We arrived in London in mid-June, where we stayed two nights and spent our days eating fish and chips and Indian food, sightseeing, and rambling in London’s excellent parks. (We also visited the magnificent Kew Gardens, which I’ll share in my next post.)

London’s public parks made a strong impression on me, particularly because they have more “gardened” spaces than public parks I’m familiar with in the United States. Here we are in Hyde Park, where a sculpture of Diana the Huntress adorns a fountain, and a rose garden was in glorious bloom.

Of course this is England, where roses probably just spring out of the ground and grow like mad. But how to explain the surprising appearance of what looks like a retama tree (Parkinsonia aculeata), a Texas native, growing amid the roses? The English really can grow everything, can’t they?

White roses climbing a tunnel-like arbor, with heavenly fragrance

Is anything more romantic than roses in June?

Foxglove and white roses

We don’t really do pale colors under the Death Star’s glare back home in Austin, so it was a treat to admire this display of icy white roses and pale-yellow something-or-other Sisyrinchium striatum. (Thanks for the ID, Alison and Rod.)

By the way, we just missed the opening of Christo’s new art installation made of oil barrels in Hyde Park. We saw it being constructed from across the lake and wondered about it but neglected to take a photo. A few days later I saw an article about it in the New York Times.

In Kensington Gardens we spent a long while sitting on benches, just people-watching and exclaiming over cute, fuzzy goslings.

And in St. James’s Park, we admired a pond-side view of Buckingham Palace and the London Eye…

…as well as swans and their cygnets.

So cute!

Not at all ugly ducklings.

We also saw pelicans and this lovely grey heron.

Aside from parks, we also did our allotment of castle and cathedral touring, including Westminster Abbey.

Lacy metalwork along the cloisters

I found the Tower of London and its brutal history more interesting. Two of Henry VIII’s wives lost their heads here, among many others.

The Tower’s gory stories are told with relish and dry British humor by the Beefeater guards, officially known as Yeomen Warders.

Warders’ homes on the Tower grounds feature eye-catching blue doors.

Bearskin-hatted Queen’s guardsman at the Tower of London

About a dozen galvanized-wire animal sculptures dot the grounds of the Tower of London, a call-back to the history of medieval kings and queens receiving exotic animals as gifts from other heads of state. Elephants, baboons, lions, and polar bears once lived at the Tower of London, confined (probably cruelly) for the amusement of visitors. Eventually the menagerie was donated to the London Zoo. Today these remarkable wire sculptures by artist Kendra Haste make for surprisingly lifelike scenes.

Elephant sculpture

Ravens live at the Tower to this day, pampered by the guardsmen and allowed to roam at will. Superstition governs the number of ravens at the tower: “It is said the kingdom and the Tower of London will fall if the six resident ravens ever leave the fortress.”

One flew onto my bench while I was sitting there, which immediately turned my own perch into a focal point for dozens of tourist cameras. I got a few shots of my curious visitor and warily enjoyed the moment.

Coming up next: The colorful Great Broad Walk Borders and rose garden at Kew Gardens. For a look back at the historic orchard at Château de La Roche-Guyon in northern France, click here.

I welcome your comments; please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading this in a subscription email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post.
_______________________

Digging Deeper: News and Upcoming Events

Give a listen to Hothouse, “a new podcast about design, ecology, and the way we garden now,” hosted by Austin landscape designer Leah Churner. Tune in for her in-depth and insightful interviews with regional gardening experts like Central Texas Gardener‘s Linda Lehmusvirta, author Jenny Peterson, and designer Colleen Dieter. As with my own Garden Spark speaker series, Hothouse is cultivating gardening conversations for thinking gardeners (as I like to call us) in the Austin area.

Texas Hill Country friends and travelers, read The Texas Wildflower, a terrific new digital magazine featuring the people, businesses, culture, and scenery of our region. Published by San Antonio-based Pamela Price, whom I’ve followed online for years because of our shared interest in gardening (in fact, my book is included in her “Favorite Hill Country Garden Things”), the magazine will inspire you to get out and explore our unique and beautiful region. Subscribe to The Texas Wildflower today.

Join the mailing list for Garden Spark Talks! Inspired by the idea of house concerts, I’m hosting a series of garden talks by inspiring designers and authors out of my home. Talks are limited-attendance events and generally sell out within just a few days, so join the Garden Spark email list for early notifications. Simply click this link and ask to be added.

All material © 2006-2018 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.