A Monumental Folly

Well, Diarmuid has done it again with his ‘mine’s bigger than your’s garden’. Last year I really liked his sky garden, which was good despite its gimmicks, this year it just irritated me and the only time that I felt it came to life was when the Chelsea Pensioners lined up along the various levels, giving the whole thing some much-needed definition. I think the reason I feel particularly grumpy about it is because it totally dominates the space behind the Korean DMZ garden – a garden too easily overlooked because it looks like a neglected corner – yet is in fact a skilful and meaningful recreation of the no-man’s land between north and south Korea with rusted relics of human occupation overgrown with plants and a lookout tower. This is a garden to pause and reflect upon.