The London Garden Book A-Z Abigail Willis some extracts from the book 1 London Garden Book A-Z Contents Introduction 1 F Food from the Sky 96 R Redcross Garden 182 MEET THE GARDENERS: London Garden History 4 F Front Gardens 98 R RHS Horticultural Halls 184 A Garden Reborn 272 F Frugal Gardening Tips 100 R Roof Garden on the Southbank 186 A Wildlife Garden 276 LONDON GARDENS A-Z: G The Garden Museum 102 R Roots and Shoots 188 Adventures on a Rooftop 280 A Allotments 10 G Geffrye Museum Garden 104 S St Mary’s Secret Garden 192 An Architect’s Garden 282 Cable Street Community Garden 14 G Green Corners 108 S Seeds of Italy 194 An Easy Maintenance Garden 286 B Barbican 16 G Guerrilla Gardener 110 S Sheds 196 David’s Ecohouse 290 B Barge Gardens 20 H Hall Place and Gardens 114 S Skip Garden 198 Lutfun’s Garden 294 B Bees 24 H Ham House 116 S Spring Fever in Kew 200 Molly’s Urban Oasis 296 B Beekeeping on RFH 26 H Hampton Court Flower Show 118 S South London Botanical Institute 204 The Exotic Garden 298 B Bonnington Square 28 A gold-medal winning garden 122 S Summer in Kew 208 The Shady Garden 300 C Cannizaro Park 32 H Hampton Court Palace Gardens 124 T Thames Barrier Park 210 The Magic Roundabout 304 C Capel Manor Gardens 34 H The Hill Garden & Pergola 128 T Thrive in Battersea 212 The Pie & Mash Garden 306 C Capital Growth 38 H Horniman Museum & Gardens 132 T Topiary 214 The Plantsman 308 Winterton House 40 I Inner Temple Garden 134 U Underground in Bloom 216 The Water Garden 312 Rocky Park Growers 42 J Japanese Kyoto Garden 138 V Vertical Garden – Athenaeum 218 Sue’s Roof Garden 316 Golden Lane 44 K Kensington Roof Gardens 140 V Vertical Veg 220 C Carlyle’s House 46 K Kew Garden in Autumn 144 Mark's Vertical Veg Tips 222 GARDENER’S DiREctORY: C Centre for Wildlife Gardening 48 L Livery Company Gardens 146 V Volunteers 224 London Horticultural Societies 320 C Chelsea Flower Show 50 L London Plants 150 W Walled Gardens 226 Allotments 321 C Chelsea Fringe 54 L Lost Gardens of London 154 W Westminster College Garden 230 Gardenblogs & Web Resources 322 C Chelsea Physic Garden 56 M Market Gardens 156 W What will the Harvest be? 232 Organisations 323 C Chiswick House Gardens 60 M Medicinal Garden (RCP) 158 W Wildflower Meadows 234 Garden Events 325 C City Gardens (map) 64 M Myddelton House Garden 160 W Wildlife Garden, NHM 236 Garden Centres 326 C Clifton Nurseries 74 N National Plant Collections 164 W Wildlife Gardening 240 Community Gardens, City Farms & C Cloister Herb Garden 76 O Ockendon Road Tree Gardens 166 W Winter at Kew 250 Nature Reserves 329 C Columbia Road Market 78 Ockendon Road's Tree-Pit Tips 168 W Wisley (RHS Garden) 254 Community Orchards 333 C Container Gardening 82 O Open Garden Squares Weekend 170 W World’s End Nurseries 258 C Coriander Club 84 O Osterley Park 172 W Worshipful Company INDEX 336 C Culpeper Community Garden 86 P Petersham Nurseries 174 of Gardeners 260 D Dye Garden at Vauxhall City Farm 88 P Phoenix Garden 176 X X-Factor 262 E Eltham Palace 90 P Putting Down Roots 178 Y The Yellow Book 264 F Fenton House 94 Q Queen’s Wood Organic Garden 180 Z Zen Garden 266 B Barge Gardens Garden designers often talk about getting Connected by ingeniously designed bridges, the ‘movement’ into their creations, but on the garden barges are not just a decorative after-thought: floating gardens at Downings Roads Moorings they act as walkways to the individual houseboats as the movement is for real, generated by the well as accommodating studio apartments. twice-daily ebb and flow of the Thames and the swell of passing river traffic. For those used Architect Nick Lacey is the man behind the to terrestrial gardens the gentle sway can be Moorings’ evolution into a floating garden square disconcerting and visitors are advised to wear (and indeed the gardens do take part in the Open suitable footwear, and to exercise care when Garden Squares Weekend as well as opening for the aboard. NGS). The owner of the moorings, Nick was inspired back in the 80s by seeing a profusion of self-seeded The oldest surviving commercial river moorings plants growing in a silt-filled lighter and the idea of in London (dating from at least the first half of the the barge garden was born. Construction is simple: 19th century), the Downings Roads Moorings are the lighters are decked over with a steel deck which home today to some 30 river vessels converted to produces a planting ‘tray’ about a spit (roughly residential or mixed use. Some berth holders tend 25cms) deep; the studio quarters are housed on the small gardens on their own boats but the barge lower deck. gardens themselves are the main attraction, and are