We stayed in town this week, walking around a sculpture trail called “The World Reimagined”, a UK-wide art education project using the story of the transatlantic slave trade to promote racial justice. The installation is of large globes, painted by various artists, and Liverpool is one of seven host cities across the UK. There are five globes in Liverpool city centre and another five in the other metropolitan boroughs, which we may try to visit later in the month. We also looked at trees along the way, of course. We walked through St John’s gardens, admiring the Tree of Heaven with it’s red seed clusters on the female trees, and the Indian Bean tree with its long hanging black pods.
The first Globe is outside the Central Library.
On the way back along St John’s Lane we spotted a row of five new street trees next to St George’s Hall. They appear to be Fastigiate Hornbeams. On Lime Street under the big screen they have planted some new beds. Mostly grasses, a few autumn crocus flowers popping up from the bark mulch and some dwarf pines still bearing the nursery labels Pinus mugo ‘Pumilo’. That’s the Dwarf Mountain Pine, and they will form dense spreading cushion-shaped mounds. As we waited for the bus in Elliot Street we looked at the pigeon scarer on the roof of the Boots building. It’s a tethered kite (not the bird) which looks like a soaring bird of prey.
It was only a few stops on the bus up to Catherine Street. On the Rialto corner was our second globe, mostly painted orange, with what look like wounds.
It was all a downhill walk then. Outside the Anglican Cathedral was a globe painted with red and yellow flowers.
Opposite the Chinese Arch are the dozen or so Dawn Redwoods, which are Chinese trees, so very appropriate to their location. (But they were all in shadow, so here’s the arch instead!)
We cut through some of the pedestrian squares off Duke Street and found these old potted Olive Trees outside an Italian restaurant.
On Henry Street there is a Foxglove tree (another Chinese tree) outside the Pagoda Chinese Community centre. It has already formed its new buds for next year’s spectacular flowers.
We lunched in the Bluecoat garden then headed into Liverpool One shopping centre, where we found our next globe outside Waterstones bookshop. This was the prettiest yet, showing Swallows flying in a storm.
Finally we crossed to the Albert Dock for our last of the five.
Public transport details: Bus 86 at 10.30 from Elliot Street, arriving Catherine Street/Edgerton Street at 10.40.