Graduation and Gardens

Last week, I had the pleasure of being in London for my Goddaughter’s graduation from high school. It was a brilliantly triumphant day for her, celebrated in a beautiful venue across from Westminster Abbey. I was very honored to be invited. She graduated from the American School in London. A tony school located in St. John’s Wood. St. John’s Wood is home to Sir Paul McCartney, the Abbey Road Studios, the famous Abbey Road crossing immortalized in the Beatles album cover, and many other politicians, artists and writers, as well as home to Lord’s cricket grounds. While my primary reasons for making the trip to London was to attend the graduation, visit my Goddaughter and her family, I also had lesser objectives of visiting gardens.

The happy graduate!

England enjoys a temperate maritime climate with cool winters and warm summers. Throughout gardens in the city one can see exotic palm and fern trees, fantastic yucca plants, and other plants that cannot be easily grown in harsher climates. England is one of the true gardening capitols of the world. My first trips to England were some thirty years ago. I have visited countless times, lived there briefly and always made time to tour gardens. Four gardens were part of my wanderings last week.

St. John’s Wood is next to Regent’s Park. This is a 410 acre park laid out in 1810. The park is ringed by terraces and private homes. The terraces are sumptuous multi-unit buildings dating from the early 19th century. The American Ambassador’s residence, Winfield House, is one of the private homes. Inside the park is a lovely garden, Queen Mary’s garden. This garden was completed in 1934, the same year as my home. The garden showcases the largest collection of roses in London, with 12,000 roses planted. Fortunately for me, they were in bloom!

The next garden I visited was The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. This is an easy train ride from central London. The town of Kew is charming and looks like a typical Victorian era town. The garden sprawls over 500 acres. It was developed in 1840 and is purported to contain the largest and most diverse collection of plants in the world. Highlights in the garden are two enormous glass house – the palm house and the temperate house, the pagoda – this 10 story folly was built in 1761 as a gift for Princess Augusta, as well as a small palace and many other structures.

Kew Palace

Further afield, I visited The Royal Cultural Society Garden, Wisley. While smaller in scale than Kew Gardens, the 240 acres are wonderfully arrayed with a wide variety of plants and arrangements on a scale easily adapted to a private garden. This garden was begun in 1903, specifically for the purpose of researching and showcasing plants. Many of the features of the garden, such as the glass house are newer (2007 vs. Kew Gardens’ Palm House from 1844). Kew Gardens is largely flat, while Wisley is sited on hills.

Wisley is located outside of Woking in Surrey. It takes longer to reach than Kew Gardens, as it requires a ride by shuttle from the train station to the garden. Ironically, when I first began working in England, it was in Woking. Telewest was headquartered in Working and I spent many weeks there. At the time, I was not as much into gardening, as I am today, and did not visit Wisley.

The final garden I toured was Kyoto Garden in Holland Park. This is located in the Kensington area. The garden was recommended to me by my Goddaughter and her boyfriend. Holland Park is located in central London and is easily reached by walking or taking the tube. The surrounding neighborhood features lovely rows of London townhouses and private gardens, accessible only by key.

The Kyoto Garden was gifted to London by the city of Kyoto. It was the newest garden I visited. The garden was opened in 1991 to commemorate the long-standing friendship between Japan and Great Britain. While it is small, it is a peaceful oasis in a bustling city. Nearby the garden is a formal parterre garden. The sections of the garden were planted with boxwood. Boxwood throughout England and the continent has succumbed to several diseases and insects. All of the boxwood borders were dead, but the grey remains looked attractive against the vibrant colors of the interior plantings.

My garden tours came to an end. I said goodbye to my Goddaughter and her family, and after a short flight I was once again in New York. I returned to Newburgh, to what we affectionally call our park. The trip is over, yet I still look at the photos, remember the gardens and think about how to make our park more like a beautiful garden.

To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. –Audrey Hepburn