constructed on seven Thames lighters (flat- Off-shore gardening presents unique challenges and bottomed vessels used for unloading larger vessels). simply getting the soil (a rich 50/50 mix of top-soil and farmyard manure) onto the barges was a major 5DowningsLondon Roads Garden Moorings Book A-Z London Garden Book A-Z 6 Nick was inspired back in the 80s by seeing a profusion of self-seeded plants growing in a silt-filled lighter and the idea of the barge garden was born. Nick Lacey operation involving a crane and a lot of spadework. Attracting a bohemian community of human Although the river enjoys a mild microclimate, residents, the barges also appeal to London’s its desiccating winds make watering a constant wildlife, with ducks, coots, moorhens and geese concern; drought-friendly plants are helpful but also making their homes here. Nick is keen to nonetheless in dry weather the gardens need get some bee hives on to the moorings but in the watering every other day. During hosepipe bans meantime wildlife friendly plants such as nepeta the gardens are sustained with water pumped and buddleia keep visiting bees and butterflies from the river which, being silty and full of in nectar. For their creator, the appeal of the nutrients, the plants relish. barge gardens lies in their fundamental difference from buildings – for architect Nick, ‘what is so The barges are planted for year-round interest, wonderful about a garden is that it’s organic, with an eclectic mix of trees and shrubs, softened it develops, it grows, it changes in a way that by informal groupings of perennials and self- buildings find more difficult!’ seeded annuals such as poppies. Trees such as the golden leaved Robinia frisia do surprisingly Downings Roads Moorings well here, obligingly miniaturising themselves to 31 Mill Street, SE1 2AX adapt to the shallow planting depth, and fruit trees www.towerbridgemoorings.org www.ngs.org.uk such as medlar, apple and plum also thrive. Soil www.opensquares.org fertility is kept high by regular compost mulches and the odd seaweed dressing. 28 London Garden Book A-Z London Garden Book A-Z 8 B Bonnington Square Bonnington Square Pleasure Garden Named with a nod to the Vauxhall Pleasure Garden of old, this resident-run garden square may not have all the diversions offered by its famous forebear but what it lacks in orchestral performances, balloon flights, acrobats and masked balls it makes up in community spirit and charm. The site was developed in its current form in the mid 1990s, when residents successfully lobbied the council to save and redevelop the garden (at that point a derelict children’s playground) for local people. Designed by ‘committee’, Bonnington Square’s enclave of artistically inclined residents fortunately included garden designers Dan Pearson and James Frazer, who between them devised a luxuriant planting scheme, combining semi-tropical and Mediterranean plants with English natives. The semi-tropical feel of the garden remains today, with lofty palms, Zealand flax, bananas, bamboos and mahonia providing the garden with its architecture and foliage. A small lawned area basks in the garden’s sunlit centre, with benches for relaxing on, a picnic table and a children’s play area among the amenities. Roped border edges and the odd anchor lying around add a faintly nautical feel to proceedings, while a giant iron slip wheel salvaged from a local marble works makes a dramatic sculptural contribution against the far wall. Such is the garden’s exuberance that it has spilled out onto the Square’s surrounding pavements, which have been planted with trees, shrubs and climbers as part of the Bonnington Square Garden Association’s ongoing Paradise Project. www.bonningtonsquaregarden.org.uk www.bonningtoncafe.co.uk 9 London Garden Book A-Z London Garden Book A-Z 3510 Harleyford Road Community Garden Begun in the 1980s, this community garden developed more organically than its neighbour, with no overriding design. As a result it is more jungle-like, with a relaxed feel compared to the orderly Bonnington Square. Here, winding mosaic pathways lead to several distinct areas, including a recently installed A ‘secret’ passage pond, children’s play area, herb and vegetable beds, and a wildlife area (those nettles are there for a reason). Its 1.5 acres connects Bonnington are gardened organically by regular volunteers, with the more experienced helping the less so, and its plants include well- Square with... Harleyford established roses as well as more exotic specimens. Both gardens take part in the Open Garden Squares weekend (see Road Community Garden p.170), with live music and a variety of stalls.