Tag: flowers

Time for another square month hosted by the lovely Becky. The photos don’t necessarily have to be of a timepiece, but are open to interpretation to reflect time in some way, or sayings such as ‘the passing of time’, ‘a stitch in time’, or time running away from you.

Day 20: A Floral Clock

I love floral clocks! The first one I recall was in Great Yarmouth, I think, when I was around 8½ years old. So this would be early  in the 1960s. Sadly due to continuous vandalism the clock was removed in 2005.

The Floral Clock which stood on the seafront, was actually a working clock, telling the time for all to see, which had flowers showing the numbers on its face.  Even the hands were covered in flowers.

I also got a photo of one in Ostend in 1971 and there is one in the English Garden (Le Jardin Anglaise) in Geneva.

But the one seen here is in the Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh taken in 2016. Commissioned in 1903, it was the first of its kind in the world. Clock hands, numbers and the surrounding display comprise of growing, photosynthesising life. In 1973, an electric motor was installed to keep the clock hands moving. Before then the clock’s mechanism had to be wound daily. Each year a new display is planted in West Princes Street Gardens along the lines of a topical theme. Plants vary each year but some of the more commonly used varieties include Lobelia, Pyrethrum, Golden Moss and succulents such as Echeveria and Sedum.

I am very glad to see that floral clocks live on. Where have you seen one?

To join in with the Squares challenge please visit Becky for instructions. Remember the only proper rule is that the photo must be SQUARE.

December Squares | Day Twenty