The Garden Museum, London

Located in a deconsecrated church next to Lambeth Palace, this is the only museum of the art, history and design of gardens.

Garden Museum - Wikipedia

It contains the grave of William Bligh, of the Bounty mutiny:




Some gardening tools:-




Hedge shears.



A garden museum is not complete without a selection of gnomes:

 

Now who was the model for that next to last gnome I wonder.

 

It is small and gloomy but rather expensive, so it is missable.

 

It is small as others have said and not cheap to get into, being run by an independent trust. Its cafe is elegant but not really a museum cafe, £££s and they prioritise walk-ins off the street over museum visitors at busy times, i.e. you may not be able just to sit and have a coffee after your visit if it's lunchtime.

Yes the permanent collection display is small and rather disappointing, but they have put on some good exhibitions - I would say it's well worth visiting if you fancy whatever one is on - there's one coming up on The Lost Gardens of London which I am really looking forward to.

Other highlights: the gardens outside, lovingly tended by volunteers, the courtyard garden inside, designed by Dan Pearson, and a wonderful view from the top of the old church belltower, if you don't mind climbing up its old spiral stone staircase.

 

Always used to visit here when I worked in London. Worth knowing that the John Tradescants, father and son, are both buried in an elaborate stone sarcophagus in the back 'garden'. Lovely, peaceful place, worth visiting if only to honour the memory of those two great explorers, collectors and above all, gardeners.