Museum garden restoration begins
5 January 2011
Work has begun to restore the 100-year-old gardens of the Horniman Museum in south London, returning them to their original purpose of linking the museum's exhibitions with the living world outside.
Central to the planned rejuvenation of the 6.5 hectare (16.5 acre) gardens is a new World Food Garden: an ethno-botanical display of plants used for food, medicine and textiles. As well as herbs and spices there are dye plants such as Carthammus tinctorius (false saffron) and Cleome lutea, linking to textiles exhibits inside the museum. Linum usitatissimum (flax) and raffia palms (Raphia spp) demonstrate how plants are used as fibres and food plants include sugar cane, callaloo and pumpkins.
The Sunken Garden will also be restored during the year-long project, funded by a grant of almost £1 million from the National Lottery Parks for People programme with support from the Wolfson Foundation and other charities.
Originally the home of Victorian MP and philanthropist Frederick Horniman, the gardens were donated to the people of London in 1901 with the express purpose of providing a living space to complement the Museum's exhibits.