As you walk up the street towards Sarah Langton-Lockton’s house in Faversham your eye is caught by a blood red cloud of dahlias and rose blossoms clustered around the gate to her house – a foretaste of the plantsman’s feast that will greet you in her garden. (For those who want to know, the rose …
Hampstead Heath
Shepherd’s Cottage once more under threat
Shepherd’s Cottage dates from the early 17th century and is probably the oldest building in Highgate – a relic of the days when sheep along with the other animals designed to be sold at London’s busy markets, were driven, on foot, from as far away as Scotland. The journey could take six to eight weeks …
Elderly lady goes for a swim
And as an antidote to all of those slightly depressing weeds, a short video of an elderly lady who arrived in her sedan chair for her swim just as I was crossing between the ponds. As you will hear, she lost one of her front legs about five years ago and is now very arthritic …
Wild flowers – and weeds – part 2
Let us start with Common Yarrow, both because it is so pretty and because PictureThis does not really have anything bad to say about it. A wildflower that is considered to be good luck in China and to have magical powers in Scotland. It can be brewed into beer, tea and liquor although PictureThis suggests …
August wild flowers – and butterflies
I set off bright an early for this morning’s Heath Hands’ litter pick but, thanks to the holidays and the chilly weekend weather, the heath was, delightfully, virtually litter free. So instead of photographing a selection of old beer cans and half empty KFC boxes for you, I decided to focus on the wild flowers. …
A talking walk around Golders Hill Park
Golders Hill Park looks north running downhill parallel to the Heath Extension so it is, almost, part of Hampstead Heath. It is a ‘proper’ park, not relatively wild heath land, complete with ice creams and café, a band stand, a formal garden, a duck pond, animals – and tennis courts. And it is without doubt …