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Gardens and parks in London
Summer garden highlights across London
From a myriad of roses at Morden Hall Park to over 1200 colourful lavender plants in full bloom at Ham House, National Trust gardens across London are filled with colour throughout the summer.
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The garden at Ham House
The Cherry Garden bursts into flower during June and July, with over 1,200 lavender plants flowering, bringing vibrant colour and delicate fragrance to the garden. The Kitchen Garden is in full flow at this time of year too. Carrots, beetroot, broad beans and spinach nestle amongst rarer varieties including including salsify, skirret and scorzonera, keeping the garden true to its 17th century origins. The produce is used in the Orangery Café, sold in veg bags or donated to the Richmond Food Bank.
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The garden at Osterley Park
Mrs Child’s Flower Garden is in full bloom during summer, with a colourful display of flowerbeds radiating out from the Garden House. Flowerbeds are filled with campanulas, sisyrinchiums, lupins, geraniums and peonies, contrasted by taller plants and shrubs, making it a real summer highlight. And you can spot lemons growing in the Garden House, too, echoing Mrs Child’s original planting scheme.
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Explore the garden at Fenton House
From June the Rose Garden at Fenton House can easily be identified with stems bowing under the weight of scented blooms. Cottage garden in style and feel, the roses are under planted with traditional cottage favourites like phlox, foxgloves, poppies and London Pride which combine for a dazzling display.
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The garden at Rainham Hall
Drop by this free Community Garden during summer and treat yourself to a peaceful walk along meandering borders, filled with colourful mixed perennials including alliums, vinca and euphorbia. The herb garden spiral will be flourishing, and the kitchen garden will be coming to life, filled with tomatoes, peas, globe artichoke, kale, chard, salad, carrots, beetroot and potatoes.
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Summer at Morden Hall Park
Spot 40 different varieties of rose in the garden, with soft pastel shade of pink and yellow and bright white blossom to spot between May and late summer. Each has its own unique name, with varieties including Rosa Macmillan Nurse and Rosa The Fairy. Elsewhere in the park, stroll along shady woodland paths dotted with foxgloves and honesty and picnic among wildflowers on the banks of the River Wandle.
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Meadows at Runnymede
Grasses and wildflowers grow long giving the meadows a hazy colour, perfect for keen photographers. There are plenty of shady patches to enjoy under the trees of Coopers Hill Woods and the cafe will be on hand with cooling treats.
Late summer gardens in London
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The Ornamental Vegetable Garden at Osterley Park & House
The Ornamental Vegetable Garden at Osterley reaches its peak during late summer after a year of careful care by the garden and volunteer team. It’s made up of four beds, one which is dedicated to traditional planting, one which is made up as a pumpkin patch and the last two of which are for a creative mix of brassicas, dahlias, antirrhinums, zinnias and amaranths, interspersed with vibrant kale. There’s a late summer perennial border against the western wall too featuring salvias, penstemons, crocosmia, gladiolus and kniphofias creating a colourful riot of colour.
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The garden at Ham House
Colourful sunflowers in a sunny colour palette of yellows and oranges light up flowerbeds, with dahlias adding a decorative splash of rainbow colour too. Over in the Kitchen Garden tomatoes, courgettes and peppers are ready to harvest, with pumpkins and gourds growing larger day by day. Produce harvested from the garden is used in the Orangery Cafè and donated to Richmond Foodbank.