“Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us”Oscar Wilde
When it comes to social networking, my activity levels would register in the insular range. I’ve turned my back on Facebook, barely tweet and have now discarded Pinterest after only a brief fling. With all the hoo-ha over copyright infringement by ‘pinners’ it seems best to leave the fray. I still value the facility of a visual depositary but instead of trawling the web to collect ideas and inspirations, I’ll resort to memory and make do with my own image bank. One less ‘time-squandering’ virtual activity is after all a plus for the real world.
Pinboards whether actual or as electronic paradigm serve to pinpoint our interests and display what we want to remember most. London’s Open Garden Squares weekend is a good case in point. This 2 day marathon opens over 200 public and private squares and gardens to visitors. From the few gardens I managed to pin down in the given time, these are the personally memorable visuals:-
(L to R: garden design features at the Middle Temple & British Medical Association
Circular designs give a sense of airy openness to rectangular spaces, even when they dominate the area
Top L to R: hot spot; cool shades; chirpy cranesbill
The touchy-feely sun border of spiky Lavender mounds, Sedum rosettes and stick thin Alliums (? schoenoprasum) made an interesting match as did the cool combination of blue Corydalis and variegated Hostas. In a stroke of genius these shady shades were then teamed up with tall and chirpy, candy-coloured Cranesbills (below). So far I’ve not managed to identify the species – cue some suggestions please!
“what a pretty personality”
Along a narrow Hydrangea border, one in particular grabbed my attention and is probably my favourite plant of the whole tour. Combining an attractive leaf shape with a startling eye-liner red rim, I believe it’s likely to be the ‘Lady in Red’ hydrangea’. In which case, it can be seen blooming in all its glory in Deb’s garden
Nepeta borders at Park Square
This mammoth border of Nepeta was a real buzz and reminds me once again that unless there is a large, open space for it to sprawl untidily in a lavender blue heap, any ideas of growing it should be nipped in the bud.
purple & yellow summer duo at Inner Temple
flowers at your feet and under the seat
I’m assuming this late-blooming Aquilegia must be the long-spurred fragrant A.chrysantha ‘Yellow Queen’. Whatever its name, the purple and canary yellow make a cheery pairing, especially where pinks and reds (not sure about this addition) have been interspersed to raise the tempo. With its back to the busy border was an irresistible bench seat, where Verbascum and poppy are encouraged to grow underfoot. A timely reminder to rest and digest.
robins of the Masters garden, Temple Inns
Earlier I’d lunched with a very tame pair of robins at the back of the Temple church. They arrived of their own volition but after a few trips for titbits, returned to hunt in the neat and naturalistic plantings of the adjacent Master’s garden. This compact plot showed how quite different designs can be melded together, with wide, wild borders running alongside a clipped formality.
Japanese forest grass at the BMA garden
The popularity of Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ makes it an increasingly common sight and so a potted trio of Forest grass was a clever, quirky alternative to displaying this fringed fascinator. Whether intentional or not, I saw it as a tongue in cheek, ‘ three wise monkeys’ tableau – that would be Japanese macaques of course.
rain showers in June
Spells of sunshine and showers made the whole tour refreshingly light and magical. Open Garden Squares weekend is held in June which could, as with this year, be the wettest in a century.
Pinboard of places visited in London’s
Open Garden Squares Weekend
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©Copyright 2012 Laura Thomas.
All rights reserved. Content created by Laura Thomas @PatioPatch
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I too have turned my back on Facebook, I found it totally unfulfilling. I never tweeted, and was aware that Pinterest could be rather addictive, so decided to steer clear.
Mostly I use my blog as a memory prompt to myself, and if others happen to enjoy what they see and read, then that is an added benefit. The flowers which appear are of course a daily renewal. I, therefore, love your Oscar Wilde quote “Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us”. I hadn’t really thought about memory in those terms before.
You have some lovely photos.
Rosemary read my post..Fossil Sea Urchins
A healthy attitude & agree that blog posts are primarily personal memory prompts. And so that I don’t forget again, have sidebar linked your Five Valleys Meet
Thanks for this post, Laura. I’ve fancied going to this for years now but never seem to make it. It’s a bit of a trek from Wales but even when we lived closer we never seemed to get round to it.
As for social media, well I’ve never succumbed to facebook. I have what is known as a ‘presence’ I guess but that is it. I do tweet which is something several months ago I thought I would never say and enjoy it to a certain degree but never even looked at pinterest. I much prefer to use my own photos anyway. As with all these new creations they sap time and energy and it’s important not to become addicted. But I enjoy the blogging immensely and have learnt so much and been introduced to so many plant lovers and naturephiles that not all social media is bad.
wellywoman read my post..Garden Tour – Sissinghurst Castle Garden
glad you have ‘a presence’ as yours is a blog worth finding
Hi Laura,
I am an old fashioned girl, and have not felt inclined to do any of the things you mentioned. The only tweet I do is with the birds
I like the way I am, and do not intend to change for anyone.
Some lovely images of the gardens.
I thought the Aquilegia was ‘dragonfly’ but after studying it, I know that I am wrong.
I love the purple yellow combination. I also love red and purple.
I have a lovely red poppy that has shown up alongside Trollius….I think they look lovely together
Have a fun weekend:)
like to think we use time wisely
had to look up Trollius- like buttercups so a very natural look with poppies
Sounds like a great opportunity for garden-visiting in the capital.
I’ve grown some A. chrysantha from seed this year, so hope to have some canary cheerfulness bobbing in our borders next year too.
hillwards read my post..Anyone For Tennis?
always astounded at how much you grow from seed, Sara – succesfully too
rather like your cork pinboard to close.
Elephant’s Eye read my post..Wildflower Wednesday in the Groot Winterhoek
done in Picasa with image as background in ‘picture pile’ collage mode
As I committed Londonophile I enjoyed the post. In fact I’ll go one up on you: the THOUGHT that you did the tour was more important to me than the pictures you shared!
Jack read my post..WINTER PALETTE
just managed a few medico-legal gardens. Look out for next year when plan to see the Guilds and the City
You taught me that it is much better to get out, experience, and create my own pinboards than to simply stay inside and create them from someone else’s experiences.
Mary Pellerito read my post..A Garden As A Canvas
glad you feel the same Mary – pinning our own memorabilia is safer and takes less time too
No tweeting or pinning for me…no time and I just can’t get into it…I do love the gardens you visited….so beautiful….glad you shared. I would rather visit them if possible than spend hrs looking at them on a website
Donna@Gardens Eye View read my post..Simply The Best-June
so much going on in the real world Donna
Thanks for giving us a look at some lovely gardens! And I appreciate your link to my site! The shrub you mentioned is beautiful and does remind me of ‘Lady in Red’, but I don’t think that is what it is, as the leaves are different. I have never seen one, but I have read of hydrangea macrophylia ‘Hornli’, which has red rimmed leaves, so maybe that is what it is.
rather thought this might be the case but am baffled Deb as ‘Hornli’ does not quite match
Lovely photos as always
I do have a very neglected Facebook page, but that’s all, never done Pinning, not really sure what it is and not joined the twats either, if I have something to say I need far more words that what you have available there! No, I stick to blogging, to me that’s a kind of writing diary online, only with an audience, which is quite nice
Loved the old park bench, I have a thing for old park benches!
Helene read my post..I just love red things!
blogging takes most of my time too Helene