A
few days ago (14 June) I visited Belgrave Square in London to see the ‘Great
Union Garden’ established outside the Romanian Cultural Institute (RCI), though
‘garden’ is perhaps a slight exaggeration as it is effectively a large planter located
on the opposite corner to the Institute’s splendid building. It is part of a programme put on by the
Institute to commemorate the formation of a united Romania in 1918. The square’s garden is not open to the
public, but the Romanian garden lies outside the fence and is therefore
accessible.
The
planter has been designed roughly in the shape of Romania, ‘stylised’ in the
words of the RCI (though you would need a tall ladder or a drone to get the
full effect). The space within contains
flowers from all parts of Romania, laid out to mimic their distribution in the
country itself. An adjacent information
panel describes the purpose of the project.
The
intention is the creation of ‘a botanical metaphor’ of the various provinces
that constituted Romania in 1918: Banat, Crișana, Maramureș, Transylvania,
Bucovina, Moldova, Bessarabia, Dobruja, Muntenia and Oltenia. The seeds, while being of species found in
Romania, were cultivated in the UK, itself a nice metaphor for friendly
relations between the two countries.
The
planter is on a busy road, so it is lovely to see plants anyway, but it is a
splendid way to publicise a significant date in Romania’s history. The RCI refer to the garden as an
‘installation’ and their website indicates it will be removed this month, so
anyone interested would be best advised to check before visiting it, in case it
has been dismantled.
 |
| The RCI can be seen in the distance |
In
addition to the garden, to commemorate the centenary the RCI put on a series of
events, including exhibitions, a talk, and a book launch. The book, which was launched last month, is The Transylvania Florilegium. Comprising two large volumes, it was inspired
by Prince Charles, who thought that some plant species might be vulnerable to
changing agricultural practices and suggested a visual record be made both to
show the diversity of the region’s flora and to highlight the urgent need to
protect the environment.
A
selection of 40 of the book’s 124 paintings was put on show in the RCI along
with photographs of Bucharest parks, but alas I missed the exhibition by a
couple of days. Still, I was happy to
see the Great Union Garden and felt a little bit of the Romanian countryside
had been successfully transferred to London’s dusty streets.
