Things that make you go OOOOOH!

Buchart Garden

Buchart Garden, originally uploaded by One Date Wonder.



Is there any chance that we would have a public garden in Bahrain with this much thought, this much love, and this much passion put into it so that people, everybody, to enjoy?

We have a lot of public spaces, little neighbourhood parks which have nothing but grass, bougainvilleas and a few palm trees, but never this.. okay petunias if we’re lucky, but.. but.. but..

I’m sure it could be done.

No?

Comments

  1. Pingback: BahBlog

  2. tooners

    this is gorgeous but i could never see anyone putting such in place in bahrain…. ok, maybe in riffa, but not any place else. for some reason, things like this don’t seem like a priority here and that’s just too bad.

    and… if they did put such in place, how long would it last? so many ppl here don’t give a crap and i could see children and teenagers making it a total mess w/in no time at all – tearing it up and having no respect.

    also, the sad thing about so many ppl here is that they don’t see the importance of having such beauty surrounding them and/or about the environment, and soon it would become a disaster w/ litter and such.

    even some of the beautiful places here are being destroyed by ppl that don’t give a damn. so many have no respect for nature.

    ok, was that enough of a damper???!! :devil:

  3. Finlandi

    i agree with tooners, ppl just dont give a crap, its not theirs so why should they bother?
    which brings me to the next point, what if the government plotted in community gardens in neighborhoods which would be owned by the people that live there? it would give them better incentive to take care of the plays and the neighborhoods would be beautified and the kids would have a nice place to hang out in, instead of playing football in a 5araba.

  4. johnster

    isn’t there an island somewhere round here that looks like this? I’m sure I saw a picture once but can’t remeber for sure?

    Anyone got any ideas?

  5. Anonymous

    wouldnt last a day here even if they made it, the kids will attack it and ruin it…

  6. sillybahrainigirl

    Lovely thought Mahmood.. but I totally agree with Tooners and Finlandi.. Do you really think people will leave those poor plants alone? Do you think they will restrict their feet to the walkway? Do you think the plants themselves will remain in their places for long? With all my respect to my own people, I would pass on this idea until.. we, as a nation, collectively grow up!

  7. Mitmallel

    I know for a fact that the grass they planted in the public garden near our house got mysteriously re-planted in our neighbor’s garden..

  8. Will

    I think that this is a privately owned garden where they charge for admission. It is nearly 100 yrs old.

    We do have some nice public gardens over here but you need the 50% tax rate to pay for them. I think we should get the juvenile delinquents and prison population to plant and tend public gardens.

    “There is no gardening without humility. ” ~Alfred Austin

  9. tooners

    sillybahrainigirl,

    i so agree w/ you about plants disappearing. we had some beautiful plants in pots outside of our front door and one day we came home from work and they were gone. it’s like no one can have anything pretty and nice. it was so disappointing.

    i was thinking that if they had a garden like this here, there should definitely be an admission fee… but my second thought was “would that even matter?” i don’t think so.

  10. Bonsaimark

    Why not spearhead a community garden? I have seen it done very successfully in other parts of the world and I see no reason why it wouldn’t work in Bahrain. More often than not it is done in inner cities. Of course the LESS GOVERNMENT participates in it the better. The only thing you need from the government is the land and water source. Other wise keep the bureaucrats out of the mix. There is really no reason a group of people in Bahrain couldn’t get together and do something like this. Perhaps you could call it the No Shi/No Sunni Just Bahraini Community Garden?

  11. M

    We had the same problem with the south end of town even though we are a small community of about 20,000. People complained about crime, lack of decent housing, and kids roaming the streets. The town’s answer was to develop a community action committee that meet for two years, developed a plan including assistance in obtaining low interest housing loans, and hiring a policeman specificially assigned to that part of town. The town bought some land in a couple of different spots for playgrounds etc. It’s worked fine with parks and playgrounds for the kids, less crime and more community pride and involvement. Gotta start somewhere.

  12. Laurie

    Have you heard of guerrilla gardening? One easy method is to take clay soil, mix it with seeds, form it into a ball, and throw it into areas that need a little beauty. Pick some plant seeds that will like the area you’re planting.

    I promise to send pictures of my area, when the ice and snow melt, of course.

  13. Post
    Author
    mahmood

    Guerilla Gardening!! now THAT’S a concept! Although it won’t work in a lot of places due to the dirth of water (not today, it’s been bucketing down since yesterday and the lake is reforming in front of our house!) but I guess in public gardens or by the side of houses, the greed areas by the side of the roads.. man you’ve put ideas into my head! Now why did you do that?

    Of to google this right now!

  14. Publia

    Whoa! This is cool, rainy Canada. It would be a terrible mistake to make a garden like this in Bahrain because it ignores the climate. It would be great to have more gardens, but choosing a type that could thrive without extraordinary maintenance in the desert would be important.

  15. Post
    Author
    mahmood

    I was speaking figuratively of course. The Bahrain Garden Club‘s annual exhibition’s theme this year is “Desert Scaping.”

    There is no reason why we could not have just as a lovely garden with desert or drought tolerant plants.

    That is, if the people would leave them be. I agree with some of the commentors above that a lot of people in Bahrain have no respect for “these things” and that is another problem that we should resolve.

  16. docspencer

    This is a fantastic place, and Victoria in SW Canada is a great vacation destination. You can see more of it at http://www.alpar.com/victoria/ .
    It used to be an old stone quarry that went out of business, and the sides are planted beautifully as well.

    Best regards,

    Vic

  17. Publia

    Mahmood, I am hoping you will take lots of photos of the Bahrain Garden Club’s Desert Scaping and share them with us. Many local gardening efforts on public property are done by volunteers here, usually the ladies.

  18. Helen Kirby

    Of course you could have a public garden of similar type, Bahrain plants, of course. If you decide to go ahead with this project take a look at my website (hkirbydesigns.com) and contact me – for me it would be an exciting and wonderful project. I have 15 years experience in garden design of all types and love unusual challenges. I am well educated in geography and I am familiar with your climate and horticultural environment. Take a look and e-mail me!

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