Open Squares Weekend 2017

I love Open Squares Weekend, a regular fixture in our calender. It gives you the opportunity to discover green spaces in London you would normally get to see and a different perspective of living in the city.

Last year OH and I explored gardens along the river and up high. This year we headed over to the Barbican. First off we went to the Evershot Offices which we had seen last year but the views are great. Plus we were having problems finding the first garden on our list, which is transpired wasn't open on the day we wanted to visit. Doh!
 Anyway as I say the views were amazing
The garden is created by office workers and it's so refreshing to see bursts of colour contrasting with the ever rising skyline of the city. 

 I couldn't resist this reflection in a nearby building
 But back to the garden, look at this little haven up on the roof
 They were growing fruit, veg and flowers
 All the flowers were butterfly and bee friendly. They even have a bee hive up here. 

 Sorry yes a quick picture rotation as I couldn't easily get this view in horizontal. Here you can see the old and new sitting side by side. I love finding reminders of the past up here in the City. 
 The light was perfect for reflections. This building, close to the Barbican, was also close to where Blogtacular took place the weekend before! 
 As we headed over the Barbican we started to see hits of colour as the office blocks made way for the residential apartments. 
 The buildings are interspersed with trees and bits of the old City Wall. 
 Next on our list is the centre of the Barbican Centre and created by the guy who also worked on the wildflower meadows at the Olympic Park. 
 It's called the Beach Garden and it's open to anyone all year round. 
 OH didn't really liked it but I loved the textures and pops of colours. Such a contrast to the stark brutalist architecture of the Barbican. 

 As we are leaving the main part of the Barbican we spotted this fabulous launderette which we weren't really expecting. 

 And round the corner from the Barbican is this incredible community wildlife garden. 
 Complete with a pond. It was very overgrown and wild which was great and not what I was expecting. I did over hear someone say that with the introduction of this wild space the prices of the flats around it had started to rise. The power of green spaces! 
 Our final destinations was another community garden on the Golden Lane Estate
 It was a large number of raised beds which residents could use to grow what ever they liked. 
 The spaces were small and it made me realise how lucky I am to have so much space given that I too live in Central London. 
 But each box was so lush and green - these looked good enough to eat!
Incredible to think that this is just around the corner. But the whole place had such a great community vibe which I'm sure the green spaces help to create. 
Though I did find splashes of colour throughout the Estate as well. I also had a bit of a personal link to this area as some of my ancestors lived in the area in the late 1800s, and my nana worked towards the top of where the Estate sits in a new building built after the war (as a large part of the areas was bombed hence why I can't find the streets were relatives lived in the 1880s). 

Anyway there we have it. A small splash of green in the urban jungle of my city London. I would highly recommend putting Open Squares Weekend  in your diary for next year. 

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