Wildflower Garden at Ormeley Lodge

It was only by luck that I learned that the gardens at Ormeley Lodge would be open again this year and once aware I booked an advance ticket online. I was there when they opened at 3pm to see it when they were least busy.

There were a few subtle changes from previous years, such as the slight movement of a bench, but otherwise the gardens were their familiar delightful selves. And, in my opinion, the Wildflower Garden was the best as I think this display of flowers shows.

Petersham Nurseries logo

I was pleased to capture this wall just after it had been repainted in the expectation that it would soon regain a sign for Petersham Nurseries, which it now has. As far as I can tell, it is in exactly the same place that the old one was, which is impressive.

There used to be an arrow pointing to petersham nurseries and petersham cafe too and I will keep looking to see if they come back too.

LL14 FBO blocks the path

This is the main pedestrian and cycle route through Royal Park Gate to the river yet LL14 FBO thought that was a reasonable place to park.

Fruit at Ham Food Centre

It has been several years since I was last able to post a photo of fruit on display on Ham Parade thanks to the unwelcome demise of Ham Fruiterers and I am delighted that I can do so again with this display at the newly opened Ham Food Centre.

Ham House from the towpath

Another familiar view made richer by the lush grass and the leafy trees that try their best to hide the house.

5 Upper Ham Road

A neat house number sign will always get my attention and the new sign at 5 Upper Ham Road is certainly that. The black and white design matches the house, the number is large and easy to read, and the street name confirms the full address.

Flower bath

I like pretty gardens and I like quirky gardens so it is no surprise that I like this garden in Lock Road which is both.

Towards Petersham

I am using the early summer as an excuse to revisit some of the wild parts of Ham that I like the most and that includes the long section of Ham Avenues that stretches past Ham Polo and German School on its way to Petersham.

Rebuilding a path along Church Road

The path along Church Road from Upper Richmond Road to St Andrew's Church was first laid in 2007 and while it was ugly it was functional. Then gradually over the years, the surface eroded leaving a very uneven finish that was like walking along a rocky beach - a walk that was best avoided, hence the well-worn path on the left of the picture.

Richmond Council thinks that fixing the path is a priority, I do not agree, and has started work to rebuild it. Having gone to all that effort it is a shame that it is not being built just a little bit wider.

Great South Avenue looking wild

I love Great South Avenue when it looks like this with the verges grown tall and the trees growing unevenly. It looks natural again.

I suspect that it will not be too long before the grass is cut right back which will not only ruin the verges but also show that the apparently wild trees are planted in straight lines.

I am enjoying Great South Avenue while I can.

NV55 ONU gets it all wrong

NV55 ONU is on the pavement, across a lowered kerb and on double-yellow lines. The (male) driver thought that his shopping was more important that everyone else's ability to cross the road safely.

Neat garden

Buckingham Road is a surprisingly interesting road and so I walk down there fairly regularly. This walk coincided with the flowering of this neat garden where the painted wall highlights the colours of the flowers and the flowers mask the brightness of the wall.

Established path replaces trees

Six years ago the vegetation in Ham Common Woods along the south side of Ham Gate Avenue was cut back severely and I worried then that doing so would allow a path to become established in what used to be woodland. Sadly that has happened and a new wide path runs along the complete length of Ham Gate Avenue at the expense of the many trees that used to grow there.

R&R Roofing & Guttering van blocks the way

This photo needs no explanation. It could be used in a "what's wrong in this picture" competition.

A side look at 8 Sandy Lane

One of my frustrations is not being able to see major building projects until they rise above the hoardings around the site so it was nice to find that the side of 8 Sandy Lane, along Clifford Road, with just a simple mesh fence allowing a full view of the site.

It also gives a good view of the recently remodelled number 6 which must already be wondering why it is so much smaller than its new neighbour.

Rose gardens

My regular walk to the Swiss Baker and back has been enlivened by this display of roses from two adjacent properties in Broughton Avenue.

Bold garden

With so much building going on it is nice to be able to feature a pretty garden to balance things a little and the front garden at 253 Petersham Road which makes me pause every time that I walk past it.

And when I have walked past I turn around to look at it again from a different angle.

Behind 163 Dukes Avenue

I went to have a look at 163 Dukes Avenue because a planning application had been submitted for various extensions there, one of which is to replace this  clearly disused garage with a study that extends across the whole of the plot. This gave me the opportunity to take a "before" picture with the hope of an "after" picture to come.

I was a little surprised to see work going on well before the planning application was approved but that is not that unusual these days for reasons that I do not understand. Perhaps developers think that they can get away with it until neighbours complain and force them to go through due process.

