I find city breaks to be inspirational and this was once again true on a recent trip to Sheffield for a friend’s wedding. As the bus approached the city centre I was struck by the harsh sky-scape, I could see some interesting architecture but noted the absence of mature trees. However when I got off the bus and walked around the corner into Tudor Square I found myself in the middle of some very beautiful of public landscaping.
Giant pebble shaped raised beds carved from Yorkshire stone and huge cast bronze pebble sculptures. The stone beds are reminiscent of giant bonsai containers, they are planted with specimen conifers, multi-stem birch, turf to picnic on or mixed plantings of Stipa tenuissima, and herbaceous perennials; a permanent sculptural installation, a fine example of art, design and horticulture. The pebbles nestled around the edge of the square, grounding the surrounding buildings, tactile and organic.
Sheffield city centre is a fascinating place if you enjoy architecture and civic landscaping, check out the ‘Cheesegrater’, the ‘Soundhouse’, West Street for some interesting examples.
On the way home I stopped off at Chatsworth house to see Laura Ellen Bacon’s ‘Forms of Growth’ breathtaking examples of organic sculpture .
