I’m often asked to talk about the history of London’s squares and I always wonder what causes this almost endless fascination. Of course there’s no doubt that, as the London Gardens Trust says, “squares are one of the defining features of London. Like other European cities, London has its grand civic spaces, but no other city has developed the garden square in quite the same way.”
They have survived changes in taste and style, war and reconstruction and all the vicissitudes of finance and management problems. I suspect that is largely due to their spatial integrity which has largely remained intact despite the street scene changing drastically over the past 400 years. We have seen buildings refaced, redeveloped or replaced, trees, shrubs, paths, lighting, and railings have come and gone, but despite everything the successful combination of architecture and horticulture has somehow survived.
Over the next few weeks I’m going to look at London squares and their history beginning today with “where did the idea for a square come from?”
Some flowers – like tulips, peonies or roses – are important or famous enough to have their stories told in books that make the best seller list. But while some others have champions who’ve written about them, or are the subject of serious monographs there are some other well-known flowers that don’t seem to have attracted that much attention. One of them is that stalwart of the cottage garden the hollyhock.
The Garden History Blog 
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