How big is YOUR Garden?

As far as gardens in London go, I can confidently state that our back garden is fairly substantial. I can turn around 360 degrees, park my bicycle and we even have enough room to cultivate a variety of herbs. We also have a squirrel (Mr. Squirrel) that roams around our garden and terrorises our cats. Hence, in regards to the minimal outdoor space remaining in central London we can't complain.

However if you now compare this to Elizabeth's garden, that little old lady that occasionally inhabits Buckingham Palace you can appreciate that she's a big deal. She knows people. Her "apartment" really does smell of rich mahogany and she actually has a large collection of leather-bound books. I can vouch for this because on a recent company outing we visited the BP (Buckingham Palace).

We took a tour of the official State Rooms in one of the entertainment "wings" of the palace. The tour took us through the numerous dinning and ball rooms where the Queen entertains her guests. However the most impressive part of the tour has to be the Royal garden. Although the tour only takes you through a small section of the garden, it's grandeur doesn't fail to impress. There is easily enough space for her to park her bike and I'm sure she has a few resident squirrels. In fact, her garden is probably home to an entire sub-species of the squirrel. The lawn at the back of the palace is so big it could host the cricket champions trophy with the eight full time gardeners acting as ground staff. Other features include a man made lake, a helipad and tennis court.

I would love to have a garden like that but truth be told, the essence of any garden lies in the spiritual release that it provides to those wandering in it. Whether it's the size of a small city or just large enough to plant a few herbs and have a barbecue, being able to escape the hectic London life and engage with the greenery is what soothes and energises the spirit.

Tomorrow I will be engaging in a little spiritual soothing with my colleagues as we will be gardening in the name of charity in Battersea park. The charity Thrive aims to help people with a disability, through gardening. I think it is a great project and look forward to seeing it in action!

More soon...

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