Last May I was lucky enough to be invited by Tower Bridge Moorings to a private tour to the Garden Barges at the Tower Bridge Moorings, by the river Thames in London. It is a so very special place in London that the minute we entered I thought I was transported to a forest and not being in a busy city.
The story of these amazing gardens started some 25 years ago and was the vision of the architect Nicholas Lacey (his firm now runs the development), who was a neighbor of the moorings and observing how vegetation was taking in some of the barges, he decided to work together with nature but in a designed way. More than two decades from this initiative floating gardens are a reality. They have received some awards for design but also for the contribution to ecology, since they are worked following organic techniques.
But the gardens are also a community that takes care of them and open them once a year for visitors to enjoy. Some of the barges are studios or workshops for artists that live and work there, no need to say that there is a long waiting list to get one of the barges!
I leave you now with the images for a virtual walk.
The general view from the pedestrian path on the riverside.
The entrance to the office and moorings
And the starts right here just following the path between barges that connects one to the others
The gardens provide a fantastic habitat for flora and fauna
Trees growing healthy and creating a green environment
One can find trees in almost all of the barges
One can find fruit trees and herbs, together with ornamentals
A beautiful maple, Acer palmatum
Flowers and flowers everywhere...
Creating masses of color
and not only for decorating the floating gardens, but also to offer food for bees
This is the view from one of the barges during low tide
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