‘Gardens in this estate all neglected.’ The gardens in question were those of the Welly Estate in Wigan, but George Orwell could well have been writing about various pockets of Chelsea. This year, I’ve noticed a significant increase in the number of dead window-boxes and potted plants. Is this a post Brexit effect of foreign money moving abroad and leaving their plants behind? Or is it an initial enthusiasm for a piece of rural England in a window-box that gets forgotten over the winter months? A popular solution seems to be artificial plants … I’m not sure which is worse.
The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell
