A Medicinal Garden

The Medicinal Garden at the Royal College of Physicians, close to Regent's Park, has to be one of the world’s most interesting and intriguing cultivated spaces. Recently, on a bright winter morning, Duck Island Cottage was very lucky to have been given a tour by the college’s Garden Fellow, Dr Henry Oakeley and the Head Gardener, Jane Knowles.

The College building itself is the RCP’s fifth home, and was completed in 1965. It is still thrillingly modern and provides a brilliant contrast with the nearby formal Regency terrace of St Andrew’s Place. The Garden is not one single space, rather a collection of growing areas: each of the eight Regency houses has its own small garden square, there is another garden at the end of the terrace and more flower beds lie close to the College buildings.



One of the small gardens on St Andrew’s Place 
photo: Sarah Jackson 



The Medicinal Garden in full bloom

during Open Garden Squares Weekend 2010

Photo: Gavin Gardiner

 The Garden’s focus is on its individual plants, around 1,280 different species in total, all of which have been used in medicine over the past two thousand years or still are, and plants named after physicians. The fascination here lies in the plants’ uses and dangers, the history and the folklore surrounding them and the influence they have had on the English language.

The eight small and beautifully laid-out terrace gardens each contain plants from the writings of Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654); for example, the seed heads of the English corn poppy were brewed in a tea as a sedative for children, its effectiveness due to its opiate content. And carnation flowers were used against the plague, and also to ‘strengthen the heart, liver and stomach’.

It would take many years as well as a lot of care and passion to match Dr Oakeley’s great understanding and knowledge of medicinal plants. However, in a few minutes he opened my eyes to the dual nature of medicine, that it can be potentially poisonous and also curative. He stressed that herbs can contain useful chemicals for science, but they are just one of many medical resources, and they invariably have to be toned down and adapted.

At this time of the year, the Garden is at its most quiet, but, come early June, it will be full and rich with its varied and fascinating medicinal plants and herbs. There will be tours over the weekend, and for me this is one garden I cannot wait to see again.

Duck Island Cottage will be back next month with another one of our super gardens!

A Unique London Village

Open Garden Squares Weekend is all about opening up London’s private, secret gardens and Garden Barge Square, near Tower Bridge, is a wonderfully quirky and imaginative living space. The barge development feels thoroughly contemporary, yet there have been moorings on this site for over 200 years.

The secluded setting of Garden Barge Square, in the shadow of Tower Bridge and the London skyline

We were lucky to be shown around on a beautiful bright and warm November morning by Nick Lacey. Nick devised the gardens in the mid-1990s and his architectural practice is based in a nearby wharf building overlooking the Square.  This village of converted barge vessels, linked by bridges and walkways, is home for nearly 100 people, and also houses businesses and artists’ studios.

Low lying, hardy silver-leafed plants
are a particular feature of the gardens

And, between and atop the barges there are individually planted gardens, each with its own identity. They were still incredibly green, and featured a variety of evergreen and silver-leafed plants – ideally suited to the dry and windy conditions on the Thames - bordered by box hedges and swaying grasses. Mains water keeps the gardens looking spruce, but in times of shortage the Thames itself – barely saline on this stretch - can be used. The gardens are managed organically to attract wildlife interest and are fed with home made fertilisers. There is a zero toleration policy for invasive weeds and chemicals.

We were also delighted to see rarely-cultivated medlar trees with their petite proportions working so well in the available space. Nick shared with us his recipe for medlar jelly, a lovely bronze-coloured preserve which is super with cold roast meat. Both bletted (dark brown in appearance and squashy to the touch) and firm medlars are required for the jelly, the majority should be bletted combined with a few that are still firm. 

An unbletted medlar

Medlar Jelly

Simmer the medlars in a small quantity of water, sufficient just to stop the fruits from sticking. Strain the cooked fruit through muslin and gently boil the resultant juice with an equal amount of sugar. The jelly is ready when a small quantity sets on a cold plate. Bottle the jelly in clean jars and seal once cooled.

We’ll be back in a month’s time with another exciting and unique London garden!  

A special open space in East London

Here at Duck Island Cottage we’re working on our programme for Open Garden Squares Weekend, 9-10 June 2012, and we’re very excited about the forthcoming event. We’ve just come back from a visit to Abbey Gardens, in East London – a truly inspirational location.

Harvesting at Abbey Gardens

Four years ago, two artists, Karen Guthrie and Nina Pope, designed the unique open-access Harvest Garden on neglected wasteland. The ruins of a 12th-century abbey gave the Gardens its name as well as protection from development. Karen and Nina were influenced by the idea of returning the land to production and today everyone can participate in the communal growing and harvesting of vegetables and herbs. Free garden club sessions take place three times a week, from March to October. There are no individual plots – produce is split between regular gardeners and is sold on site.

We love the positive and welcoming atmosphere at Abbey Gardens.

At Duck Island Cottage we’re also passionate about fresh, natural produce. In June 2012, at Abbey Gardens, the first of the season’s vegetables will be ready for harvesting, including our early summer favourites: peas, broad beans, new potatoes and young salad leaves. The following recipe makes the most of this early crop - and mint and parsley, also in season:

Salad of Broad Beans, Peas and New Potatoes in a lemon and mint dressing

A mix of the following vegetables:

fresh peas, broad beans, new potatoes and salad leaves

For the dressing:

light olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper, mint and parsley

Make a dressing by combining three parts olive oil to one part lemon juice, seasoning with salt and pepper. Finely chop a combined handful of mint leaves and parsley, avoid using the thicker parts of the parsley stalks, and add these to the dressing.

Fresh Mint

Cook the peas and broad beans until just tender, and the new potoates until cooked through. Combine the cooked vegetables and whilst still warm, pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix well together. Allow to cool, to room temperature. Line a salad bowl with the salad leaves and pile in the salad. Just before serving chop the remainder of the mint and parsley and scatter over the salad.

We’ll be back next month with a preview of another one of our exclusive Gardens for June 2012!