Main Garden Square

[aussie]

Whatever has happened to the wonderful floral displays which have always been a feature of the Dolphin Square gardens? I took photos regularly from my window on the 4th floor overlooking the main Garden Square, especially at the turn of the season, to send to my family in Australia so they could cast their eyes on a lovely English garden and enjoy the beauty on which their Mother could gaze.

I have to say, I haven't been tempted to take the camera out for at least a year. Some poor little half dead white things in the four main garden beds struggled all through winter and continued all through the spring before they were turfed out, never to be replaced!

What ever happened to the Tulips in Spring? I am not knocking the 'greenies' who like herbs and organic, but there's surely a more suitable place for them than in the main garden square beds. Thank Heavens for the roses!!!

Some of the garden is looking more like Arizona than a lovely English garden, with all those grey slate chips filling up vast areas.

Is anyone else missing the wonderful display as they stand at their window?

PS I can provide photos showing how it used to be.

[tobyw]

I guess I fall into the green category!

Whilst I appreciate that the artificially controlled and therefore sterile monoculture of rose beds and seasonal bedding is something that is traditional for an urban garden is it generally shortlived in terms of colour and provides very little in terms of habitat for insects etc that in turn attract birds.

Michael is doing a grand job in turning some (not all) of these beds previous filled with rather boring rows of regimented bedding plants that are religiously changed each quarter of the year for their successors to seasonal title for the bed and then unceremoniously dumped (and probably not composted) in environmentally expensive landfill.

I went over and spoke to Michael - a very amiable guy - a few days ago and he has great plans for giving all year round colour shape and form for the gardens which will not be at the expense of the environment and provide some useful culinary additions to us tenants through the herbs he has planted and also through the restaurant with things like squashes, corn and beautifully leaved artichokes to name but a few - all of which are good to look at also provide some wildlife habitat and are prodcutive too.

Give Michael a chance to show what he can do - I'm sure we will all appreciate it but it will take time.

[stellabland]

I'm with tobyw on this one - perhaps we could even go a bit further? The supremely elegant St James's Park has a Dig for Victory garden this year - shall we suggest giving a section of the lawns over to tenant-managed mini-allotments for fruit bush and veg growing. Could be quite a sociable, interesting, child-friendly and planet-friendly thing to do. And certainly pretty.

[Brendan Martin]

I think you'll find Mantilla's own "dig for victory" campaign will leave little space for tenants' allotments!