Tag Archives: Most interesting gardens in England

Gardens on London’s barges

Garden Barge Square

One of the most unusual corners of London is the remarkable Garden Barge Square (Photo: Drew Bennellick) where a community of barge owners live right by next to Tower Bridge. These historic moorings date back 200 years or more. Gardens have been created on the decks of many of the barges to form a kind of floating garden square. But be warned barge living is not as romantic it first might seem. The Thames is cold, damp and grey in winter and the cabins are cramped. See more on Tree Hugger.

See also: Anatomy of a garden: Barge gardens (The Guardian) “Floating on the Thames just downstream from Tower Bridge are the most extraordinary gardens, yet thanks to their illustrious neighbour they’re largely unnoticed.”

Organic garden in Essex

Audley End is a Jacobean stately home owned by English Heritage. Its kitchen garden looks much as it would have done in late Victorian times, full of vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers. It is cultivated organically (Soil Association certified), the produce ending up in the English Heritage shop on site. Audley End

There are three garden areasĀ  – the Historic Garden, the 21st Century Garden, the Orchard.

The 21st Century garden is situated behind the back sheds. It has been developed to display the modern methods used in organic gardening. The side borders have been designed to provide a habitat for a diverse range of wildlife, especially butterflies. The central compartment has a grass and clover lawn with a lavender hedge.

Derek Jarman’s garden

180-8003_IMG por angusf.

I love this series of photos of the shingle cottage-garden of the late film-maker Derek Jarman in Dungeness, Kent. The garden is unfenced and the tended areas blend in naturally with the natural vegetation. Jarman created the garden in the latter years of his life, in the shadow of the Dungeness power station. Continue reading Derek Jarman’s garden