London Horcrux #3: Italian Gardens

The Italian Gardens are in between Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. As soon as I saw them I was struck by their beauty. 

View of the Gardens.

The flowers are beautiful, the fountains are gorgeous, and the whole setting is lovely. I particularly loved the fountains. In the middle of each hexagonal section of water was a continuous fountain, which flowed into the fairly large standing water around it. Within the water were various plants and algae, making it home to a variety of creatures. I saw a mother duck and her babies swimming by, happily munching on some tasty morsel they found. A beautiful white swan cleansed itself in another fountain. While human construction obviously went into the buildings and arrangement, no amount of interference can cause the natural wonder as elements of nature take over a place and make it their home.

Nature rejoicing in the fountains.

View of one of the foutains.

I also loved the location. The Serpentine river leads up to the Gardens, and the first of the fountains feed directly back into that water. I love rivers and other such bodies of water. They give me this incredible sense of calm and joy that I cannot find anywhere else. The Gardens also bridge between Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, literally a bridge between two wonderful parks which are respites of nature within the booming city.

The aforementioned fountain before the river.

 Folkloric elements come into play as the whole Gardens were apparently created by Prince Albert in 1860 to profess his love to Queen Victoria. He himself was inspired by the Italian Renaissance. Similarly, we’ve discussed that many fantasy plots take place in vaguely medieval realms, and it seems that similar inspiration was drawn for creating this symbol of fantastical love.

Placard describing the Gardens.