Flower battles, soil and spring equinox
March! The month of the Spring equinox, when night and day are equal. The sun is finally shining and daffodils and crocuses are adding a bit of colour to urban drabness. In this issue, I share my reviews of two Spring art exhibitions in London. And feature a French tradition following my trip to Nice a couple of weeks ago – the battle of flowers!
🌸Celebrate the Spring Equinox with a walk in Epping Forest
Thursday 20 March is the equinox, when day and night are nearly equal in all parts of the world. In the Northern hemisphere, it marks the astronomical beginning of Spring. Some say it’s a good time to let go of the old and make space for the new (hence Spring cleaning). This forest bathing in Epping Forest on 22 March looks like a great way to reconnect with what matters.
💐Spotlight on: La Bataille de Fleurs, Nice
Every February, as part of carnaval celebrations, Nice hosts a special event called the battle of flowers started in 1876! Floats are each decorated with 3,000 fresh flowers and follow the carnaval’s theme – this year was the ‘King of the Oceans’. As they parade round the Promenade des Anglais, flower girls throw flowers, including 20 tonnes of seasonal mimosa, at the crowd. A unique tradition to welcome Spring!
👩🏼🌾Urban Farmer Project, Fleet Street Quarter
This week I stumbled on this new neighbourhood being placemade behind the historic Fleet Street. And while this new ‘quarter’ (London has so many quarters that it just doesn’t add up!) is under construction, you’ll find the Urban Farmer Project on Shoe Lane. A former Be At One (check out the huge gold-tiled toilets), the space has now been turned into a temporary growing project. Hydroponic microgreens line shelves behind the cafe counter – they’re aiming to cultivate 5kg per month, equivalent to 200 servings – and they have plans to serve food soon. They have a ‘farm shop’ and workshops. And in the evenings, check out comedy/quiz/music at Das Das Box, the former bar area.
🌷Be surprised by the Flowers exhibition at Saatchi Gallery 🌷
“Florals? For Spring? Groundbreaking.” And yet us humans can’t get enough of them! From album covers to war protests, wallpaper to fashion, medicine to scents, flowers have inspired, adorned and appeased our bodies and minds for centuries. Across nine rooms, you’ll see classics by Botticelli, Warhol and Mary Quant but also very contemporary artists (some pieces were made in 2024 and are for sale). The heart of the collection is a room full of 100,000 dried flowers hung from the ceiling by artist Rebecca Louise Law. It took us over two and a half hours to see over 500 art pieces, and we left with (a) Spring in our step. Find out more about Flowers – Flora in contemporary art and culture.
Get on down to the Soil exhibition at Somerset House 🌱🌱🌱🌱
I know I featured this exhibition in my last newsletter but I’ve been now so can confidently say “Soil is Life. Life is Soil.” This is the key message I took away from this profound exhibition on soil and its purpose, meaning and relationship to human life. Also learnt that more than half the planet’s organisms live under the soil. 🤯
Highlights include the smell of decaying orange peel 🍊, part of someone’s collection of 9,000 soil samples, and an ethereal animation of a mushroom’s connection to the mycelium network 🍄. Lots of interesting videos to watch, clever art and practical ideas from around the world reinforcing the fact that we need to value soil way, way more if we want to survive as a species. Only thing missing to give it a 5 seedling rating would be some soil to get your hands dirty. Find out more about SOIL.
☀️Spend more time outside with Happier Outdoors Festival
Research has found people who spend more time outside are healthier, happier, more energetic, and more productive than those who do not. Last year over 70 organisations celebrated London's first ever capital-wide festival of health and nature, Happier Outdoors. And now they’re doing it again so you have no excuse not to get outside. Although the official festival runs from 7-16 April, there are already plenty of ‘Happier Outdoor’ activities listed on their website.
