Here's another random street shot from one of my walking routes, along Fairhazel Gardens in South Hampstead. On the right you can see the kickboxing studio Gav the Champ, which I've photographed before. Right across the street used to be the dubiously named salon Ho Hair, though it's a coffee shop now. Farther along, with the red awning, is a wine bar called The Arches, which is a popular after-work spot for many of my colleagues. In fact, as I walked past right after taking this photo, I waved to four of them sitting out front.
I think this is a much more pleasant walk than Finchley Road. Some of you defended Finchley in yesterday's comments and said it wasn't as ugly as I was making it out to be. I think the key, for me, is the lack of trees. Trees make a street a million times more pleasant, and on Finchley there are virtually no trees and a lot of cars and buses. Plus the roadway has been built up above the sidewalk in places, so you feel like you're walking through a tunnel.
Anyway, I kind of like this challenge of taking a random street shot each day. Maybe I'll make a week of it.
Yesterday a workman came to inspect the gutters and do some repairs on the fascia board at the eaves, over our patio. Dave met him when he showed up first thing in the morning and then went to work, leaving the guy on his own to do the repairs. When we came home we found he'd apparently taken out some rotten wood and patched the sketchy spots (whether with new wood or some kind of filler I'm not sure).
I was annoyed, though, because the guy demolished a Hypericum bush we had growing next to the wall. Granted, it grew there of its own accord, in a crack in the pavement, and I'm sure he thought it was just a weed. But we left it on purpose and every year it blooms with big yellow flowers, and the bees love it. I guess it was in his way, and it looks like he literally just ripped it apart with his hands! I neatened it up with some secateurs and it will come back. But still -- for all he knew, that could have been my favorite bush in the whole world!
Never a dull (or unconstructed) moment at your house. I like the random street photo. Did you have a cuppa at Ho Café?
ReplyDeleteI do hope your plant recovers from that trauma, if anyone can bring it back, you are the man. El Niño is going to bring some harsh weather to London, so say the people who know such things, you may want to invest in some hay to pad the plants against the cold. Or just bring your entire garden in to the flat by the heater .
ReplyDeleteFunny, I thought bushwhacker was a very Australian term.
ReplyDeleteI do agree about trees and it looked there was space for them in Finchley Road.
It may have been wrong for the tradesman to attack your bush but it wasn't trimmed away to nothing, so no sweat. Your bush will regrow. You may have to trim it yourself next time.
Trees bring the street temperature down in hot weather..
ReplyDeleteWill the hypericum grow from a cutting?
I can understand why one growing right by a building would be removed.
No way! Your favourite bush in the whole world is George W. Bush! Obviously you are renown throughout the blogosphere for the accuracy of your written expression Steve but today you made a terrible blunder and I felt it was my fraternal duty to point it out to you - "they key" (line 7) so that you can make the necessary amendment.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of Ho Hair; sounds fun.
ReplyDeleteAnd then having a wine.
Yes, I like this street.
Interesting that he thought he could just do that. Even if he thought it was a weed. I wonder if it kept getting in the way & he just snapped and went Hulk on it (I have this picture in my brain of my brother doing this because he never met an inanimate object that didn't need to be taught a lesson, which makes him sound very violent but he's not at ALL which makes these moments more hilarious for the rest of us).
ReplyDeleteThat's a bummer about your bush. I hate it when repair people trample or cut things out. (I lost a hydrangea that way once, thanks to the tree trimmers from the city.) You don't see trees on our big city streets -- they're more like Finchley road. I love the trees.
ReplyDeleteYes the street shots continue to fascinate. I also like them when there are people in the frame. Too bad about your bush though it's not like you don't have enough flora!
ReplyDeleteYes! More street shots, please! And you are so right about trees.
ReplyDeleteYour poor little bush. It will come back. I am almost certain of that. If it had the tenacity to come up through a crack in the pavement, it will most likely survive a little Hulk-action.
OK ... yes, trees do make a street appear more shopper friendly! As do hanging baskets of flowers on the lamp posts! However, Finchley ends up with its own look!
ReplyDeleteNow I see why you called Finchley Road the ugliest street for miles. No Trees! Thank you for pointing that out. Trees do make for a much prettier city street.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little surprised that the repairman simply tore out that bush. Maybe he really didn't have a choice, but still, you obviously took care of it. I hope it comes back.
I'm with you on streets with trees and those without. the street shots are fun so keep on. and, yeah, repair guys take zero heed of plants growing around a house.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting street scene and looking forward to more. Hopefully that bush will grow back. That workman probably doesn't have a yard at his house and knows nothing about plants.