VN10 CCV blocks the crossing

The dropped kerb is there to allow people to cross the road easily, not to provide a parking space for the driver of VN10 CCV.

Large gate

A few years ago I followed the substantial extension of Latch House off Ham Farm Road and then I walked down this track a lot. I am pretty sure that there was not a gate there then, or if there was it was never closed.

There is definitely a gate there now and it is fairly intimidating, which I guess is the point. Latch House is all but hidden behind it.

Blank wall

I have featured this wall on the entrance to St Peter's Church and Petersham Nurseries several times and this has always been for what has been painted there, such as the entrance sign for Petersham Nurseries or a flamingo. This time it is the lack of any decoration on the newly painted wall that makes this view interesting.

E-Scooter and Cycle Hire comes to Ham Parade

I knew that Richmond was taking part in the London e-scooter trial (Kingston is not) but I had not expected it to come to Ham. I was wrong.

One of the scheme rules is that the e-scooters are parked on the road, and not the pavement, and so a bay for them has been created from a car parking area on Ham Parade. No doubt some motorists will complain but it looks like a good swap to me. 

LFZ 888 blocks dropped kerb

LFZ 888 manages to park both across a dropped kerb and some distance from the kerb.

Foundations

The foundations are the first clue as to the appearance of a new building and 8 Sandy Lane already looks like it is going to be a substantial house.

The next major step will be the construction of the external walls when the choice of brick etc. will be revealed.

Partially grey

I was not expecting to revisit 1 Upper Ham Road so soon but having been completed two years ago they have failed to sell and so the owner is trying a change of colour. If you have walked past these houses you will have noticed how dirty they looked with the white paint vigorously collecting muck from the busy road and it is no surprise that a darker colour is being used.

So far only a quarter of the development has been painted which looks odd and I will be interested to see what the final look is. My suggestion would be to repaint the two properties completely, getting rid of all the white, and to use two slightly different colours, shades of grey, to better differentiate the two houses.

Bow Cottage

Bow Cottage, 329 Petersham Road, has a pleasing house sign but nowhere obvious to hang it so it leans proudly against a low wall in the front garden.

Continuing the good work

I once called this house in Cedar Heights, "the ugliest in the area", and rightly so. And then a year ago I acknowledged that it had improved greatly mainly thanks to a new porch and some liberal planting.

It has got even better since then, the plants have grown and more importantly the large picture windows have been divided into smaller panes. To be fair, without the photographic evidence you would never guess how bad the house was or how quickly, and simply, it has changed.

Classical pots

The frontage of Ormeley Lodge, which always looked good, now looks a little bit better thanks to the addition of two classical pots either side of one of the gates.

33 Lauderdale Road

Lauderdale Drive is one of my least favourite locally mostly because it does not lead anywhere, other than back to Sandy Lane, and I also because I think there is a certain drabness about most of the housing due to its uniformity.

Indeed, 33 is the second most interesting house in the area, thanks to features like its extra large chimney, and still it only got featured here because of its decorative scaffolding. I have no idea what the orange blobs are but they add to the effect.

Of course many people like drabness and these houses are popular.

Piggy in the middle

A walk down Sudbrook Lane is always a good idea because you find things like these decorations at the entrance to Gort Lodge.

The piggy in the middle is definitely worth a closer look.

Welcome to Richmond upon Thames

I did not notice when this sign disappeared and only realised that it had gone when I was specifically looking for it, but I did notice when it came back.

Bute Cottage

Bute Cottage is neatly hidden at the far end of Ashfield Close off Cedar Heights which makes it awkward to get to but it is worth it.

As a rule I prefer naked brick to paint or render though there are exceptions and Bute Cottage looks pristine.

Well matched bricks

I have been watching this extension at the end of Tideway Close for a couple of months and this view from the road (finally caught without builders all over the place) best shows the extent of the work being done. Essentially the house that was a simple rectangle is having another rectangle of the same size added across the far end.

They are doing a great job of making the extension look like part of the original house and, in particular, the bricks are matched perfectly.

7 Vancouver Road

I think it is fair to say that Vancouver Road is not one of the prettiest roads locally but that does not mean that there are no pretty things there and this house sign for number seven is gorgeous. The large and well positioned "7" also means that it is easy to read, which is the main point of the sign after all. 

More changes for 10 Sandy Lane

For a long time 10 Sandy Lane was a bright pink monument on the corner of Sandy Lane and Clifford Road then it changed hands and has been changed several times. The house colour and the front garden were the first things to change, then the garage became an extension to the house and now more is being done to it.