While this may not be the height of garden design -
in a public space,
these things make all the difference to children and immediate tactile civic joy.
Pastel houses offset with cherry tree blooms are a joy to walk by.
But I also enjoy walking by utilitarian high street buildings in the east end of London with a pithy political statement.
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| 'If we all spit together we can drown the bastards' by the late union boss Bob Crow |
One thing that annoys me about London restaurants is they have an automatic service charge without the American
- y'all have a nice day/want fries with that? service.
They now include a cover charge when there isn't any olives or bread on the side.
London is become a living edifice of a toll booth.
Maybe the cover charge was for the chinoiserie fabric covered loo doors?
The lit hotel in Park Lane looked very Miami.
I had a spa morning.
I took a picture under the real pearl chandelier/light fitting once but I wasn't in my bathrobe and it was on my wedding day.
The lighting is soothing and wish I could recreate it in my home but I am sure that it will need the lighting knowledge of a Broadway musical set designer or something.
While very nice and I would love it in my own home,
this Ralph Lauren / orchidy / overly sleek look is decor saturation.
I did like the literal version of rose water but then worried instantly after if there were pesticides on the petals.
Is it hard to source organic roses I wonder?
But a momentary question that I will never follow up on.
I do feel lucky to live near the park.
It is such a refuge.
There is always a beautiful and calming sight to distract oneself from being in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world.
This horse was doing some training.
My own plants are doing well.
The lemons which have been hanging on the tree have ripened and I might save it for a gin and tonic in warmer weather.
The nectarine blooms are divine.
Warms the heart because there is an isolation to winter.
There is a moment where I think - will it ever be spring again or is this going to be the second ice age that Europe went through in the Middle ages when it was cold for a few hundred years?
Bees must have been starving and of course I try and get plants in the limited space I have aimed for butterflies and bees.
So it really feels great to see them feasting on the flowers.
My brother tells me I am getting old when I start talking about my window boxes!
Have a good week x
