StoneRoad2013's photos with the keyword: sunken gardens

The bench has recently been re-coated with something dark coloured like a matt stain/varnish ... The floral displays and other features of the various sections of the sunken garden are well worth visiting, especially in view of the damage as reported in the two links below. E2A - there has been an extensive and quite expensive clean up in the aftermath of Storm Barra [early Dec 2021] when the protective walls were damaged and the sunken gardens flooded by seawater. www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-59580812 www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-62395689

Looking down the full length of one of the "formal" sections of the sunken gardens on Douglas Promenade. With the tide coming in, the weather turning cloudy and the clock at almost 16:15 I suspect most of the mid-week visitors to the Promenade have headed off for their tea ! Note the brightly painted bench halfway along - that's one of the "Sit & Chat" facilities. Access routes are available for what a friend of mine refers to as 'wheeled people' with ramps at both ends and the paths are maintained with a hard, level surface. The toilet block at the far end is also accessible.

One of the "formal" sections of the sunken gardens on Douglas Promenade. Some very colourful bedding plant displays, the way the beds are cut into the grassed areas effectively means the soil level is raised - which helps with drainage on heavier soils. Formal planting like this does need regular attention to keep it looking at it's best, and not just cutting the grass regularly.

These narrow "petalled" dahlia blooms caught my attention.

This is one section of the Sunken Gardens that has been laid out less formally than others, for both the hard [curved paths and beds] and soft landscaping [informal planting scheme].

A mosaic artwork butterfly in the sunken gardens on Douglas Promenade. I think this is an artistic interpretation rather than truly representative. I don't know how old these mosaic works are, but time and the weather are breaking pieces off them. Several other examples were badly damaged.

Memorial to David "Dawsey" Kewley, in recognition of his life-saving activities, now displayed in the "Memorial Gardens" on Douglas Promenade. [dated 1904, the year of his death] The text reads 23 lives saved, but "Dawsey" probably payed a role in several more - at least 38 by some accounts. Most seem too have involved him jumping into Douglas Harbour, during work for the Isle of man Steam Packet Company. more details here ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kewley

This section of the sunken gardens on Douglas Promenade id dedicated to various memorials, the big slab to the left is the "Lifeboat Memorial" to Sir William Hillary and his volunteers. [I have a more detailed view of it - see here www.ipernity.com/doc/312383/50792332/in/album/1287942 including the text of the dedication] There are several others, the two "poppy" benches by the lifeboat slab and the outline figures in the circular bed are on the subject of "Lest we Forget ..."

The ones with the long, curved and narrow petals are various colours of "Honka" ... not sure of the others, but further investigations may let me ID them. . The red expanse behind is a display of bedding salvias.

Yellow dahlia varieties aren't all easy to identify. Although the bees were not having any difficulty ! I thought this was "Bishop of York" initially, but I have my doubts after closer examination - the "petal" shape and colour are not quite right, and there are too many of them. Another possibility is "Yellow Bird" and there'll be others ...

Actually a bit more comfortable than it looks, and very good for a family or two with a picnic or wheeled people of any age [there's ramped access into the sunken gardens]. There's a matching bench opposite and other pair behind me - both of which are currently occupied by a happy group of families - three generations, at least - on an outing. A surprising lack of litter, as it was quite busy ... The gardeners were doing a trim of the edges and some weeding, but hadn't got as far as this area, although the grass was cut earlier.

No.6 Sunken Gardens on Harris Promenade, Douglas. [scanned] not my image : fair use & public information