Plans announced for 2010 Open Garden Squares Weekend

Zander Court Clubhouse

Kilmorey Mausoleum

Lavender Pond

Roots & Shoots

London Parks & Gardens Trust have announced that the 2010 Open Garden Squares Weekend will take place on the weekend of June 12 & 13, 2010.

The hotly anticipated diary date will be sponsored for the third year by Transport for London (TfL). Visitors will have the rare opportunity to peer behind the walls of London's private community gardens and squares. Ranging from the historically memorable to the small and quirky; from the contemporary and eco-friendly to renowned roof gardens, cemeteries and working allotments.

Gardens from many areas of London will be participating for the first time. These include:

• Carnegie Library (Herne Hill, South London) - a wildlife-friendly garden at the rear of an Arts-and-Crafts listed building. Open on the Saturday, there will be refreshments, garden trails and children's activities.
• Zander Court Club House (Bethnal Green) - an informal gated garden attached to community centre, looked after by the residents. Open on the Sunday, there will be refreshments and a plant sale (see illustration)
• Brompton Cemetery  - the most central and one of the best preserved of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries created in the countryside outside London between 1830 and 1841. There are more than 60 species of trees and over the weekend, there will be guided tours and a wild flower walk.
• Hillview near Kings Cross - a Victorian housing estate that has been transformed into a delightful green haven. Tea and cakes will be offered during the weekend.
• Kilmorey Mausoleum Wildlife Garden (Richmond-upon-Thames) - a wildlife garden surrounding the Egyptian-style mausoleum. Open on the Saturday afternoon, they will be serving Eco teas and hosting a recycling demonstration.
• Windrush Square (Brixton) - a new, public open space in the heart of Lambeth. They will be celebrating urban gardening and agriculture in the area.
• British Medical Association Council Garden near Euston - an elegant town garden designed by Lutyens, there will be guided talks as well as refreshments and produce for sale on the Saturday.
• Emanuel School Grounds (Wandsworth) - 12 acres of gardens and grounds not normally open to the public.
• John Betts House (Hammersmith) - an award-winning communal garden for residents of almshouses. Refreshments and plant will be for sale on the Saturday.
• Lavender Pond and Nature Park across the river from Canary Wharf - one of the oldest urban nature reserves in the country, created on the site of an old timber pond (see illustration).
• Roots and Shoots (Lambeth) - a vocational training centre for young people with a famous half-acre wildlife garden. Open on the Sunday, they will be selling refreshments and plants as well as hosting children's activities and storytelling (see illustration).
• October Gallery (Bloomsbury) - a garden courtyard with fruit trees, shrubs and flowers.
• St Lawrence's Church in Canons Park - a Grade I listed church with a baroque interior, world-famous composer Handel is said to have played the organ here. Close to other attractions in Canons Park involved in the weekend, including the 18th-century house (now North London Collegiate School) and the walled George V Memorial Garden

Also open over the weekend will be many of the much loved and popular gardens such as the Middle Temple and Inner Temple; Park Square and Park Crescent; Branch Hill Allotments; Culpeper Community Garden; St Mary's Secret Garden; The Community Garden at the Tate Modern; Bonnington Square; Eaton Square; MaRoCoCo Garden at Rococo Chocolates; Kensington Roof Gardens; Arundel and Elgin Garden in Notting Hill; St Michael's Convent and, by appointment, HMP Wormwood Scrubs.

Getting Around Over The Weekend

Open Gardens Squares Weekend is encouraging visitors to cycle and walk between the gardens. On the Sunday, there will be the popular guided bike ride starting in Covent Garden and throughout the weekend, TfL will be hosting guided walks. For those who want to discover the gardens independently, suggestions of the best routes over the weekend can be found by visiting TfL's journey planner, www.tfl.gov.uk/walkingjourneyplanner. Two podcasts and self-guided bike rides can be downloaded from www.londongardenstrust.org/guides, while www.opensquares.org provides all the latest news and updates.

Ticket Details

One ticket allows entry to all venues over the entire weekend. Ticket prices will be £7.50 in advance and £9 if bought during the weekend.

The closing date for advance bookings is Monday 7 June 2010. Tickets can be ordered from 8 February:

• From the Ticket hotline on 020 8347 3230 (Mon - Fri 9.00am - 6.00pm)
• Online from www.capitalgardens.co.uk
• By post: send a stamped addressed envelope to Capital Gardens, 1 Townsend Yard, Highgate Village, London, N6 5JF. Cheques should be made payable to Capital Gardens Ltd. For each ticket booked in advance, Capital Gardens will give a £5 discount voucher to spend at any Capital Gardens garden centre.
• In person from the Britain and London Visitor Centre at 1 Lower Regent Street, SW1Y 4XT (where there will be the opportunity to win a Fortnum & Mason picnic hamper), and from all Capital Gardens Centres. · During the weekend tickets are available from the Britain and London Visitor Centre and selected participating gardens.

