More Gold at London's Olympic Park

Well done Oympians! So much hard work and effort, so many medals.
But could I award one more gold - for the gardeners at the Olympic Park, who’ve battled against the elements to turn Sarah Price’s garden design into a stunning reality, enjoyed by tens of thousands? I first saw the park in mid-June, when Stratford was still a building site. (See http://greenjottings.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/going-for-gold-at-londons-olympic-park.html )  The plants were mostly foliage, any tall shoots buffeted by a stiff breeze.

But eight weeks on, as the crowd streamed in to cheer Usain Bolt,  the difference was unbelieveable. The gardening team had achieved their goal of getting everything to flower in time and the banks of the River Lea were ablaze with colour. The design reflects the arrival in Britain of plants from all over the world. Above, the Orbit towers over the area with plants from North America.

Kniphopfia bring a golden glow to the Southern Hemisphere garden.

The planting is designed to encourage wildlife. Here, bees enjoy some of the purple angelica in the Asia garden.

The pond in the Royal Horticultural Society Great British Garden. There's even a plum tree, the fruit almost ready for picking.

And just around a bend in the river, a reminder of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee river pageant - the Gloriana. This now has a new role - to promote better use of the Thames and the UK's inland waterways, with the emphasis on charity events involving young people.

The Olympic Park is the largest new urban park since Victorian times. Once the sporting excitement has died down and the temporary venues are removed, the current 50 hectares of planting will be doubled. Renamed the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, it will open again in stages from the first anniversary of the start of the Games - 27 July 2013.

Sneak peek at Gloriana, the Diamond Jubilee royal barge

Here’s the Gloriana, the £1m boat that will lead the Diamond Jubilee Pageant along the Thames on Sunday, June 3. I spotted her moored by Richmond Bridge, where workmen were adding the final touches to the woodwork and gilding. On Wednesday, April 25 she will be taken downriver to Greenwich for a formal naming ceremony by the Queen.

The Gloriana was inspired by the barges seen on the Thames in the 18thc, and painted by Canaletto (left). She’ll be powered by 18 rowers, all in colourful costumes. But the Queen won’t be on the Gloriana. Because of security concerns, she’ll be following on a motor cruiser, the Spirit of Chartwell, which is being dressed in gold, purple and crimson for the occasion, with a gilded carving near the prow, and two thrones on a raised dais. There will also be flowers from the Queen's gardens and across the Commonwealth.
A thousand boats, ranging from kayaks, historic vessels and pleasureboats to steam boats, tugs, and the surviving Dunkirk ‘little ships’ will take part in the pagent. The flotilla will stretch back over seven miles, starting at Wandsworth and ending past Tower Bridge, and taking 90 minutes to pass any given point. A sight to remember.