Project Five: St George’s Circus, Southwark, London, SE1

Last time we were here a Transport for London foreman thundered over to ask “what are you doing with my plants”. He was out late resurfacing the road, which was unfortunate for us, but we took the chance to tell him these were really more our plants, since we had planted them (all but the two old Cordyline that is). It was a reminder, that even though we have been regularly gardening this roadside location, territory is never secure.

Regardless, we continue to take responsibility for this old circus (clown free mind you) and it’s slowly maturing into quite a show. Since our last big visit in mid June my brief stops have been insufficient to keep the performance up to scratch so I called up five troops to do a clear out and mulching. Several previously thriving specimens (euyonumous, heather and sunflowers) had prematurely succumbed to the hot blasts of bus exhaust fumes and wayward stomps of stray short-cutters so with bright rakes and forks (looking strangely similar to the Star Wars lightsabers on a passing bus) we ripped them out and made space for new planting with a couple more dark spiky phormium.

BEFORE 31.01.06

AFTER 08.08.08