Blog
The Sky Garden
Spanning the top three floors of The Walkie Talkie, London’s highest public garden offers outstanding views. If you are able to visit during the week, before 4pm, your visit will be free. Tickets are available 2 weeks in advance, so check the long-range forecast for the clearest day! On the day that we went, sadly it was a little overcast but the views were still amazing. There are landscaped public gardens, observation decks and an open air terrace. I now find myself looking up at the building thinking “I was there”. Next stop, the Shard!
Greening Grey Britain; The Archway Phone Box
The RHS 2015 campaign for Greening Grey Britain tackles the growing number of grey spaces spreading across our communities and transform them into beautiful green places. In a recent article in the Independent, the RHS said that three times as many front gardens are paved over as a decade ago. Luckily with a few initiative people, colour is being maintained in Archway (perhaps not the prettiest corner of London). Just take a look at this old phone box.
Bombed Church Gardens! Part 2
We’ve been reacquainting ourselves with central London in the past few months, and coming across places we’ve not been to before. Another bombed-out church which has been turned into public gardens is St Dunstan in the East. St Dunstan in the East The ruins of a medieval church and Wren tower now make for one of the most beautiful church gardens in London. The City of London turned the ruins into a garden in 1967 and were opened to the public in 1970. They are grade 1 listed so are protected from further development. It is a popular spot for city workers who seek the cool ruins in the summer to escape the hustle and bustle. An unusual plant can be found in the lower garden, winter’s bark, drimy winteri. Its leaves are high in Vitamin C and were once … Continue reading
Bombed Church Gardens! Part 1
Recently we’ve been popping into London at the weekend to spot the Shaun the Sheep as part of the Shaun in the City arts trail. It’s been wonderful rediscovering parts of London we’d forgotten. Have you ever visited a bombed church that has been turned into gardens? Christchurch Greyfriars Rose Garden Also known as Christchurch Greyfriars Newgate, this church is just a stone’s throw from St Paul’s Cathedral. Bombed in the Second World War the rose beds sit where the pews were, and clematis and climbing roses weave their way up the pillars that once held up the roof.
What to do with your old wellington boots
On a recent trip to Kentish Town City Farm, apart from looking at the goats and ducks, we were distracted by the unusual choice of planters: Wellington boots. It’s a great choice because I guess the farm have plenty of wellies donated and if people aren’t wearing them, what are you going to do with them? Some were strung up on fences and others were in the City Farm garden. They already look bright and colourful but will look even better when the flowers are in bloom.
Amazing Mazes
I recently read a book for bookclub called “Larry’s Party” by Carol Shields. Now you might wonder what this has to do with landscaping and why am I giving you reading tips, but there is a point to this. The central character, Larry became a maze-maker: a profession up until reading this book I had never really given thought to. In Larry’s Party, he studies mazes from all around the world and creates his very own in his garden. In real-life, Adrian Fisher is the world’s leading maze designer. He has some spectacular and inspirational designs on his website. At Lloyds Gardens of London, no-one as of yet has requested a maze as part of their brief but never say never! In the meantime, please enjoy some pretty pictures of the Turf Maze at Saffron Walden that I visited a few … Continue reading
Spring has Sprung on the Parkland Walk
Hooray, Spring is here at last. Here are some pictures of the Parkland Walk, a 4.5 mile green walkway which follows a disused railway line from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace. We love getting out for a good old tramp along there as we can escape the city for a while. Local cyclists, joggers and dog walkers love the Parkland Walk too. This is our favourite spot, a couple of tree trunks that are used by resting places and sometimes for the odd impromptu picnic. Did you know that the word “crocus” is Latin for Saffon? The three stigmas are often dried and used in cooking. Do read about our other adventures on another disused railway line here.
The Honeybourne Line
Lloyd’s Gardens of London are all about transformation of space. One of our team recently went to visit some family in Cheltenham and took a few photos of the Honeybourne Line. The old Honeybourne Line is similar to the Parkland Walk in North London as in it is a disused railway line that has been transformed into a popular cycle route/walkway and is popular with locals. It was a bit grey when they visited but we love that this walkway can be enjoyed by anyone as the path is tarmac and wide, there’s a playground for children at one end and halfway along some interesting (commissioned) graffiti. If you don’t get to see the Cheltenham Banksy then do make sure you check out the graffiti in the tunnel by Waitrose! We also found a wonderful timelapse video of the whole of the Honeybourne Line route so you can … Continue reading
Plantastic at the Horniman
We are very intrigued by a new exhibition that has just open at the Horniman Museum and Gardens in Forest Hill, South East London. Plantastic “brings the miniature world of plants to life on a massive scale”. There are giant seed pods, a huge crawl-through root system and interactive exhibits which allows the whole family to discover how plant life is essential to the world around us. The Plantastic exhibition runs until 1st November, so there is plenty of time to take the family along and get up close and personal to all sort of weird and wonderful plant life. We might head over in May since they will be having a wonderful array of outdoor displays including a mass planting of sunflowers. If you get there before us, do tell us what you think! More information about the exhibition can … Continue reading
Hidden London Treasure; Barbican Conservatory
There’s a little secret oasis hidden in the City of London – the Barbican Conservatory. If you head down on Sundays (open 11am – 5pm) you can discover: The pool of exotic fish – we spied enormous carp… An amazing collection of cacti Plus wander through the tropical plants and trees We’d highly recommend a visit to this, the second largest Conservatory in London to get your fix of plants and trees in the winter months.
