Urban Gardening
Cycling down the Lea into work yesterday morning I came across a newly planted area with herbs and flowers in planters. Some of the plants had been placed in rows of pink, blue, and green rubber gloves, which were lined up along the wall next to the towpath. This is “Urban Gardening” by the University of Innsbruck, part of the London Festival of Architecture.
This temporary piece of guerrila gardening reminded me of the “recycled garden” further up the Lea, in Hackney’s Leabank Square where my friend Paul lives. I pass this garden every time I cycle into work, and usually look over to see what’s happening. Having a regular cycle route means that you get to experience contrasting rhythms of change, plants and buildings growing, dying back, and being removed…