The Gardens of Delargo Towers - November

It looks likely that this will be the warmest November on record, Which is fine by me.
My "better half" has been busy tiding the boxes while I attacked our triffid like Nasturtiums.

I rather like the new single colour theme for the front boxes. It makes a lovely contrast to the exuberance of the Jewel garden theme we had during the summer. It is a fab pink.

 

The long border is replanted with biannuals for next spring

A rather confused couple of dafs have popped there heads up to see the end of 2011 rather than to see in 2012

We have only a handful of violas but they should give us a least a little colour in darkest months to come

The pear tree has settled it self down for the winter.

as is the rest of the garden.

Two garden sacks of nasturtiums have been removed, mainly from the patio.

We have kept a few climbing the fences etc. The deep red / orange of the flowers provides a very welcome drift of colour at this time of year.

It is still a nice place to sit for a quiet moment but with a hot chocolate rather than a cold beer.

We were both so pleased with the containers this year, especially as they were cobbled together as a bit of an after thought. we will have to see what we can achieve next year.

Talking of next year our mini green house has cuttings seedlings and a couple of lifted plants all taking shelter and waiting for spring.

The Mother plants of some of the cuttings. They still looking happy and are still flowering at the end of November.

Both the honeysuckle and Jasmine have done wonders this year after such radical pruning last February.

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I will leave you with the bravest of our brave Streptocarpus 'denim'.

As you know we nearly lost the whole collection this summer and they still look a little sad.

They should perk up in the Spring and in the mean time are still giving us a few jolly flowers from time to time.

Keep posted.

ttfn

Random jottings - Old London - markets

One of my ongoing projects at the moment is reading Daniel Defoe's Tour of London while cross-referencing it on the net.

I am reading a photographed copy of the original book which is fun but heavy weather. here is a link to an easier to read version
click here
At present I am in the process of looking up his list of flesh markets - that is meat markets to you and me not brothels by the way.

Here is Smithfield Market, described by Defoe as "without question the greatest market in the world for flesh and livestock."

Meat has been traded at Smithfield Market for over 800 years. By the middle of the 19th century however, in the course of a single year 220,000 head of cattle and 1,500,000 sheep would be "violently forced into an area of five acres, in the very heart of London.

An Act of Parliament was passed in 1852, a new cattle-market was to be constructed in Copenhagen Fields, Islington. The new Metropolitan Cattle Market opened in 1855. The new Smithfields Meat and poultry market was completed in November 1868 at a cost of £993,816 (£66 million today). 

It might take me a little while to research some of the many London markets. This is as far as I have got so far.

Newgate Market:

The site is now Paternoster Square.


Spitalfields Market:

There has been a market on this site since 1638 when Charles I gave a licence for flesh, fowl and roots to be sold on Spittle Fields - which was then a rural area.

After the rights to a market had seemingly lapsed during the time of the Commonwealth, Spitalifields Market was refounded in 1682 by Charles II.

Whitechapel Market:



Leadenhall Market:

Leadenhall Market dates back to the 14th century, 600 years ago when a former Lord Mayor of London(Richard ‘Dick’ Whittington) gifted Leadenhall to the City in 1411.

The Poultry Market remained until the 20th century, by which time all shop units were let for the sale of meat, fish or provisions. By the mid 20th century the shops were also being used for general retailing and leisure and by the end of the century Leadenhall Market was a shopping centre.
 

Fleet Market:

The Fleet Market was a market erected in 1736 on the newly culverted River Fleet. The market was located approximately where the modern Farringdon Street stands today, to the west of the Smithfield livestock market.

By 1829, the market was dilapidated and considered an obstacle to the increasing volume of traffic; and was cleared for the construction of Farringdon Road. Farringdon Market was constructed to replace it, but was never successful.

If anyone knows of, or has photos of the following meat and livestock markets I would be very interested:-

Honey Lane Market
Clare Market
Westminster Market
The Brook Field Market near Mayfair
St James's Market
and
Carnaby Market

Lots more markets to come. 

keep posted

ttfn