2. April 2026

Discover the Garden Museum

Take a stroll along the Thames from Westminster Bridge to Lambeth Bridge to visit the Garden Museum. You'll find the museum in the church of St Mary at Lambeth, alongside the redbrick Tudor gatehouse of Lambeth Palace, the London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

A haven from the packed streets of Westminster but with stunning views across the Thames to the Houses of Parliament, the Garden Museum is a treasure trove of garden history.

Highlights include The Ark - a collection of objects brought back from their travels to Russia, the Levant and Virginia by John and John Tradescant, the father and son who were both gardeners to King Charles I in the 1600s. Their collection became at cabinet of curiosities and one of the first public museums in England. Their tombs can be found in the museum's churchyard, with the current planting design by Dan Pearson, featuring palms and broad leaved plants more at home in a jungle than an English churchyard.

The main collection is on the first floor that runs around three sides of the soaring nave. Here you'll find a collection of garden tools dating back to Tudor times, films narrated by many well-known garden designers, and plans from leading landscape artists. Other areas of the collection focus on the development of gardening as both a profession and a passion, with displays on how the profession developed, the Dig for Victory campaign of World War II, the development of nurseries and seed companies, and a displays on homes and gardens guarenteed to evoke a wave of notalgia.

The Garden Museum also curates an eclectic programme of art exhibitions throughout the year focusing on the work of specific artists, along with lectures and events about topics from the development of public parks and green spaces, to gardens in art.

Finally, if you can snaffle a table at the Garden Cafe, with its daily menu of seasonal dishes, you'll be in for a treat. Booking essential! The shop is also a great for a selection of interesting gifts and books for garden lovers.

Practicalities
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday, 9am to 5pm (Occasionally closed for events. Check the website in advance).
Nearest tube stations: Waterloo, Westminster, Lambeth North