London Squares & Gardens TV

The London Open Gardens and Squares event, held just once a year, offers a unique insight into private gardens throughout the city. Many gardens have been nurtured over hundreds of years, at the centre of a square of stately townhouses.

Some gardens are grown for specialist interest, such as my favourite, the British Medical Association Garden. Most of the elaborate gardens were for local residents, run by committees of gardeners and with access restricted to key holders.

It was lovely to go inside and enjoy these London gardens rather than looking at them from the top of a double-decker! The character and atmosphere in each garden was different - unfortunately we didn't have time to visit many gardens, so we concentrated on the historical or exclusive ones.

Some of the gardens in the event are open throughout the year; London Squares Trust has a full list.

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London Garden Sculpture...
mediaplayer | quicktimeTue 30th Nov 2004 (12 sec / 803 kb)

Belgravia Square is one of the most exclusive key-holder gardens in London, surrounded by embassies and diplomatic residences. The outer gardens in this video include sculptures such as this Da Vinci.

British Medical Association Garden...
mediaplayer | quicktimeTue 30th Nov 2004 (23 sec / 1547 kb)

The gardens are inside a courtyard at BMA House, home of the association since 1925. Plants in the garden are chosen for their medicinal properties.