GARDENS FIT FOR A KING
Discover the botanical legacy of King Ashurbanipal of Assyria’s rule at the British Museum’s major autumn exhibition
T he BP exhibition I am Ashurbanipal: king of the world,
king of Assyria at the British Museum explores the story of one of history’s greatest forgotten kings. King Ashurbanipal of Assyria was, at the time of his reign (669–c. 631 BC), the most powerful man on Earth. He described himself as ‘king of the world’, and his rule marked the high point of the Assyrian Empire, which stretched from the shores of the eastern Mediterranean to the mountains of western Iran.
Ashurbanipal’s capital at Nineveh (situated in what is now Iraq) was a vast metropolis and the king’s palaces were surrounded by lush, exotic gardens. The Assyrian kings liked to plant gardens that evoked a paradise on earth. Plants and animals were collected from across the empire for the gardens, orchards and game parks of the Assyrian cities. The gardens were also irrigated by an immense canal network, which brought water to the city using channels and aqueducts. In creating these artificial paradises, kings demonstrated their ability to bring abundance and harmony to the world.
Some scholars argue that the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, were actually those at Nineveh and later writers had confused Nineveh and Babylon. Even if this isn’t the case, the gardens at Nineveh were certainly impressive and may have inspired later gardens at Babylon and elsewhere.
WALK IN THE KING’S SHOES
You can discover more about Ashurbanipal and his world in the BP exhibition I am
Ashurbanipal: king of the world, king of Assyria, on at the British Museum from 8 November 2018 – 24 February 2019. Tickets are £17, under 16s and members are free. The exhibition is supported by BP and the logistics partner is IAG Cargo.
“I planted alongside the palace a botanical garden, which has all types of trees and every fruit and vegetable.” Ashurbanipal
1 LOFTY GALLERY
Planning permission has been granted for an observation tower at the historic garden of Inverewe in Poolewe, Wester Ross. Designed by London architecture studio Denizen Works, the 19m-tall tower, which will be clad in dark-stained larch sourced on site, will offer views across the gardens and Loch Ewe. Gallery spaces on different levels, accessed via a bridge from the High Viewpoint, will tell the history of the garden while at the top of the tower a bird hide offers visitors the chance to spot golden eagles and nesting herons. The tower has been commissioned by the National Trust for Scotland, which owns the gardens. denizenworks.com
2 QUEENS BLOSSOMS
New York Landscape Architecture and Urban Design practice Terrain Work has proposed a striking artwork to brighten a pedestrian walkway in the Queens borough of New York. The installation, Queens Blossoms, will cover the walkway beneath a subway station with images of flowers representing every country of origin of the residents of Queens, the city’s most ethnically diverse area. Each flower will have a QR code that people can scan on a smart phone to find out more about the plant and its country of origin. The work is in response to a call out from New York’s Department of Transportation for ideas to enliven the space. terrainwork.com
3 HORATIO’S GARDEN
Horatio’s Garden, the charity that creates beautiful gardens in NHS Spinal Injury Centres, has opened its third garden at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Buckinghamshire. Designed by Joe Swift, the garden includes a rill and water feature surrounded by a low stone wall that blends seamlessly with a 10m-long, bespoke oak bench, designed and hand built by Gaze Burvill. The bespoke bench, which took three months to complete, was made in seven interlinking sections and has a total of 250 slats. A garden room, designed by Andrew Wells, allows patients and visitors to enjoy the planting even in poor weather. horatiosgarden.org.uk
4 YORK CENTRAL
Landscape architecture practice Gustafson Porter + Bowman has drawn up plans to transform 178 acres of brownfield land next to York’s railway station and the National Railway Museum. The masterplan for York Central includes up to 2,500 new homes, offices and retail and leisure spaces, and has at its centre a new park to connect the existing Millennium Green to the station and city centre. The park will echo the landscape of the Strays, the strips of land that link the city to the wider countryside, and evoke the distinctive pattern of rail lines that shaped the site. It will include an amphitheatre as well as reed, stream and gravel gardens.gpb.com
5 YAGAN SQUARE
The native flora of Western Australia is showcased in Brisbane-based ASPECT studios’ landscaping of the recently opened Yagan Square in Perth. The wildflower gardens will also feature several Eucalyptus species. Named after an Aboriginal warrior who played a key role in resisting British colonial rule, the square is a collaboration between ASPECT Studios and the architect practices of Lyons and iredale pedersen hook. Its design is based around ideas of convergence – of geologies, tracks, narratives, and of peoples and cultures – and has as its centrepiece a 190m-long water feature by the artist Jon Tarry. aspectstudios.com
6 HARDSCAPE AWARD
Landscape architects Design Workshop has won Best Hardscape in the 2018 Gardenista Considered Design Awards is for its Woody Creek Garden in Colorado. Situated on a challenging mountain site in Pitkin County, the garden is made up of two courtyards with natural stone and water used as unifying elements between the two. In the first granite slabs, which function as sculptural benches, are set around a misting fountain and punctuated by groups of quaking aspens. The second, which acts as a green roof to part of the house, is an expansive space edged by a geometric pool (shown) to reflect the dramatic skies and views. designworkshop.com
7 VISITOR CENTRE ON THE BROADS
Norwich-based architects Feilden + Mawson is to design a sustainable Visitor and Education centre for Broads National Park. The design for the modular timber building at Acle Bridge in Norfolk, which was selected from a competition that attracted entries from around the world, borrows from boatyards in the region, and the black finish also makes reference to the original peatland landscape. Fully glazed gable ends will offer expansive views up and down the River Bure, and the lofty elevation is intended to make the building a highly visible gateway to the Broads. broadsauthority.gov.uk
8 DENMANS
Denmans, the garden created by the late John Brookes at his home in West Sussex, has re-opened to the public after a 15-month restoration. In the year before his death, the celebrated designer had embarked on major renovations to restore clean lines and re-shape the planting initially in the Walled Garden. The renovations are being continued by the John Brookes-Denmans Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving Brookes’s legacy. The garden was previously owned by the plantswoman and author, Joyce Robinson, who created a planted dry river bed and experimented with gardening with gravel. denmans.org