Monday......

Monday was spent running around trying to take in some galleries and museums while trying to figure out the underground metro. There are some really colorful and intricate murals at some of the stations such as the one below. Arriving at The National Gallery you first encounter Trafalgar Square which has many beautiful fountains and public areas for people to gather. The museum houses a great collection of Western European paintings which belong to the public and there is no entrance fee to pay.
After entering, the first thing I noticed was this large urn holding this arrangement at the top of a flight of stairs. While using forced branches has been done before, it never occurred to mix dormant ones in the way it is done here. Call me a beginner I guess....... It was a mix of Prunus sp., Malus sp. , Salix sp., Hydrangea macrophylla 'Nikko Blue', sticks wrapped in moss and Aspidistra elatior (?) foliage (commonly called the Cast-iron plant-it's a very, very easy houseplant for those not good with plants... I know who you are....). The whole arrangement held its own in the large entry hall due to the weight of the arrangement at the top of the urn.
Collection highlights included the famous Van Eyck painting 'The Arnolfini Portrait', 'Sunflowers' by Van Gogh and many other pieces by Botticelli, Raphael, Turner, Poussin, Seurat, Cezanne, Vermeer, and Michaelangelo. Alot of the great museums here are free which is welcomed since the the pound is worth twice the dollar. Leaving later than expected, this was the view upon exiting, which is Trafalgar square looking towards 'Big Ben'.

on sunday the columbia flower market.......

On Sundays there is the Columbia Flower Market which is alot of fun. A few blocks are used for this and there are all these little specialty shops around too. It was very crowded with the Cockney flower dealers yelling out there prices in hopes of getting new customers. Very funny things they had to say, such as the one pointing to some of his bunches of roses and yelling that these were Michael Jackson's favorite flowers... They sold everything from fresh flowers to potted houseplants to perrenials. You may recognize a few.............. Is your conservatory a little empty? Tree fern anyone............................ How bout some bare root perennials?
Around 2 pm the market usually comes to a close so everything gets marked down drastically..... i was able to snag 6 bunches for 10 pounds. So this was my purchase and i made my friend an arrangement to say thank you for letting me stay with her.
I am not sure Nancy Gingrich would approve of a brita water container as a vase but we have to adapt right? Siobhan was pleased though........

While walking around the neighborhood here in Shoreditch, there was an old church with a side garden that had a field of Crocus sps. The color was pretty intense on an already drab morning.

Here are some images from Kensington Park. This garden belonged to Kensington Palace. They were laid out for Queen Caroline by Henry Wise and Charles Bridgeman. There are statues dotted throughout the park, small lakes and ponds and the modern Serpentine Gallery. There was an exhibition of the late Derek Jarman's work who was not just an artist but also a well known gardener. His garden was in Kent and was well known.