Growing Nicely

gardening, sustainability, growing food, plants and flowers.

  • Home
  • About
  • Garden Writing
  • Garden Services
    • A Garden Consultation to Reveal the Beauty of your Garden.
  • The Blog
    • Sustainable Gardening
    • Growing Food
    • Gardening & Plants
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Visits
  • Contact Me

Design ideas from a beautiful garden in the heart of the City of London.

September 3, 2013 By Jill Anderson Leave a Comment

How to begin a new garden or improve an existing one, can be a stumbling block for many people, including professional designers.

I recently came across a beautiful little garden in the heart of the City of London, the attraction is the lovely plants, a great lay-out and that the whole garden fits in so well with its surroundings.

www.andesonlandscapedesign.co.uk/blog

It’s on the site of a former church that was designed by Christopher Wren after the original medieval church was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666.

The church was again destroyed by fire bombs in 1940 during World War 2, but has been transformed into a beautiful space, well proportioned and enjoyed by many City workers and tourists during the day.

The main message here is that a design is more successful if it begins with a single concept, a suitable idea that forms the starting point of the garden and from which everything else flows. This garden uses the concept of the lay-out of the Wren church and its surroundings

The central paved path of the garden represents the aisle, flanked on either side by borders representing the original pews, these borders are neatly defined by low Box hedging.

www.andersonlandscapedesign.co.uk/blog

The tall timber structures supporting climbing roses and Clematis are copies of the decorations from the original stone pillars.

www.andersonlandscapedesign.co.uk/blog

 

The borders are brimming with colourful plants set in a structure of evergreen hedges and shrubs, so there’ll be something to see in winter when the flowers have disappeared.

www.andersonlandscapedesign.co.uk/blog

www.andersonlandscapedesgn.co.uk/blog

 www.andersonlandscapedesign.co.uk/blog

The original windows frame the views of surrounding buildings beautifully, and I love the contrast of new buildings against the remaining stone church walls.

www.andersonlandscapedesign.co.uk/blog

But if you don’t have obvious inspiration or a convenient lay-out to hand, perhaps the style of your house whatever era it’s from, can be your concept.

The main thing is to carry your idea through with confidence making sure that everything you use, from the style of paving, the type of plant pots and the type of plants tell the same story.

If you’re in central London, the garden is in King Edwards Street, EC1 7BA near St Pauls tube station.

 Jill

all images: Jill Anderson

Related posts:

The International Garden Festival Chaumont sur Loire 2011 RHS Hampton Court 2012 ~ This is what the best show garden looks like The Cloudy Bay Discovery garden at the 2013 Chelsea Flower Show – week 9 Colour in the garden part 2

Related posts:

The International Garden Festival Chaumont sur Loire 2011 RHS Hampton Court 2012 ~ This is what the best show garden looks like The Cloudy Bay Discovery garden at the 2013 Chelsea Flower Show – week 9 Colour in the garden part 2
Filed Under: Blog, Garden Design Tagged With: Agapanthus, Christchurch Greyfriars garden, clematis, concept design, flowers, garden design, penstemon

Never Miss A Post

Subscribe for updates to be delivered straight to your inbox.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

plants-gardens-growing-eating

Jill-profile image

Hello, I’m Jill Anderson.
This is where you’ll find good, solid information about gardening, growing fruit & vegetables and how to keep it all looking good.
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
The healing, calming power of nature in one photo. The healing, calming power of nature in one photo.
These wonderful autumn colours won’t be around for much longer. But that’s ok, because now is what matters, & their fleeting beauty makes them even more precious.
It’s easy to see how being among trees & nature is so beneficial for our health & wellbeing. 
Have a great Sunday.
Savouring all the autumn colour, & doesn’t it lo Savouring all the autumn colour, & doesn’t it look spectacular with this bold front door.
Today has been hard work, after a lovely time last week in Norfolk. The north coast there is spectacular. Realising these last few months, that there are so many beautiful places here. 
Have a nice evening.
Charming glasshouse at Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Vis Charming glasshouse at Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Visiting to see the Anish Kapoor sculptures, which are amazing, but unprepared for the beauty of the grounds & garden. 
Such a treat, worth coming to Norfolk for this alone!
Hope you’re keeping well, & managing to smile some of the time. x
P.S. more of Houghton Hall & Anish Kapoor on my stories
We stopped off on the way home to pick blackberrie We stopped off on the way home to pick blackberries, after coffee & cake, sitting in the churchyard - the cafe was full, & the churchyard is a quiet, peaceful spot..... as you’d expect.
-
One little advantage of lockdown is walking so much more, rather than using the car. Though it shouldn’t have taken something as momentous as this, for me to change bad habits 🙁
Hope you’re weekend is going well.
My hazel arch, a bit lopsided 🙄 using wood from My hazel arch, a bit lopsided 🙄 using wood from a random clump of hazel on the garden. Now looking much better covered in winter squash plants, so you can’t see just how ramshackle it is. I like to think it has a certain home-spun charm .

Great for small space gardening, imagine how much room you need to grow these without vertical supports.

I’ve got 2 Uchiki kuri, lovely nutty flavour.
1 Turks turban, for its flamboyant shape & colours, though it also tastes good.
One unknown, grown by my grandsons in their homeschooled science lesson.
Close-ups of the squash over on my stories.
Stay cool my friends x
I wanted to show you this lovely lily ( Lilium reg I wanted to show you this lovely lily ( Lilium regale) which is flowering right outside our bedroom window. 
It gets sun for about 4 hours only, you can order the bulbs now for planting in September. It’ll reappear every year & waft delicious scent around your garden, or through your windows.
Have a very happy Monday x
It’s British Flower Week, there’s a lot to be It’s British Flower Week, there’s a lot to be said for fabulous seasonal flowers that haven’t travelled thousands of miles ...... & are wonderful for biodiversity
A bit of rain, nice long days (it’s almost mid-s A bit of rain, nice long days (it’s almost mid-summer!) & it’s, mostly, all growing nicely.

Spinach, courgettes & garlic in shot here. 
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday x
Hope is a decision I’ve thought long & hard abou Hope is a decision
I’ve thought long & hard about how to view the tumult in the world we’re living in now. 
The only thing that works for me, is to choose hope.

It’s a tall order, but avoiding mainstream news & speculation helps avoid the anxiety, that’s often waiting in the wings.

One day soon there’ll be grandchildren clambering over this again.
Follow on Instagram

Don't miss any posts!

Enter your email address and receive notifications of new posts.

Archive

Copyright © 2021 Growing Nicely | Privacy Policy

Please note this website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent for cookies to be used. For further information on use of cookies please refer to our privacy policy Find out more.