Inspiration

You may question what the image above has to do with gardens, but as we were about to go up the escalator to the Cross Rail Roof Garden, this was the scene out of the window. Quite dramatic don’t you think?

I wasn’t sure what to expect when we got to the top of the escalators so it was quite a surprise to find tree ferns and lush foliage.

The structure itself was really interesting too, timber-frames with some sort of special plastic covering which had obviously been chosen to give the plants the best environment.

It looks quite deserted in these pictures, but as lunchtime approached it soon started to fill up with people.

Canary Wharf felt quite lacking with green space which was quite surprising considering that London as a whole is pretty leafy.  Jubilee park in the centre did provide some relief to the stark grey architecture of the high-rise buildings.

The light was gorgeous late in the afternoon with the sun streaming through the trees. A pretty nice place to sit at lunchtime, especially on a warm day no doubt.

The frothy heads of pennisetum were glowing in the light – they’re such tactile plants, they draw you in and make you want to touch them.

But as beautiful as the trees and grasses were, what caught my eye from a photographic perspective was the drain in the water feature which ran along the middle of the park…really quite mesmerising!

(Images: Lisa Cox)

I don’t normally take pictures in black and white, but I think sometimes they can be more dramatic than colour photographs, especially when the architecture is strong. Read more

I’ve never been to Canary Wharf before, quite amazing really considering that I lived in London for 8 years and worked in the City for most of that time. Read more

I popped into our local garden centre last week and was horrified to see that they were already clearing the shelves and getting ready for the Christmas decorations.  In September, really? Read more

We managed to grab a couple of days away last week in a place called Llansteffan, on the Towy estuary.  We had the most amazing weather and I was very happy to take in the open sandy beaches and big skies which always present themselves in coastal locations. Read more

Many weeks ago when I visited the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, I came across Rachel Dein.  She creates the most fabulous botanical art in plaster and concrete.  In fact you may have seen her on Country File a couple of weeks ago when she featured on the show? Read more

A few weeks ago I made an impromptu visit with my parents to Dewstow Garden near Chepstow.  I’d heard about it a while ago and I was curious to see what it was like. To be honest I didn’t expect to like it, but it couldn’t have surprised me more. Read more

A couple of weeks ago I visited Jekka’s Herb Farm with the Garden Media Guild.  What an inspiring lady Jekka is, so passionate about what she does and about spreading the word about the benefits of herbs to our health and well being. Read more

I went to visit the garden at Allt-y-bela yesterday, Arne Maynard’s home in Monmouthshire. I can’t tell you just how inspired I feel after a couple of hours in his garden. Read more

To round of my week of coverage from the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show I thought I’d leave you with a few more snippets of inspiration from around the show. Read more