Discover more in London
From thriving wetlands to sprawling estates, intimate spaces and modernist masterpieces, London has it all, if you know where to look.
Gardens and parks in London
Summer in and around London
As the heat turns up in London, National Trust gardens across the capital burst into bloom with colourful displays and heady scents. From the aromatic haze of purple lavender in the Cherry Garden at Ham House to the sizzling late summer perennial border at Osterley Park featuring salvias, crocosmia and gladiolus and the intimate walled garden at Fenton House in Hampstead.
Discover 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.
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.
Things to do at Morden Hall Park
As the summer arrives Morden Hall Park bursts in to life. Surrounded by meadows, trees and the gentle sounds of birdsong and running water, the park offers a rare sense of discovery and a chance to get away from it all. 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.
Things to see and do 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.
Explore the garden at Fenton House
From late May to 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.
Things to see and do at Runnymede and Ankerwycke
During summer 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
Lend a hand in the places you love
Join our team of brilliant volunteers at National Trust places across London. You'll have a chance to learn more about gardening, to meet other people who are just as interested in pruning, mulching and garden design as you are, whilst making a difference to these special pockets of green.
Volunteering in London
Find out how you could help to look after special places across London as a volunteer. You could join the teams at Ham House, Osterley Park and more.
