Distaff Lane Garden
This pocket garden is located in the heart of the City of London, in between St Nicholas Cole Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral. The former is dedicated to St Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of Fishermen, and in Elizabethan times there was an important fish market.
The garden has been designed with a small cluster of trees, rather like a copse. An organic web of interweaving paths divides the space, allowing for the creation of a variety of intimate and open spaces. Birch trees allow for delicate filtering of views across the garden and in winter act as bright white sculptures. A solitary pin oak provides a connection between the garden and the predominant street trees on Distaff Lane. The trees are underplanted with a mix of shade and drought tolerant perennials and grasses.
An existing sculpture of Icarus by Michael Ayrton has been relocated to the middle of the garden, and a water wall inspired by fish scales acts as a bookend to the garden.
The garden opened to the public in 2019 and is managed by the City of London.