A Couple of Gardens

Now I know gardens are really Karen's more regular territory (although her own amazing patch doesn't seem to feature in her blog too often) but I've visited two really interesting ones recently so thought I'd post some images here but more on Flickr ... she'll be interested even if it's a bit 'off track' for other readers here!

The first was actually more of a park than a garden ... it's the one that forms the Thames Barrier Park which is a good new day out from Hackney as you can now get the DLR right to the park and there's a nice cafe. The park is actually almost bleak, lots of space and mature trees, but then right through the middle is a really interesting sort of glorified ditch filled with this odd topiary (you can't have enough topiary in a garden for me). Apparently the various levels of the hedges represent the previous level of the ground pre-development.

By contrast the second garden is a more intimate affair but certainly (on New Years Day this year) also rather bleak but beautiful. It's the garden Gertrude Jekyll made on Holy Island (Lindisfarne) if you look at the panorama below it's the sort of blip in the wall you can see, which shows you how exposed it is. Basically it's a tiny walled garden in the shadow of the castle with fields and the sea around it ... a pretty amazing space - I'd love to know more about the history of it.

If you're interested in gardens there's more images on Flickr (including the shed and planting plan that it seems even the great Gerty needed!)