THE LAST NEWS FROM THE SHED – 12 ROOF GARDENS, GARLANDS, SWINGS and FASCINATING WOMEN GARDENERS DEAR DGT GARDENERS, WELCOME TO THE LAST EDITION OF THE GARDEN SHED NEWS! The flowers in this edition were photographed last week at The Newt – other gardens are now opening and so life is gradually creeping forward to recovery. St John the Baptist Day – June 24th - is always commemorated at the Almshouse in Sherborne (which is dedicated to both St John the Evangelist and St John the Baptist ) with a wonderful garland over the main entrance. The original Almshouse of S. John The Baptist and S. John The Evangelist is the best surviving example of a medieval Almshouse in Wessex. Its Foundation Deed is dated 10th January 1437 and provided for ‘Twelve pore feeble and ympotent old men and four old women’ to be cared for by a housewife whose duty was to ‘feeche in and dyght to the victaill wash wrying make beddys and all other things do’. And after almost 600 years of constant care it is still looking after 18 residents of Sherborne. Sadly it is not possible at present to visit the Almshouse and admire the medieval Triptych and see the uniforms worn until the 1960s by the residents, but if you do come to Sherborne do check out the garland and the stunning courtyard display of flowers. GARLANDS were also used in an art installation by Rebecca Louise Law at Kew a few years ago. Over 1000 garlands were made by Rebecca Louise Law, an installation artist for her art piece, Life in Death which was displayed at Kew a few years ago. The installation was inspired by Kew’s Herbarium and Economic Botany collection and was created using Law’s personal collection of preserved flora saved over the past decade, it was to promote the use of the flower as a long-term art material. Exhibiting alongside Law’s art work were Egyptian garlands from the Economic Botany collection dating back to as far as 1700BC MORE MOCK ROCKS In the last edition I talked about Pulhamite and how the recipe was lost on the death of James Pulham. Similarly, the recipe for Coade Stone was also lost on the death of Eleanor Coade. Coade stone was stoneware that was often described as an artificial stone in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was used for moulding neoclassical statues, architectural decorations and garden ornaments of the highest quality that remain virtually weatherproof today. Coade stone features were produced by appointment to George III and the Prince Regent for St George's Chapel, Windsor; The Royal Pavilion, Brighton; Carlton House, London; the Royal Naval College, Greenwich; and refurbishment of Buckingham Palace in the 1820s. The product (originally known as Lithodipyra) was created around 1770 by Eleanor Coade, who ran Coade's Artificial Stone Manufactory, Coade and Sealy, and Coade in Lambeth, London, from 1769 until her death in 1821. It continued to be manufactured by her last business partner, William Croggon, until 1833. It brought the opportunity for a much wider range of gardeners to have modestly priced statues and features such as sun dials in their gardens. The recipe and techniques for producing Coade stone have been rediscovered by Coade Ltd., which produces sculpture at its workshops in Wilton, Wiltshire. I DON’T BELIEVE IT! Some of you, I think, were slightly sceptical about the benefits of playing music as suggested by Dr Milstein (Shed news 8) to their plants. Well, I bring news of another plant growing music playing gardener. Noel Edmonds (yes, he of all those BBC light entertainment shows ) moved to New Zealand and has launched a radio station for plants – Positively Plants- it ‘uses audio stimulation to aid the growth of your plants’. A SWINGING TIME In India a garden in a hareem – a Zenana garden – had to have: • ‘Walls of such a height that no man standing on an elephant can peer over them’ • Trees and fine flowers • Fountain with fish • A swing A SWING?? The month of Sawan – July - is the month of swings. “It is both pleasant and profitable to swing in the rains in the damp stifling air when not even the watered fibre screens can keep the rooms fresh. A swing under the trees wafts a cool refreshing air; children and women from the highest to the lowest all have their swings.’ Some swings were mounted on marble arches and could be swung over the jets of water. DEEG PALACE GARDENS Swinging was also popular in Georgian England as can be seen in this drawing by Thomas Rowlandson (1756 -1827) showing the swings in Sydney Gardens, Bath. Sydney Gardens in Bath was a fashionable destination in the 18th and early 19th century. It contained swings designed by the Belgian inventor J.J. Merlin which were supposedly excellent remedies for the ill and infirm due to their life-giving properties, as can be seen in the sketch. ROOF GARDENS IN LONDON Illustrations from an edition of Amateur Gardener in January 1903 show a garden in Islington where the proud owner reported that he had growing on his roof top chrysanthemums, carnations, dahlias, begonias, wallflowers, pelargoniums, zinnias – and more. The idea of roof top gardens expanded. In some cases they were built at the top of department stores, such as this rooftop water garden which Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe built in 1956/7 for Harvey’s Department store in Guildford. It was to symbolise the flight of the first Sputnik. Jellicoe described it in his book as ‘primarily a sky garden with the underlying idea to unite Heaven and Earth.’ Anyone walking along Kensington High Street probably has no idea there is a flourishing garden with mature trees on the top of this shop Kensington Roof Gardens (formerly known as Derry and Toms Roof Gardens and later The Roof Gardens) is a private roof garden covering 6,000 square metres on top of the former Derry & Toms building. The gardens were laid out between 1936 and 1938 by Ralph Hancock who had just created "Gardens of the Nations" on the 11th floor of the RCA Building in New York. They cost £25,000 to create and visitors were charged 1 shilling to enter. Money raised was donated to local hospitals and £120,000 was raised during the next 30 years. It is divided into three themed gardens : a Spanish garden, in a Moorish style based upon the Alhambra in Spain, with fountains, vine- covered walkways and Chusan palms; a Tudor style garden, characterised by its archways, secret corners and hanging wisteria. Roses, lilies and lavender contribute the rich summer scent to the garden; an English water garden, with over 100 species of trees, a stream, and a garden pond that is the home to pintail ducks and four flamingos called Bill, Ben, Splosh and Pecks Sadly it is no longer open. The John Lewis Roof Garden and Gardening Club The John Lewis store on Oxford Street, London, also has a garden on its roof and employees are encouraged to join the gardening club. The highest public park in London The Sky Garden – a public park on the 38th floor of the Walkie Talkie building in the City was completed in 2014 and is usually open free to members of the public and offers spectacular views over London but sadly this incredible urban jungle is closed at present. Islamic Gardens in Kings Cross Some of the latest roof gardens are those that have been established at The Aga Khan University which reflect the Islamic influence. Incorporated into the building are: the Terrace of Tranquillity, the Courtyard of Harmony, the Garden of Life, the Terrace of Discovery and the Garden of Light. These gardens when they re-open are free with a booked ticket to members of the public. If the thought of all these lofty gardens has whetted your appetite to go up in the world, I do recommend the high tree walk at The Newt. Wander through the wood area on the same level as the top of the trees. It’s stunning! ELSIE WAGG As promised in the last edition – the story of Elsie Wagg. She was a Fund Raiser for Queen Victoria’s Jubilee Institute for Nurses. In 1926 at a meeting of the Institute, Ms Elsie Wagg came up with the novel idea to raise funds by opening private gardens to the public and charging admission. Thus the National Gardens Scheme was born, originally as a fundraising committee of the Queen’s Nursing Institute, in which role it continued until it became an independent charity in 1980. And still it is helping charities linked with Nursing. At present during the pandemic the NGS are working with garden owners to bring us virtual visits to their gardens. “From stately acres to town and village gardens we’re working hard to ensure that the garden gates are virtually open in these difficult times. So do enjoy the short films and consider making a donation which will help us to continue supporting our nursing and health beneficiaries.” Some of the gardens ARE now opening to the public, do check the website: www.ngs.org.uk And the answer to Who’s Who from last week: Now I must level with you. When I started this section I thought I would add a short biography about each gardener featured. BUT it suddenly became very long and dense and rather full of facts so I have decided just to present you with just some L.K.F. - P (Little Known Facts - Probably) 1.Beatrix Ferrand Born USA, June 19, 1872 – February 28, 1959 A Landscape Gardener who on trips to England with her aunt, Edith Wharton, met Gertrude Jekyll who she found inspiring and on Jekyll’s death she purchased all of Jekyll’s papers to better understand her design principles which Ferrand left to Berkeley.