Visiting The Garden Museum, London

D IS FOR?

A DAY OUT! ~ which is what I most certainly enjoyed on Saturday when I made a rare excursion to London to meet up with a dear friend. Our destination was The Garden Museum in London formerly known as The Museum Of Garden History. This was the first time either of us had either visited the museum ~

I must admit that I was slightly disappointed with one or two aspects. The museum itself was a lot smaller than I had anticipated so there was not as much to see as I thought there might be. Maybe I am getting rather picky in my older years but the planting at the entrance seemed rather dull and drab - perhaps this was just reflecting the hot dry summer that southern England has experienced. It could also be the fact that there was an area of wildflower planting which may have been shining earlier in the year but was looking rather tired now. Impossible to tell on on the basis of one visit.  I would have thought though that a mid season brightening up - say just a few freshly planted containers might have made a more colourful first impression.

However all was not all doom and despondency you will doubtless be pleased to hear. We still enjoyed a delightful day out. There were displays of old gardening implements, artifacts and paraphernalia to be drooled over including daisy grubbers, colourful seed packets, old catalogues and the star of the show - none other than Gertrude Jekyll's desk!

I had particularly wanted to see the exhibition which featured the life and work of the great Christopher Lloyd. In this area some of his personal belongings were on show including items from his childhood days. Reflections from friends and associates including Beth Chatto, Fergus Garrett and Anna Pavord also threw more light on this fascinating character as well as giving more insight into the development of his garden at Great Dixter. We enjoyed reading a letter that he had penned as six year old giving thanks for the gift of a viburnum, peeking into his diaries, admiring an example of his tapestry, being surprised by the size of his shoes and glimpsing the dog biscuit tin which used to contain contain goodies destined for his beloved daschunds.

Throughout the proceedings we were sustained by some delicious food and drink from the museum's  Garden Cafe which specialised in vegetarian fare. We lunched before sitting out for a while and nattering in the sunshine. We intended to lunch outside but this coincided with a short shower. The main garden  was a pleasant spot to sit and be still. The museum is in the church at St. Mary at Lambeth so the garden contains a number of graves - the most famous horticultural occupants being the John Tradescants. Its link with so much history was what I most enjoyed about the museum. Then before departing we just had to sample the homemade cakes - we can certainly vouchsafe for their yumminess. Now we have to decide where to go for our next get together.

Now don't dawdle but dance over to  ABC Wednesday where there are most posts on the letter D.

P.S. This post started with more links and photos but having finally moved to the new Blogger editor I am still struggling with its somewhat erratic behaviour or is just me  ~ whatever it is driving me demented so I am calling it a day!