekend</a> »<br />
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<br />Open Garden Squares Weekendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14833617649253171342noreply@blogger.com0