Every year, London Parks & Gardens Trust hosts a special event called the Open Garden Squares Weekend. During this weekend, you can buy a ticket and explore private gardens throughout the city. These gardens range from beautiful squares to office buildings and a few historic landmarks. As someone who loves parks and gardens, I could not resist the opportunity to peek into some of London’s hidden gardens. Here are the highlights from my day, plus tips on how to make the most of your Open Garden Squares Weekend!
Triangle Garden, Maida Vale
Address: 28 Randolph Crescent, London W9 1BQ
I started my day in Maida Vale, where I explored two local gardens. The first is called the Triangle Garden. It’s a lovely neighborhood garden surrounded by white stucco houses that date back to the 1860s. There are also London plane trees that are more than 100 years old! This garden was a great first start – it’s exactly the type of quiet yet beautiful garden that you would love to have in your backyard. I could just see the picnics and quiet time reading outside!
The beautiful historic homes along the Triangle Garden
The triangle garden has a lovely gravel pathway to stroll
Crescent Garden, Maida Value
Address: 1 Warrington Crescent, London W9 1ED
My next stop was Crescent Garden, which is just down the street from the Triangle Garden in Maida Vale. The Crescent Garden is a three-acre communal garden and it was named London’s best large private garden square. Once inside, the three acres does feel really large and spacious. There is a gravel path that goes around the perimeter, which is great for walking, jogging or kids riding their bikes. The interior of the garden is a mix of landscaping and benches, a kid’s playground, plus open green stretches.
The Crescent Garden in Maida Vale
As I was reading up on this garden, I wanted to share a bit of history that I found interesting. Apparently, in WW1, an enemy aircraft mistook the canals of Little Venice for the Thames river and bombed some of the housing that surrounds this garden, destroying them, which is incredibly sad to hear.
Also surprising? The nearby Church also tried to turn the garden space into a parking lot in the 1970s, but the local residents successfully prevented it. After spending time to explore this beautiful garden, I am so happy they did. Especially for the now residents of the garden – it’s such a wonderful space and they are lucky to have such a spacious, large backyard green space!
Pembridge Square
Address: 11 Pembridge Square, London W2 4ED
Next, I walked to Bayswater to visit Pembridge Square, an award-winning garden built between 1856 and 1864 on land that was once part of the Hall Estate. The garden has been awarded best garden in North Kensington and the best large garden square and after my visit, I can see why!
What I loved about this garden is that there were so many unique areas and elements for the garden. The square is divided between a small winter garden with lots of hidden nooks and a larger summer garden. The summer garden space has a big open green space for picnics and playtime, making it a great area for the residents.
Enjoying Pembridge Square Garden
However, what I didn’t expect to see in Pembridge Square was a hedge maze! How cool is that!? Forever a kid at heart, I had to go roam around in it!
I was also beyond delighted to discover that Pembridge Square had a circular rose garden. Be still my heart!
The rose garden at Pembridge Square
The beautiful rose garden of Pembridge Square
Rosmead Garden
Address: Put in this postcode W11 2JG
After a gorgeous garden stroll in Bayswater, I made my way over to the Notting Hill / Holland Park area to visit Rosmead Garden, the garden made famous in the 1999 Notting Hill film starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. Do you remember the scene where Hugh and Julia’s characters climbed a fence to sneak into a private communal garden at night? This was the garden!
Interestingly, this garden also has a rich history and dates back to the 1860s. I spent my time in the garden taking a nice walk around the gravel path. I particularly enjoyed looking up at the beautiful surrounding homes – serious London flat goals!
Cannon Bridge Roof Gardens
The River Building, Cousin Lane
Nearest postcode: EC4R 3TE
After four garden visits in west London, I was running low on time. While I had others on my list, I had a hunch that Cannon Bridge Roof Gardens was going to be too spectacular to miss. As it turns out, I was right!
Cannon Bridge Gardens
The Cannon Bridge Gardens are located on the rooftop of an office building and are open for all of the companies in the building and their employees. To stay that it is spectacular is an understatement. The views showcase so many of London’s most famous buildings and landmarks!
While the views are fantastic, the gardens themselves transform the rooftop into a peaceful oasis. Designed by Paul Burnage from Grasshopper Displays (garden contractor), the grass is apparently golf green grade. I actually felt a bit guilty walking on it, it is so nice! The mix of plants is also delightful – some really exotic and colorful choices which make for a lovely contrast to the sky and surrounding city buildings.
This is a bold statement, but it’s my opinion that Cannon Bridge Gardens is one of the best – if not the best – garden to see during Open Garden Squares Weekend!
Final Thoughts
I loved my day exploring gardens across London during the Open Garden Squares Weekend! I cannot believe it took me 4.5 years in London to take part in this fantastic event. The photos above are just a small bit of what I experienced this weekend. To truly see the gardens like I did during the day, watch my video on YouTube below!
For more information on Open Garden Squares weekend, visit: http://www.opensquares.org/2019/home/index.php