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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Downing Street garden reveals its secrets | Downing Street garden reveals its secrets |
| (7 months later) | |
| The garden at No 10 is one of the perks of being prime minister: a homely, L-shaped lawn and flowery borders totalling about half an acre. It's all tucked away behind a high brick wall at a respectable SW1 address in central London, next to Horse Guards Parade. Very nice, and most of us would happily exchange it for our own small plot or window box, though there is a drawback apart from the occasional bomb. | The garden at No 10 is one of the perks of being prime minister: a homely, L-shaped lawn and flowery borders totalling about half an acre. It's all tucked away behind a high brick wall at a respectable SW1 address in central London, next to Horse Guards Parade. Very nice, and most of us would happily exchange it for our own small plot or window box, though there is a drawback apart from the occasional bomb. |
| It is overlooked by the chancellor of the exchequer's flat, which must have inhibited the Blair family's enjoyment when there was Brownite glowering to be done. When her turn came to enjoy the perk, Sarah Brown installed a veggie patch. Most PMs leave it to the gardener and stick to roses, bushy borders and bedding plants, enjoying them from the safety of the terrace that leads out of the cabinet room, one floor up. | It is overlooked by the chancellor of the exchequer's flat, which must have inhibited the Blair family's enjoyment when there was Brownite glowering to be done. When her turn came to enjoy the perk, Sarah Brown installed a veggie patch. Most PMs leave it to the gardener and stick to roses, bushy borders and bedding plants, enjoying them from the safety of the terrace that leads out of the cabinet room, one floor up. |
| There's a flowering cherry, a magnolia and an evergreen oak, dwarf box edging, rose garlands, modish curved borders. It's not exactly quiet, but it is definitely exclusive, if you don't count the legendary "garden girls", secretaries who process top-secret stuff at garden level (hence the name). | There's a flowering cherry, a magnolia and an evergreen oak, dwarf box edging, rose garlands, modish curved borders. It's not exactly quiet, but it is definitely exclusive, if you don't count the legendary "garden girls", secretaries who process top-secret stuff at garden level (hence the name). |
| Traditionally the most voters got to see of the garden was the outdoor cabinet photo: two rows of blokes looking high-minded with that brick wall in the background. That has changed, even before organisers of the Open Squares weekend started offering tours – the ballot for tickets launched this week. In 1985, Margaret Thatcher was photographed picking tulips (not snapping their heads off). In 1995, John Major announced his famous "put up or shut up" challenge to rivals for the Tory leadership from there, and it was where Dave and Nick plighted their coalition troth in 2010. | Traditionally the most voters got to see of the garden was the outdoor cabinet photo: two rows of blokes looking high-minded with that brick wall in the background. That has changed, even before organisers of the Open Squares weekend started offering tours – the ballot for tickets launched this week. In 1985, Margaret Thatcher was photographed picking tulips (not snapping their heads off). In 1995, John Major announced his famous "put up or shut up" challenge to rivals for the Tory leadership from there, and it was where Dave and Nick plighted their coalition troth in 2010. |
| But it was Tony Blair who got seriously stuck into prettifying the "rose garden" concept, aping the White House. Always keen on his sun tan, he enjoyed entertaining VIP guests on the terrace and once staged a rose-garden press conference on the lawn with Bill Clinton. The Camerons installed a play area for the kids and staged their Obama barbeque in their back garden. Pretty cool, huh? | But it was Tony Blair who got seriously stuck into prettifying the "rose garden" concept, aping the White House. Always keen on his sun tan, he enjoyed entertaining VIP guests on the terrace and once staged a rose-garden press conference on the lawn with Bill Clinton. The Camerons installed a play area for the kids and staged their Obama barbeque in their back garden. Pretty cool, huh? |
| Harold Macmillan was the last aristo-PM to have a private country seat whose charms made the No 10 lawn look pathetic. And all of them have weekend access to Chequers, the Tudor house bequeathed for their use in 1921, but it's a bit of a commute. | Harold Macmillan was the last aristo-PM to have a private country seat whose charms made the No 10 lawn look pathetic. And all of them have weekend access to Chequers, the Tudor house bequeathed for their use in 1921, but it's a bit of a commute. |
| There is also the bomb problem. During the second world war, plenty landed nearby, forcing Churchill to move to safer quarters. But the closest call came in 1991, when the IRA lobbed a mortar into the garden from Whitehall, narrowly missing a cabinet meeting. As the estate agents say, you can't have everything. | There is also the bomb problem. During the second world war, plenty landed nearby, forcing Churchill to move to safer quarters. But the closest call came in 1991, when the IRA lobbed a mortar into the garden from Whitehall, narrowly missing a cabinet meeting. As the estate agents say, you can't have everything. |
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