City serenity in gardens of remembrance

摘要

Eloise Seddon looks at the trend for creating garden memorials, such as one for the victims of September 11 and a site to remember Diana. Death is the final taboo. It is so unspoken a subject that often it can't even be addressed directly. It tends to be spoken of in euphemistic terms like "passing away" and "no longer with us" or dismissed breezily as in "pushing up the daisies" and "joining the heavenly choir". So it is little wonder then that landscape architects have such a hard time when it comes to designing a high-profile public garden memorial. On top of the usual considerations that apply to all major public projects - such as costs, timings, style of design and long-term maintenance - the landscaper of any memorial scheme also needs to beaware of the wishes of the survivors, relatives and friends. And this need for sensitivity can often mitigate against the more daring and cutting-edge schemes that risk ending up in a compromise.