Blog Post Date: November 26, 2016
Journal Entry Date: October 8, 2016
Click here to read Part One, posted on November 25, 2016
With my City of London Tree Trail map in hand, the evening walk continues … I find myself on Carter Lane. Of course, I snap a photo.
There are eleven tree stops along the trail. I manage to find all of them. About half of them leave me amused as I stand staring at a tree that I would have totally overlooked had it not been for my map. The tree trail makes it clear that it’s the journey and not the destination that fuels my spirit.
At Dean’s Court I come upon a building that appears to have received an extensive Henna Tattoo.
The building is the City of London Youth Hostel. Originally it was the St. Paul’s Choir School. That explains the multitude of ecclesiastical motifs and Latin inscriptions adorning the facade.
Next stop along the trail is the line of Maidenhair trees, Ginkgo Biloba, on the footpath between Millennium Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral. I’m too late to enter the cathedral.
St. Paul’s Cathedral
The elms (Ulmus New Horizon) are lined up on Queen Victoria Street. I’m afraid the crooked line painted in the street distracts my attention away from the trees.
I find myself in a world of warped geometry where architects have been given free rein. The streets of London are a kaleidoscope of structural ideas and madness manifested into reality.
Cleary Gardens is located on the corner of Queen Victoria Street and Huggin Hill.
In the evening light, the variations of warm greens and cool greens accentuate the unique shapes of leaves and the patterns they create.
Cleary Gardens feels like a peaceful oasis in the midst of a bustling city.
Tucked around a corner, away from the street, I find a couple of wooden benches. My father would have loved to sit here and write a few lines of poetry.
Seeing the wheelbarrow planter reminds me of this year’s Edible Plants theme in the gardens of Paris.
The special tree in Cleary Gardens is the Swamp Cypress (Tuxodium distichum).
I’m waiting to hear back from my friend, Anita. I hope she will be able to identify this plant that looks like a cross between a holly bush and a succulent.
From Cleary Gardens I head north toward the ruins of the London Wall.
To be continued …