In Bloom

Today, the Mayor of London launched a strategy to 'green' London, planting more trees and encouraging the development of roof gardens and living walls.

Whatever the substance of the report, the strategy is clearly the right one - not simply to cope with climate change, but also to improve quality of life in the city.

A walk down through Deptford to Greenwich last weekend provided a couple of examples of how dramatic the effect of some vigorous planting can be.

While this tower block has been transformed by a few pot plants, Oscar Street - just behind Tesco Metro on Lewisham Way - has clearly benefited from some collective action, as you can see on Streetview.

Every tree nests in a bouquet of flowers, every house has a hanging basket. The wheelie bins can't be hidden, so instead they're decorated. It's a triumph of collective action and it sure beats dog-poo stencils and double-parked cars: