Central London

Kensington Roof Garden » London's oldest and best roof garden, still known to many as 'Derry and Toms Roof Garden', recalling the name of the department store which commissioned the garden. The garden covers 1.5 acres and are 100ft above street level. It has ponds, bridges, walks, trees, shrubs and sitting areas, with a pronounced Arts and Crafts character. There is an English Woodland Garden with nearly 100 species of tree, Spanish Garden with fountains and Walled Tudor Garden. The Roof Garden has been owned by Sir Richard Branson since 1981. Read more on Kensington Roof Garden »

Kensington Gardens » Kensington Gardens belonged to Kensington palace. The gardens were laid out for Queen Caroline by Henry Wise and Charles Bridgeman and contain a rond point, formal avenues, a sunken Dutch garden and an orangery. Read more on Kensington Gardens »

Chelsea Physic Garden » A seventeenth century enclosed garden. It was made, in 1673, as a garden in which to grow plants for medicinal purposes and, though it is still a botanical garden, has the appearance of an ornamental garden with regular walks. The garden's position near the Thames was chosen to allow non-native plants to grow in the warmer microclimate created by the river. Read more on Chelsea Physic Garden »

Holland Park » The formal gardens and a large area of woodland came into public ownership after Holland House was bombed during the Second World War. The park is now open to the public. It's spatial qualities were analysed by Dame Sylvia Crowe in her book 'Garden Design' (she lived nearby). A Japanese Garden was opened in 1991. Nearby, one can see the Commonwealth Institute with its grounds designed by Dame Sylvia. Flagpoles, an avenue of lime trees, a fine water feature and good paving provide an impressive setting for an international building. The eighteenth century planting by Charles Hamilton has gone. Read more on Holland Park »

Museum of Garden History » A small re-created seventeenth century knot garden in a former churchyard. It commemorates two famous gardeners whose tomb is also there. John Tradescant and his son were gardners to Charles I and II - and were adventurous plant hunters. The garden adjoins the Museum of Garden History. Read more on Museum of Garden History »

Westminster Abbey - Garden and Cloisters » The original West Minster was founded in 605, enriched by Edward the Confessor and dedicated by him in 1065, one year before the Norman Conquest. The monastry was run by the Benedictine order until the dissolution in 1540. Much of the present church was built by Henry III between 1245 and 1272. Gardeners will be interested to see the Cloister, which is a plain rectangle of grass in the traditional manner, the Little Cloister and the College Garden. The cloisters were the centre of monastic life. Monks were sheltered from the wind and yet could sit in the sun. The Little Cloister is charming, unusually small in scale and ornamented with a fountain and garden planting. Its inner arcade is th..... Read more on Westminster Abbey - Garden and Cloisters »

St James's Park » A Royal Park and one of the most romantic urban landscapes in Europe. The area was originally a swamp, subject to flooding from the Tyburn stream which still flows through the lake. Its 23 hectares were first made into a park with a rigidly formal design in 1660. Charles II had a long canal excavated from the watery land and introduced the geese, pelicans and waterfowl which are still there today. The park was completely re-designed by John Nash (1828) in the English landscape style which he had learned through his association with the Reptons. The subtlety of the contouring is notable and the view from the new bridge (1956) across the lake to the Horse Guards and Whitehall is justly famous. ..... Read more on St James's Park »