Well, Readers, Grosvenor Square used to be synonymous with the US Embassy, which took up one side of this 18th Century garden. In those days, the gardens themselves were basically London Plane trees and lawn, and the security in front of the Embassy made it quite an uncomfortable place to linger. But recently it was re-opened as a climate-resilient, biodiverse garden, supervised by the London Wildlife Trust, and the brainchild of Professor Nigel Dunnett, who died only a few months before the garden was completed. Previously only one percent of the site was planted, but today that’s up to fifty percent, with 70,000 new plants over 63 species, 80,000 bulbs, 44 new trees and even two ponds. In spite of the drought I thought it was looking splendid, though it’s a bit alarming to see the Michaelmas Daisies in full bloom already – I’d normally expect to see them flowering in September.

The planted areas are supplemented by some very nice play areas and stepping stones made out of the remains of trees that have been removed. Some have also been turned into mini climbing walls for the children, or stumperies for the beetles.

The original statues and memorials are still here: there’s Roosevelt…

….Eisenhower

and behind him the re-purposed US Embassy, now a luxury hotel. It still has an eagle with a 35-foot wingspan on the top, though. The original building was by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, and is Grade Ii listed. If you fancy seeing how the other five percent live, you can have a look here. I had a quick look at a short stay in September in the Grand Premier Grosvenor Suite, and it would have put me back 8,270 pounds, so maybe not.

I was a bit surprised to see a statue of Ronald Reagan – although subsequent presidential incumbents have made me the tiniest bit nostalgic for someone who only planned to shoot down nuclear missiles with lasers, I wasn’t sure that he’d done enough to be celebrated in such a way. But apparently it’s for his role in ending the Cold War, in partnership with Margaret Thatcher. Oh well.

There are now also a couple of ponds, this one in front of the 9/11 Memorial to the people who lost their lives in. the Twin Towers.

And the Plane trees are also magnificent. According to some sites, these are only as old as the Second World War, but if so they’ve done remarkably well in a relatively short space of time.

There are also now toilets and a very nice tea stand, plus lots of comfy places to sit. Whilst sipping a Flat White and taking in the view I saw a woman with a Chow Chow dog. She was chatting away on her phone, oblivious, while I watched the dog walk onto a flowerbed and have a crap. Readers, I saw red, so I walked up to her and told her what the dog had done.

“Did he do Poo Poo”? she asked.

Well, yes he did, so we both stood and looked and eventually spotted the aforesaid, and she moved somewhat reluctantly to clean it up. Readers, I don’t know what has happened, but I seem to be much more direct these days. Maybe it’s my age.

I should also say that I smelled more cigar smoke in my walk from Bond Street Station to Grosvenor Square in ten minutes than I’ve done in the past year.

So I headed off to my next appointment (Foyles Bookshop, because I don’t have enough books, clearly), but on the way I passed Claridges, another nice spot if you’ve got a bob or two to throw around. I can’t find out the price of the most expensive rooms, but a corner suite will set you back 6,375 pounds a night, and the cheapest room is about 1800 quid. Maybe best to visit for afternoon tea instead.

So there is no doubt that this is the posh end of town, but Grosvenor Square is now a fine place to sit and watch the world go by. I suspect that when those 80,000 bulbs pop up in spring it will be magnificent, so I shall probably come back for another look. In the meantime, do visit if you’re passing. It’s a lovely transformation.