I was excited about seeing the Winter Garden at Avery Hill, where, I was told, ‘…The well-stocked Winter Garden is open to the public, and to the west are terraced flower gardens… The main domed structure was “flanked by fernery and conservatory, the best survival in London of such Victorian extravaganzas” (Pevsner) and it took 8 years to build. In the eastern conservatory is a fountain with a marble statue of ‘Galatea Reclining on a Dolphin’, 1882, by Leopoldo Ansiglioni, which depicts the figure and dolphin surrounded by 4 bronze birds and a group of sea turtles…’. Wonderful! I could hardly wait!
There were some beautiful geraniums, including a few with scented leaves.
Geraniums? Let’s look closer.
Scatted in the devastation I saw these plants.
Are these the ‘..terraced flower gardens..’?
A parttime gardener was doing what she could with no resources, remembering the lost glory to the consoling sounds of Radio 3.
You may be interested in
London Gardens Online
A Tour of Avery Hill (with photographs)
Hidden London
HLF Funding for Avery Hill
The Diamond Geezer
Oh how sad – and the description sounded amazing.
Incidentally, can’t say that reclining on a dolphin looks very comfortable to me!
Yes, I feel quite strongly that this should not be happening! Hmmm, I think it is an image for, shall we say, ‘delectation’ rather than comfort!
A real shame…..
Yes, it may be too late to do anything, but I will see if I can do anything to help
[…] from South Africa, South America, Australia and California. It is currently closed for repairs. I last photographed here nearly seven years ago and it was in disrepair then. Perhaps there is a plan to restore the […]