Wanstead Garden Patch Trundle.

On Thursday 26th May 15 horticulturally enthusiastic EFOGers gathered under the Snaresbrook train bridge for a trundle around some of the unofficial garden patches created by the Wanstead Community Gardeners.

The afore mentioned group (gardeners not EFOGers) have been out of control around Wanstead for some years. No unloved patch of public soil is safe from their depredations. The more inaccessible, the more attractive it is to them.

First off the blocks for the EFOGers were the Hanging Gardens of Wanstead around Snaresbrook Station, then a quick trundle to the Wanstead Clinic Garden, ith its collection of ceramic animals, most of them missing an ear or a leg or some such. These materialised out of nowhere soon after the gardeners created the garden. We suspect they might be hoping the clinic would be a good place to get missing limbs replaced. Overly optimistic, I reckon.

From there to the Corner House Garden on the High Street to look especially at the back garden now alive with huge oriental poppies and a wonderful selection of bearded irises. At this time of year especially it serves the same role as a photographer’s studio in Victorian times. People in their Sunday bests would pose against a painted background of a garden to have their likenesses captured for posterity. Not sure that Posterity ever really appreciated their efforts but the same is going on now in the back garden of the Corner House. Selfies are taken against a background of real flowers. Perhaps Posterity will be equally unimpressed.

Love the idea of selfies. Maybe for people who don’t know what they look like or perhaps have an identity problem. Anyway, it’s all happening in Wanstead.

From the Corner House it was a quick step to the George. I was not for one moment fooled by EFOGers horticultural enthusiasm. I knew they were only there for the beer.

Marian T.    May 2022