To conclude my photo board of my sunny trip to Canterbury here is a selection of shots of architecural detailing and other views looking up in various spots around the city….
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My friend Jennifer sent me these lovely pictures of the spring flowers at Myddelton House, Enfield today.
This was the home of E.A. Bowles who transformed the garden at Myddelton and, as a keen traveller, especially to Europe and North Africa, brought home with him many specimens of plant. Such was his collecting zeal that, by the turn of the 20th century, he was growing over 130 species of colchicum and Crocus- very much the ‘Crocus King’.
If you’d like to see something of the gardens in summer here’s a link to an article I wrote last August.
Old School Gardener
The Benefits of Winter Outdoor Play
Great ideas from Wilko Life! Click on the title for the full article.
Old School Gardener
- Convolvulus tricolor
A genus of about 200-250 shrubby annual, perennial herbaceous and rock plants, the name Convolvulus comes from the latin convolvo, referring to the twining habit of some species. It is widely distributed around the world and is commonly known as Bindweed and Morning Glory, both names shared with other closely related genera.
Growing to 0.3–3 m tall, their leaves are spirally arranged, and the flowers trumpet-shaped, mostly white or pink, but blue, violet, purple or yellow in some species.
Many of the species are problematic weeds, which can swamp other more valuable plants by climbing over them, but some are also cultivated for their attractive flowers. Some species are globally threatened. Convolvulus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera.
C. arvensis 
C. cantabrica 
C. cneorum 
C. althaeoides 
C. althaeoides- fruit
C. arvensis
C. cantabrica
C. cneorum
C. althaeoides
C. althaeoides- fruit
Other species names include:
C. althaeoides – like an Althaea (hollyhock)- referring to the flowers
C. cantabrica – Cantabria, Spain
C. cneorum – meaning is obscure, from the greek Kneoron, a plant
C. lineatus – with lines
C. mauritanicus – of Mauretania (Morocco)
C. nitidus – somewhat glossy
C. soldanella – leaves like a Soldanella
C. tenuissimus – most slender
C. tricolor – three- coloured
- C. althaeoides- from Flora Graeca
Sources and further information:
Wikipedia
RHS- growing C. sabatius
RHS- growing C. cneorum
Old School Gardener
Viburnum tinus is among stars of the Mediterranean spring. Its dark green leaves contrast fragrant pentamerous flowers in white or pale pink, evolving into dark blue fruit resembling small pearls. Yet this obvious picture from maquis has its invisible side .It is called domatium, after Latin word domus, for home. Domatia are microscopically small chambers at the under sides of the evergreen leaves. Plant grows domatia to host mites. In this way Viburnum tinus can be seen as a botanical skyscraper with many tiny apartments for arthropod neighbors. Imagine a little mite calling her friends to come over for a party at her condo! I am kidding, it only fascinates me to recognize there is another life underlying the botanical beauty of the plant we can see with our eyes. It is like a parallel world. Only the question remains, are the mites, or are we , at the right…
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A few weeks ago, Keeling House in Bethnal Green featured in BBC2’s Great Interior Design Challenge. Its presenter Tom Dyckhoff paid due homage to the building’s architecture – a Denys Lasdun brutalist masterpiece – and to its history. But let’s pay a little more attention to the latter here. Now privately owned, Keeling House was once a vision of high quality housing for the people.
Before the Second World War, Bethnal Green was the heart of the traditional working-class East End – with social conditions to match. At the height of the Great Depression, it was stated that 23 per cent of the borough’s men were unemployed and some 43 per cent of its population living in overcrowded conditions. (1)
Both the London County Council and Bethnal Green Metropolitan Borough Council built extensively to rehouse local people. The Claredale Estate was a local council scheme, begun in 1932. Claredale…
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As part of my traineeship, I have been asked to organise our Mother’s Day event on the 30th March. The event will have a floral theme which will include a botanical art exhibition, children craft activities based around flowers and a florist who will be making small posies with the children but also promoting the flower arranging short course for adults taking place at Gressenhall in the spring.
As part of my research I have been looking into the Victorian “language of flowers” and what different flowers mean. In the Victorian times specific floral arrangements were used to send coded messages to the recipient, allowing the sender to express feelings which could not be spoken out loud in Victorian society. Though often portrayed to relay positive messages of interest, affection, and love, flowers could also send a negative message and at times, the same flower could have opposite meanings depending…
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Roof top prairie planting via Urban Gardens
Old School Gardener
My first ‘Over My Head’ post was of architectural detailing in Canterbury High Street. The second features pictures in and around Canterbury Cathedral also taken last week, as before looking up.
Some of the newly – cleaned outside of the cathedral was looking rich and creamy gold, probably how it must have looked a thousand years ago. And the interior was as awe inspiring as you might expect for this most important of Anglican religious centres.
I find it interesting that so much trouble and effort (as well as skill) was put into making buildings and objects look great in places you wouldn’t normally expect to look, well at least casually that is. Maybe in days gone by people had their heads in the clouds more…..
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