The South London Botanical Institute is in Tulse Hill, a slightly unexpected part of town to find a botanic garden.
 I'm giving a talk there next Tuesday 17th. October at 7pm about my hiking trips to Crater Lake in Oregon and Mount Shasta in California. All welcome.
 The SLBI is something of a gem, run by a dedicated bunch of people who do it because it matters. Every now and then I lend a hand in the garden, for example putting up the wigwam in the photo! When I first came across this place it gave me hope that my own interests in "wild gardening" weren't entirely an act of folly.
 The Institute was founded by Allan Octavian Hume in 1910. He was one of those Victorians whose life reads like a character from a novel.
 He was an ornithologist and botanist who amassed huge collections. He was a member of the Imperial Civil Service in India at the time of the Raj yet went on to be one of the founders of the Indian National Congress, precursor of the independence movement. Among other things he oversaw the development of the Great Hedge of India, an impenetrable thorny barrier over a thousand kilometres long.
 Along with his social concerns he was for a time associated with Theosophy. He created the South London Botanical Institute towards the end of his life and took a particular interest in wild plants and invasive species. The author of an article of the period referred to it (disparagingly?) as "a garden full of weeds".
 The SLBI's current president is Roy Vickery (see also my entry on May 15th). He once mentioned to me that he was disappointed the local newspaper had described the Institute as being "slightly eccentric" because he considered it to be very eccentric. He's probably right.

 The South London Botanical Institute is located at 323 Norwood Road, London SE24 9AQ. www.slbi.org.uk  The talk is £3, free for members.