Give peace a chance

Published: 20 May, 2010

• HOW pleasant is the view from the west- bound platform at Hampstead Heath station now that the trees are in full leaf. 
It is a real harbinger of the joy of walking home over the Heath, a simple pleasure after a hot day at work. 
But I am distressed by the large board advertising a Peace Garden. The board itself is intrusive and the idea of a walkway draped with panels exhorting peace in the world even more so. 

However, I sincerely want peace and I am delighted volunteers have cleared this land so it is growing grass again.
So should I purchase a ceramic tile? Should I  have inscribed “Troops out of Afghanistan” or “Free Gaza” on my panels? 
These are ideas that I hold dear but I do not think they would contribute to feelings of peace.

May I make a plea  that the garden is a garden. No walkway or panels just new earth, a generous sprinkling of snowdrop, daffodil and bluebell bulbs, a discreet plaque acknowledging our desire for peace, rather like the column at Kenwood commemorating the horrors of Hiroshima? 
SARA WOOD
South Hill Park Gardens, NW3