The al fresco version of Open House takes place early in June.
Over 100 green spaces that are typically off-limits to the hoi polloi swing open their gates for London Open Gardens. Now in its 26th year, the event takes place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June 2025.
Swish squares that usually lie under lock and key; community allotments bristling with veg; rooftops with spectacular views you didn't know existed — this is a chance to to go poking about the perennials of places where you'd usually be chased away with a pitchfork.
How does it all work? A £24 (+booking) ticket (£11 for under 18s, under 12s go free) gives you access to the entire roster of gardens over the weekend (minus a special few, which require a ballot/booking). It's like a horticultural Glastonbury, where you'll find yourself hopping from one colourful act to the next, cramming in as many gardens as is humanly possible.
Tea, cakes and various other refreshments are available at many of the gardens — along with the chance for a nice sit down. Some gardens also offer live music and the chance to buy produce.
You can create a shortlist of gardens to visit using the Garden Selector, which allows you to filter by day, area of London, and type of garden.
We've plucked out a handful of 2025 gardens for starters:
The rooftop view: One of London’s largest residential rooftop gardens, the relatively new Battersea Roof Gardens boast sculptural floral borders, and what must be one the best views of those four iconic chimneys. This one's balloted, and you'll need to have bought a ticket to enter. (Sat and Sun)
The swish square: This event was previously called Open Garden Squares, and a number of London's gated quads — including Portman Square in Marylebone, Fassett Square (inspiration for EastEnders' Albert Square) and Kensington Square are on the line-up. One of the few squares open both days this year is the characterful Earls Court Square. Residents who've had a key include Royal Ballet founder Dame Ninette de Valois, and actor Sir John Gielgud. You can bring a picnic. (Sat and Sun)
The garden that'll inspire you to grow more fruit & veg: A number of allotments feature — and one is Quill Street Allotments in N4. Rhubarb, figs, chard, chives, beans, cabbage, rocket, gooseberries and herbs are among the crops sprouting here. Get growing tips from the gardeners, and buy organic produce to take home. (Sat only)
The garden loaded with history: The Charterhouse's Courtyard Gardens are an unexpected delight perched on the edge of the City of London: think walled Tudor gardens speckled with veteran mulberry trees, and rewilded spaces of native hedges and wildflower meadows. You can also visit the on-site museum, to learn about the building's past, which began as a 14th century monastery. With a backdrop of the brutalist Barbican towers, it's quite the juxtaposition. (Sun only)
The garden with live music: A number of gardens welcome musicians over the weekend — Iliffe Yard at Elephant and Castle has local musicians playing both days; for an area that's now been dramatically transformed multiple times over, it'll be quite novel to hang out in a cobbled courtyard brimming with vines and planters, and while listening to some tunes al fresco. (Sat and Sun)
The riverside garden: Any time you walk from Chiswick to Hammersmith along Chiswick Mall, you may be tempted to vault the garden walls of Emery Walker's House, but on 8 June, you can enter the premises with more dignity (and legality). Walker — printer and close friend of William Morris — lived here for three decades in the early 1900s and left behind a garden garlanded with history, including a grapevine descended from the one at Hogarth's house, and terracotta tiles from the late 1800s. It also has smashing views of the river. (Sun only)
London Open Gardens, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June 2025.
