RHS London - I wonder what lies within?
When I am Queen, I will sit in my stately chamber and demand books be brought to me by the dozen, served on golden platters. I had this fantasy in my mind when I visited the RHS Lindley Library recently.
I'd been wanting to visit for a while as there's several strands of research which couldn't be satisfied by my usual sources of information. I had to go to London last week, so here was the excuse I needed to spend a few hours in every garden book lover's idea of heaven. It's so heavenly I'd like to live there.
The ground floor has the reception plus a general library stuffed with books and every garden publication imaginable. However my pre-visit enquiries showed I would need to visit the research archives in the basement instead, where an appointment had been made for me. Beforehand, the good folk of the library would see what they could find in the archives to meet my needs.
When I got there I had to lock away my coat and bag, then pick up my day pass to allow me into the inner sanctum below. I was shown to my table with a large pile of books waiting for my perusal. How civilised is that? The only downside was how LOUD my scratchy pencil was as I made my notes. The room was so quiet, I was certain I was disturbing my fellow researchers. Next time I'll ensure I have a softer one to go with my notebook.
Though of course when I'm Queen I'll probably have someone to take notes for me. That doesn't quite seem so much fun as my visit was last week.
Update 25th March: Just found out Veg Plotting's a featured blog this month on the RHS Grow Your Own website, so here's a big welcome to anyone who's arrived from over there :)
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