Christopher Lloyd Exhibition at the Garden Museum

The Garden Museum presents its new exhibition, the first major retrospective on the life and work of Christopher Lloyd. Opening on April 1 2010, Christopher Lloyd: A Life at Great Dixter will present a unique perspective on the life and work of one of the great characters of 20th century gardening. The exhibition runs until 12 September.

Born in 1921 Christopher Lloyd lived and worked for most of his life at his family home, Great Dixter. It was at Dixter that he, through his adventurous changes and characteristic use of colour, created one of the world’s best loved gardens. His work in the gardens informed and inspired his distinctive writing, published in national press and numerous books, which made him a household name and the most engaging plantsman of his generation.

This new exhibition will bring together personal objects from Great Dixter, recollections and stories from Christopher’s friends and colleagues, examples of his writing and stunning images of his garden to piece together a picture of the life behind the garden. It will be the first time that this selection of Christopher’s possessions, and those of his family, have been on public display: including his gardening galloshes and his Glyndebourne shoes, designs by Lutyens and photographs from the family’s private darkroom. From his childhood at Dixter, through his education as a gardener and the early days of the nursery business, to his later life and career, visitors will be able to examine the links between Christopher Lloyd’s public persona and his private interests and enthusiasms, from his annual pilgrimages to Scotland and Glyndebourne to cooking, contemporary design, and mischievous correspondence.

Christopher Lloyd: A Life at Great Dixter will be the second in a series of retrospectives of great modern garden makers in the Garden Museum’s new exhibition gallery. Like 2008’s retrospective on Beth Chatto, the exhibition will endeavour to place Christopher Lloyd’s work in context; asking why he was such an influential figure in 20th century gardening and whether his posthumous reputation will continue to endure. The exhibition coincides with the centenary of Nathaniel Lloyd, Christopher’s father, founding the gardens at Dixter and an appeal by The Great Dixter Trust to raise the remaining £1.1 million needed to complete Christopher Lloyd’s vision for the estate.

Christopher Lloyd: A Life at Great Dixter will be accompanied by a series of events at the Garden Museum. Further details at http://www.gardenmuseum.org.uk/

£8m Project for Bishop's Park and Fulham Palace

Hammersmith & Fulham council has announced an £8million project to renovate Bishop's Park and the adjoining grounds of Fulham Palace. The centrepiece of the scheme is a beach next to Bishop's Park ornamental lakes.

A beach opened at the site in 1903, and visitors could relax on sand transported from Margate and other beaches in Kent. During the Second World War the venue fell into disrepair and by 1949 it was considered such a safety hazard it was closed.

Sixty years on, H&F Council chiefs hope to revive it. The council is applying to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £3.65million to help pay for the project.

As well as the urban beach, the council plans to restore the ornamental lake and picturesque bridge that leads to the enchanting little island. Three major play areas will also be created and the café will be upgraded.

The project also plans to restore the famous Fulham Palace grounds, including the walled garden, and will see the vinery restored and the stables turned into an education centre. The Fulham Palace moat, thought to be the longest medieval moat England, will be partially excavated at the Gothic Lodge – which will also be repaired.

Bring Back the Butterflies

Bring Back the Butterflies is a community project that seeks to encourage residents of Camden to get involved in wildlife conservation.

The project has identified seven types of site where butterflies could be encouraged:

• Private gardens
• Beds and vacant space in streets
• The grounds of housing estates
• Public squares and greens
• Business premises
• The grounds of public bodies including hospitals and community centres
• Cemeteries and churchyards

Established residents groups are being invited to take part in the project. A web site, www.bringbackthebutterflies.org.uk, offers useful advice on creating a suitable habitat for butterflies at the different types of site as well as details of the various species of butterfly.

Project leader James Leigh says: "Camden have allowed me to convert Hampstead Green into a wildlife-friendly butterfly conservation garden. This will be the showpiece garden for the project." James is currently looking for funding to develop the project further.

» Further details

Over 1,000 UK parks receive prestigious Green Flag Award

More than 1,000 green spaces were awarded the prestigious Green Flag Award today proving there has never been a better time to visit our country’s green spaces.

