Topiary times

We don’t have enough topiary in the U.S.—not that I’m about to start clipping, but I always admire the work of others when we visit gardens in England. My favorite was the row of yew elephants that head gardener Ed Cross created at Hazelbury, near the village of Box in Wiltshire. The row of mature yew grown into arches

elephants in Wiltshire

was already there, so Ed just couldn’t resist the temptation. The first time we saw them in 2004, he had just started and sent me a photo of his template. I took another picture during second visit two years ago, and you can see the beginning of the elephant form. Too bad the owners got wind of what he was doing and made him shear the elephants back into plain yew.

elephants appear

Of course, we all love the topiary at Hidcote and at Great Dixter.

Great Dixter

You know, come to think of it, I could get just a small yew in a pot and start clipping. What would it be—a chicken? A teapot? A sofa? We saw an entire living room set clipped out of boxwood at Iford Manor; our guide Stuart decided to take advantage of the opportunity.

Iford furniture

It may not be as easy as it sounds—Matthew Appleby at the Telegraph writes that gardeners are taking a new interest in the art, but his attempt at a simple shape met with mixed results.

Trains and trains and trains

Just back from Portland and the Farwest Show and, of course, we took the train. The Seattle-Portland trip on Amtrak Cascades is lovely and relaxing from the moment we step into the station.

Portland station's ceiling

Stepping into the Portland station is stepping back in time—motifs on the ceiling, marble arches and ceiling fans. In Seattle, King Street station is still undergoing renovation, as it has been doing for at least 15 years. When will it be finished? They’ve opened up an area of white marblelike walls that looks appropriately old, but the dropped acoustic ceiling still covers the original beauty. There’s one gap where you can see through all the way up, accompanied by a sign that shows you what’s to come. Some day.

In London, we love the organized chaos of stations such as Paddington—everyone is going in a different direction, and yet all movement seems choreographed. We stand in a crowd watching the letters and numbers flip by on the big board until our platform is announced, then off we go to find decent seats and wait for the tea trolley.

Smaller train stations around England provide charming anecdotes. In Taunton one year, a polished steam engine came puffing through. At the station in Cheltenham two summers ago, a Spitfire flew over us; it had just performed at Proms the night before at Sudeley Castle.

Not all train stations are as enjoyable.  Gare du Nord makes me nervous. How will I feel in Rome?

London squares, books and pubs

Around the corner from our favorite little hotel in London—the Harlingford Hotel in Cartwright Gardens—and along our short walk to Russell Square and its fabulously restored gardens—we walk along Queen Square.  The first time we did this we saw a plaque at 3 Queen Square for Faber and Faber. We are Book People, and as such we were thrilled to see one of the offices of such a venerable publisher.  Now, as reported in the Daily Telegraph, Faber and Faber celebrates its 80^th birthday.

The Telegraph’s article tells a wonderful story, not least of which is how the publishing company’s name came about.  Toby Clements reports that poet Walter de la Mare was the one who suggested that Geoffrey Faber add another Faber to the name.  “ … not because there was another Faber—there wasn’t—but because ‘you can’t have too much of a good thing.’ ”

In Queen Square is a statue of Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III; it’s a comfy place where loads of mothers and nannies take children to play.  Just on the corner is the Queen’s Larder, one of our favorite pubs, and where the Queen supposedly stayed while her husband was being treated by nearby doctors.  One summer day, we sat outside the pub with a pint and watched some Morris dancers who were practicing for a competition or show elsewhere.  You never know what you run into in London.

And Russell Square—it’s one of the best of the London squares.  When we arrive in London too early to check into the Harlingford, and we’re trying desperately to stay awake, we sit on a bench at the fountain and watch people.  The fountain is a recent addition to a square first designed by Humphry Repton in 1806.  The restoration of the gardens and installation of the fountain created a pleasant green space whether you’re walking through on the way to the British Museum or need to cool off in the fountain’s spray.

We’ll be back in the neighborhood—isn’t it odd how you can come to consider a holiday place home?—in October, and it’ll be interesting to see how London’s fall landscape.