Tewkesbury Lodge Residents Association

The garden was to be part of the Africa 05 celebrations.   Though it would only be temporary, the British Museum was hoping that there would be over 4 million visitors from May to September.   There were many things to organise: plants for the Garden, materials, and the project time scale.   The start date changed several times, and sourcing some of the plants was difficult, but we managed.   The Eden project in Cornwall came up trumps with the most of the plants, and a small nursery in the heart of Derbyshire had all the cacti we were looking for.

Work started at the end of April.   The Eden project sent up a small team of four, we had a large group of volunteers from the BBC garden team, BTCV, there were three of us from the Horniman, and of course the Ground Force team.   The question was, could we complete a garden of some 450 square metres from a well-trodden lawn in three and a half days?  

True to form, the heavens opened and the site became almost impossible to work on.   Mud everywhere, but we carried on.   Once we had removed the turf, work started on the pathway, which was to represent the railway that runs the length of Africa.   It   was hoped this would give a sense of a journey through the different regions of Africa: the tropical, the desert, and the grass prairies, with plants and sculptures evoking different images of the continent.   The sand base for the pond was laid, ready for installation.   Work had gone well on the first day and we carried on until there was no daylight left, but there was still a lot to do.

The next day started with the arrival of a very large juggernaut.   It was so big we could not get it through the enormous gates to the British Museum.   It was decided the only thing we could do was to unload it in the street.   You can imagine the disruption this was creating during the morning rush hour on the very narrow streets of London.   And it did not take long for a traffic warden to appear, ready to issue a parking ticket to the driver.   We managed to unload all of the several hundred plants in less than 40 minutes.   Soon after, statues for the Gardens began to arrive.   One was of a Baobab Tree that grows in a region of Africa where the rain may not fall for years.   It looks like an upside down tree, with its roots in the air and was to be one of the main features.   And I got the job of putting it together.   There were no instructions, and we had no idea what it was supposed to look like.   It took four of us plus a large crane to put it together, but it looked great when it was finished, as you can see from the photograph.   All the plants were placed in position, ready for planting.   The soil was some of the worst we have ever worked with.   There was only about three inches (7?cm) or so of topsoil - not easy when trying to plant a 45-litre pot.   The work was slow and once again we worked until night fell.

The next day was our last full day.   The clock was ticking, and the strain was showing.   Hour by hour the garden started to take shape: the pond was filled with water, the 'water ladies' (see photograph) were put in place, the statues were on their stone plinths, the last of the sleepers grouted in with cement, and the soil mulched just as the light faded.   And the following morning there was the last of the planting and mulching to finish before the site was swept.   Skips were picked up, and vehicles parked around the corner out of sight.   At midday we had finished.   What a good feeling that was!

That Saturday we celebrated the African garden with bands and plenty of dancing ladies.   The enjoyment it gave to the people who came to celebrate it made all that hard work seem worthwhile - it had really been as good experience.   The success of the garden has surprised the British Museum.   But the hard working gardeners were not surprised at all!

Gordon Lucas

Garden Manager