Lady’s Look at A Garden Party to Make a Difference

I’ve always been curious about all huge old homes that line The Mall in London. Set back behind gates and gardens, it’s hard to see the exteriors of the residences of the Prince of Wales and other assorted British royals and aristocrats.

But today a few of the homes opened up their gardens for the Prince of Wales’ “A Garden Party to Make a Difference”.

The multi-day event is aimed at teaching visitors about sustainable living and sharing ideas for how to reduce their carbon footprints.

As a bonus, the public gets a rare chance to see the gardens of three historic stately homes in London: Lancaster House, Clarence House, and Marlborough House.

I arrived at A Garden Party to Make a Difference in the afternoon. It wasn’t very crowded (not surprising for a Wednesday at 3pm), so I was able to get a close look at the homes and exhibitions.

First came Lancaster House, a Neoclassical Georgian building made of beige Bath stone. The gardens were simple, but the lawns sported an assortment of giant topiary pigs and a large eco-hut.

From there the garden party moved to Clarence House, home of the Prince of Wales. The 19th-century white stucco building was adjacent to the red brick walls of St James’s Palace. The house and royal palace shared a garden.

The flower beds were brimming with the usual summer and autumn plants, but it was the vegetable garden that really piqued my interest.

Lining the exterior of the house, fruits and vegetables of coordinated colors filled unique containers from wheelbarrows to white porcelain sinks.

I walked around the garden for a while, listening briefly to a talk by Mike Berners-Lee, a carbon footprinting expert. I slunk away when he got to the part about how much carbon long-haul flights produce. Gulp.

Clarence House was followed by Marlborough House, a gorgeous 18th-century brick creation designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

Marlborough House had had the most interesting exhibits of the day. Well, for me anyway. Why? The Eurostar tent was there.

I couldn’t resist a visit, and I was rewarded by running into one of the women who ran my trip to Avignon the other week.

After talking with her for a while, I took a survey to determine what percentage of my carbon footprint was attributable to what actions. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of it was due to travel.

That said, I was relieved to discover my overall carbon footprint was around the national average. I always try to make up for my travel emissions when I’m at home, and I was glad to see it’s worked.

After taking the survey, I watched a short skit about traveling to Paris that was performed by a team of actors. It was one of the more unique exhibitions I’ve seen at an event like the garden party.

Moving on from there, I explored a tent where I was given a free canvas bag to decorate (I refrained, citing my embarrassing lack of talent in the visual arts).

Next came a charity tent that encouraged consumers to donate their clothing.

At the end of the garden, I walked to the exit through a long line of shops selling everything from plants to organic cookies. Past the gates, I found myself in Green Park, where it promptly started to rain.

Even the rain couldn’t ruin the day, though. I left A Garden Party to Make a Difference feeling glad I had finally gotten a chance to see the beautiful homes and gardens along The Mall, and happy that my next flight was a short-haul to Bordeaux, not a long-haul to Bangkok.

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