Archive for 21/11/2013
Seed Bombs – all you wanted to know…
A neat description of the various kinds of seed bomb in use by ‘Guerilla Gardeners’- why not get some or make your own to lay siege to that unattractive piece of wasteland at the end of the road?
Old School Gardener
Baobab flower

The view to the River Tagus from the front of the Necessidades Palace in Lisbon
On our recent 15 mile trek across western Lisbon, we took in a park that is not often mentioned in tourist trails- that of the Necessidades Palace. The palace itself is a grand looking affair, now the country’s Foreign Office, so not open to the public. The view from outside is good in all directions- one way you look out across the River and the ‘Golden Gate- look alike’ bridge; turn round and you have the splendid pink and cream stone facade of the palace and ornamental fountains. The park is tucked round the back and has the air of somewhere that’s been a little forgotten of late.
Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the Palace, a very important site in portuguese history:
‘Formerly a convent… it was built in the 18th century, by order of King John V, in gratitude for prayers answered by Our Lady of Needs, whose first devotional chapel stood on this site…The palace became the residence of the kings of the Braganza dynasty… Ferdinand of Saxe Coburg and Gotha, husband of Maria II, lived in this palace until his death, amassing a large collection of art, which would be dispersed after his death. The palace then underwent several renovations to accommodate the taste of the various monarchs who lived there, the most recent of which was carried out at the beginning of the twentieth century by Carlos I….
…The palace was the scene of memorable events in Portuguese history, some momentous, some tragic, some slightly ridiculous. One famous example: the king Pedro V had installed in the front door of the palace a slot through which his subjects could, if they wished to, leave messages and complaints for the attention of the sovereign. The last significant event at the palace, which would also be the epilogue of the monarchy, was the joint funeral of King Carlos and his son, Prince Luis Filipe, on 8 February 1908, after their assassination by radical republicans…’