Barbican Living

Odd gardens

The garden in the top of the waterfall

These are odd gardens in the 'odds and sods' sense - and also because they are rather odd anyway.

The waterfall structure at the east end of the lake contains little raised gardens on either side of the cascade, but these are rather bedraggled because they have shallow concrete beds.

The Postern is not a particularly attractive building when viewed from the highwalk on the way to the City but - more or less hidden from view - it has its own roof garden.

The 'Tier Garden' is a very grand name with overtones of the lost Hanging Gardens of Babylon. In fact it's just the ends of the storeys of the car park overlooking the back of Thomas More House which have bushes in them. A lot of the plants have died because the drainage has been blocked, but that has recently been remedied. There is another car park in front of Lambert Jones Mews entrances, but the gardeners have put in a row of Pyracantha which operates as a screen.

There are car park trees elsewhere. If you walk down Fore Street, you will see a row of plane trees south of Andrewes House, which grow out of the car park. The plane is particularly well suited for urban conditions.

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