The Green Flag Award is the national standard for parks and green spaces in England and Wales and recognises and rewards the best green spaces in the country. 2009 has seen the standard of green spaces in England and Wales reach a landmark high with an increase of more than 200 new winners.

As the recession bites and people look closer to home to enjoy the outdoors, the provision of high quality, free open spaces is of particular importance. One of the most significant aspects of the Green Flag Award is that only green spaces that are free to enter and open to the public are eligible to win. The Award is a sign to visitors that a park has met strict criteria, which among other things require it to be a clean, safe and welcoming place to spend time.

The accreditation is a real achievement for the 1,013 winners, who were presented with their awards on Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd July, by Michaela Strachan at the Pavilion in Bournemouth. In total 917 Green Flags and 96 Green Pennant Awards were presented.

Housing Minister Ian Austin said: “The Green Flag Award scheme is rewarding our best green spaces and encouraging others to achieve the same high standards.”

The Green Pennant Award is presented to green spaces that are managed by voluntary and community groups. These parks are judged on similar criteria to the Green Flag Award applications although special consideration is given to their achievements. This category often presents some of the most unique winners.

The North West had the highest number of winners this year with 225 Green Flag Awards and 12 Green Pennant Awards. The Greater London area had the second highest number of winners with 192 Green Flag Awards and 25 Green Pennant Award winners. It also boasted the highest increase of winners as 41 new green spaces were awarded, including Colliers Wood in Merton and Blackheath in Lewisham.

The results came at exciting time in the development of the Green Flag Awards, which is supported by Communities and Local Government (CLG) and is now run by a consortium of Keep Britain Tidy, GreenSpace and BTCV.

Other winners include 46 Green Flag Award winners who have also won a unique Green Heritage Site accreditation, that distinguishes them as sites of historical significance that provide visitors with effective information about the park’s past.

The Awards have been such a success in England and Wales that they are being piloted in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Holland, who already have 17 awards between them, and brought the total number of winners to over 1,000.

» Further details

Life is a beach at Bishops Park

Exciting plans to restore an urban beach in one of the most beautiful and historic parks in London have been announced by Hammersmith & Fulham Council.

In Edwardian times, families from across London descended on 'Margate Sands' in Bishops Park, Fulham, every summer. Hammersmith & Fulham Council now hopes to recreate that special seaside atmosphere.

The beach concept forms part of the council’s plans to rejuvenate both Bishops Park and the neighbouring Fulham Palace Walled Garden. And residents were able to have their say on the ambitious proposals at a special event at Bishops Park on Sunday June 21.

Once the council has finalised its designs for the both open spaces, it will apply to the Heritage Lottery Fund for up to £3.5m of funding.

As well as recreating the beach and restoring the ornamental lake, proposals on the agenda include:

• Refurbishing the famous Fulham Palace walled garden – This would see the vinery and bothy restored to support a working walled garden.
• Restoration of the picturesque historic stone bridge across the pond in the park.
• Restoration of the cafe building and its surrounds
• The extension of the stableblock in the Palace grounds to support a purpose-built education facility.

Cllr Paul Bristow, cabinet member for residents’ services, said: “Both Bishops Park and Fulham Palace grounds are of huge historic importance to the borough and these plans will see them reaffirmed as jewels in the Hammersmith & Fulham crown. Make sure that you attend the event on June 21 so that you can see our plans and comment on this hugely exciting project.”

The plans form part of the council’s ParkLife campaign – which sees the council improving the quality of life for all people who live, work and play in Hammersmith and Fulham by providing award winning parks and open spaces that are clean, green, safe and sustainable.

For more information and to view development proposals and comment online visit http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/ or www.citizenspace.com/local/lbhf/.

LPGT launches London Gardens Online

Last year London Parks & Gardens Trust successfully raised funds to make information from our Inventory of Historic Green Spaces widely available as a dedicated website. The 3-year project commenced in December 2008 and will be completed by late 2011, with new research, photography and historic images brought in to illustrate the entries.

Although not all the information will available online until then, we wanted to launch London Gardens Online early on and it is now live at: http://www.londongardensonline.org.uk/.

In the first instance it includes core information on sites on the Inventory Database, which now comprises over 2430 entries, and these are gradually being uploaded. We wanted to make some information available now and to give people a taster of the full website, but we’d also like to encourage people to contribute comments, knowledge and feedback.

Funding support has been received from The Pilgrim Trust, the J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust, the Basil Samuel Charitable Trust and an English Heritage Regional Capacity Building Grant.

The website has been designed and developed by Footmark Media Ltd, the team who created the award-winning www.parkexplorer.org.uk for LPGT’s education project.