ReplyDeleteMy sister was doing some lawn work for someone, and they had morning glory vines just covering a bench in the yard. My sister haaaaaaates morning glory. She set to work ripping the vines off that bench.
ReplyDeleteWhoo boy.
Turns out the owner did that intentionally because he loved the look.
One man's treasure is another man's weed.
I had similar experiences with contractors during our development reno. huge boots stamping all over little shrubs, heavy equipment slammed down on herb gardens, don't get me started!
ReplyDeleteI thought you had seen a bushwhacker in Finchley High Street when I saw the heading. Bushwhacker is a farm implement used for hedging along the roads fixed on the side of a tractor. The hedges are being cut all over at the moment. I am sure the bush will come back and thrive.
ReplyDeleteI cuss at our landscaping every time I'm doing ladder work on our eaves or gutters. They always seem to be right where I need to put my ladder or feet. Hopefully your plant come back.
ReplyDeleteFinchley road seems much more serene than yesterday's route. Trees do make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI learned the hard way that if a plant/tree is special to you, you'd better mark it as such. I was just thinking about my lost dogwood this morning...
ReplyDeleteMaybe the repair guy fell on your plant :) And maybe not. It takes a certain kind of person to just tear out a plant at a stranger's house! That being said, after Hurricane Fiona last year, my brother was helping clean up our downed trees and - without asking me - took out a bunch of bushes that I wanted kept to screen my property from the neighbours behind us. Ack!! I had to ask him to stop, which was awkward, given how much he was doing for me! But a tradesman should err on the side of not touching anything - ANYTHING - except what they're there to work on.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing that I didn't notice the lack of trees as I am constantly surrounded by them. It does make a difference! I am hesitant to pull out any plants since I'm never sure what is a weed and what isn't. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about trees. They make all the difference on a city street. Sorry about your destroyed plant. I do have faith it will come back to you.
ReplyDeleteMitchell: There's always something being hammered on around here!
ReplyDeleteLinda Sue: Those Hypericum plants are super-tough so I'm sure it will be fine.
Andrew: I've heard it in America too, but I'm not sure I could define it!
GZ: I'm not sure! They like to grow in cracks and crevices so we have several places where they've sprouted in concrete.
YP: You are an eagle-eyed copy editor, Mr. P, though I actually caught that typo myself when I re-read my post later. (I usually post then go to work and re-read my post again in midmorning. With a fresh eye I'm more likely to catch mistakes.)
Bob: I never looked to see what kind of 'dos Ho Hair could produce!
Bug: I wondered the same thing! Did he flip out and tear it apart in a fit of rage?! LOL
Jeanie: Workers are bad about that. I guess they get desensitized to trampling landscaping since they probably do it every day!
Catalyst: Are you saying our garden is overgrown? LOL! (We once had a tradesman describe it that way. I was offended! It's very deliberate!)
Ms Moon: Yeah, I don't doubt it will survive and to be honest it probably needed trimming anyway. But still -- I would have preferred to do it myself and in less brutal fashion!
Marcia: It's just very urban and everything tends to be quite gray and gritty because of all the diesel trucks and buses going by.
Robin: And London streets tend to have lots of trees, which is why this one stands out!
Ellen: Glad you like them! It is kind of fun to highlight these routes I walk every single weekday.
Sharon: I think the bush will be fine. Just stunted for a while!
Debby: Oops! This is why homeowners need to be crystal clear with their gardeners about what stays and what goes!
Boud: They probably figure if they have to watch for landscaping they'll never get the job done.
Rachel: Oh, I didn't even think about the device. I was thinking more about "bushwhackers" the people -- country types. (An admittedly derogatory term.)
Ed: Yeah, it's hard to get up to the roofline with bushes in the way. I thing Bug is right -- I think this guy destroyed our bush in a fit of frustration!
Allison: Oh, this picture is Fairhazel Gardens. Finchley was yesterday. But I know what you mean. :)
Kelly: What happened to your dogwood?!
Jenny-O: I thought it was rather presumptuous! Fortunately most plants are pretty resilient and will come back -- maybe even your hedge?
Margaret: Occasionally I've left a "weed" and it turned out to be a re-seeded plant from elsewhere in the garden. (Like a foxglove or a marigold or a petunia.)
37P: New York is also good about having street trees. They do make a huge difference!
We had a timber cut done a few years ago. (there are many good reasons stands of timber need to be thinned to stay healthy) We marked some tree to make sure they didn't damage them (like some black walnuts), but it never crossed my mind to mark the large dogwood right on the edge of the road since it wasn't in the way of their equipment. I was heartbroken when I saw it was gone.
ReplyDelete