After weeks of this and this:
comes celebration! And what better way to celebrate than wandering around some of London's most beautiful hidden and secret gardens, where peace comes dropping slow. Yes, I celebrated more exuberantly too, but this weekend's wander was the perfect antidote to the deadline stress and academic guilt (you should always be writing) of the last few months, a way to revel in the feeling of being free and soak up the sunshine.
Open Garden Squares Weekend happens annually in June, when many of the city's locked, off-limits garden squares open their gates to the clamoring hordes. Public as well as private gardens participate, and a number of them host fetes, food and music. It was hands-down the best £10 I've spent in London, not only because it allowed me to go places I'd never normally be able to see, but also provided a beautiful new way of discovering the city. Your £10 buys you an entrance ticket and a thorough guidebook with hundreds of gardens, handily sorted with maps, so you can plan your weekend. There are way too many to see all of them, so I narrowed my search by 'secret gardens' (ones normally closed to the public) and vicinity to other places. The best part for me was being able to enjoy the time and spaces, so I wouldn't recommend trying to cram them all in unless you're a really keen gardener. It actually is possible to get garden fatigue. (Ho hum, another gorgeous rose.)
Open Garden Squares Weekend happens annually in June, when many of the city's locked, off-limits garden squares open their gates to the clamoring hordes. Public as well as private gardens participate, and a number of them host fetes, food and music. It was hands-down the best £10 I've spent in London, not only because it allowed me to go places I'd never normally be able to see, but also provided a beautiful new way of discovering the city. Your £10 buys you an entrance ticket and a thorough guidebook with hundreds of gardens, handily sorted with maps, so you can plan your weekend. There are way too many to see all of them, so I narrowed my search by 'secret gardens' (ones normally closed to the public) and vicinity to other places. The best part for me was being able to enjoy the time and spaces, so I wouldn't recommend trying to cram them all in unless you're a really keen gardener. It actually is possible to get garden fatigue. (Ho hum, another gorgeous rose.)
I stuck with about three or so spots each day, having a general plan for each area but also adjusting spontaneously. Because of that Saturday turned into a Hampstead day out as well - I found some wonderful little bookshops on the way to and from different sites, and finally made it into the Keats House museum as well. The house and its openly accessible garden area have wonderful sense of peace and separateness about them; time feels suspended there. Though Keats is long gone, the poetic spirit seems to linger. There was even a poet in the garden at Fenton House; some of the spots had them stationed doing readings or collecting impressions. (Poetry, gardens, books, beauty - what more could I ask for?) The Hill Garden and Pergola, tucked away behind the Heath, was also unbelievably lovely. Though that one is normally open to the public, I likely never would have made it there without the impetus of the weekend.
Sunday I was in Kensington and Belgravia, as I was curious to see some of the famous squares that defined the fashionable addresses for most of the nineteenth century. There are certainly lots of blue plaques on houses here - you can take your pick of the houses of important authors and politicians. (Though today the former would never be able to afford it!) The squares were a bit more confined, formal, and city-like after the oases of Hampstead, but that's to be expected in the more urban centre. The fetes and families were really cute, and it was interesting to see different people's reasons for visiting - there were avid gardeners identifying the plants and mulling over their own, amateur photographers, older couples and retirees out for a stroll, and families trying to wrangle their small children or letting them run free.
Belgravia was an interesting meditation on class and access; the beautiful but cold and identical exteriors spoke to me far less than the rambling beauty of Hampstead. I should note that Hampstead is a pricey place to live too - the clue's probably in the private gardens. As nice as it was to see everything, it also made me grateful for the extensive and non-exclusive public parks in London. As a visitor you can enjoy the spaces for the weekend, but then have to go back to having your face pressed up against the glass - if you choose to leave it there, that is.
It was neat to be a tourist in a way that also felt very local/national - Open Garden Squares isn't on most international tourists' radar (or even most Londoners'). If you're around, I highly recommend it for a novel way to see the city, and to enjoy the bits of nature that are beautifully preserved and cultivated between the cracks in the urban pavement.
Love,
Annie
It was neat to be a tourist in a way that also felt very local/national - Open Garden Squares isn't on most international tourists' radar (or even most Londoners'). If you're around, I highly recommend it for a novel way to see the city, and to enjoy the bits of nature that are beautifully preserved and cultivated between the cracks in the urban pavement.
Love,
Annie