London Open Gardens: How to Visit 100+ Private Gardens in June

St Paul's dome, so close it almost fills the view. Below it, a City rooftop planted with grasses and perennials, a café table, a couple of visitors taking it all in. On any other weekend of the year that terrace is shut to the public. For one Saturday in June it wasn't, and I was up there.

That's the whole idea of London Open Gardens. Once a year, more than a hundred gardens that are normally locked, private or simply overlooked open their gates for a single weekend. Garden squares, rooftops, allotments, livery company courtyards, community plots. One ticket gets you into most of them.

The weekend runs on tickets and ballots, and a few gardens are worth planning around. One question comes up often: does the Hurlingham Club open as part of it? It doesn't. It opens through the National Garden Scheme in May instead.

What Is London Open Gardens?

London Open Gardens is an annual fundraising weekend run by London Parks & Gardens. That's the trading name of the London Historic Parks & Gardens Trust, a charity launched at the Chelsea Flower Show in May 1994. Its volunteers research and protect the capital's historic green spaces.

The weekend grew out of a much smaller event. In 1998 the trust and English Heritage organised the first London Garden Squares Day. It became a two-day event in 2004. For years it was known as Open Garden Squares Weekend, before taking the name London Open Gardens.

The scale has changed a lot since then. For 2026 the organisers listed more than 120 gardens across London. They counted around 40,000 garden visits over that one weekend. The money goes into the charity's conservation work, and part of it is shared with the community gardens that take part.

The mix is what makes it fun. A Georgian square behind railings sits on the same list as a vegetable allotment and a corporate roof terrace. Some are grand, some are tiny, and many are places you would walk past without knowing a garden was there.

When Is London Open Gardens in 2027?

It always falls on a weekend in early June. For 2027 the organisers have announced Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 June 2027. For comparison, the 2026 weekend ran on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June, and the 2025 weekend on 7 and 8 June.

Not every garden opens on both days. Many open only on the Saturday or only on the Sunday, and often just for a few hours. For 2026, most gardens opened somewhere between 10am and 5pm. Each garden's own listing gives its exact day and times, so check those before you set off.

Early June is a good moment for it. Roses, alliums, foxgloves and irises are usually at their best, and the evenings are long. It also sits neatly between two other London opening events. The National Garden Scheme runs private garden openings from spring to autumn, and Open House London fills a September weekend with buildings.

If you like the idea of seeing behind closed doors, my guide to Open House London covers the building equivalent.

How Much Are London Open Gardens Tickets and How Do They Work?

You buy one ticket for the whole weekend, not one per garden. For 2026, Time Out reported an adult ticket at £26.15 plus a £2.15 booking fee. Under-12s went free, and there was a reduced price for 12 to 17-year-olds. Early bird prices have been offered in past years for people who book well ahead.

Prices change from year to year, so check the official page before you book. Tickets for 2027 had not gone on sale when I wrote this.

The ticket covers walk-in entry to the majority of gardens across both days. You show it at the gate and a volunteer lets you in. Ticket holders also get the digital guide, an interactive map and a garden selector. The selector lets you filter by day, area and type of garden.

Some extras sit on top of the main ticket. In 2026, guided walks and cycle tours cost around £5 each and could only be booked once you held a weekend ticket. A handful of gardens also need a separate booking or a ballot, which I cover next.

Which London Open Gardens Need a Ballot or Pre-Booking?

The most popular gardens have strict capacity limits, so walking up with your ticket isn't enough. For 2026 the official visitor guide listed two types. Pre-booked gardens included 30 Cannon Street and the Aga Khan Centre's Islamic gardens at King's Cross. Battersea Roof Gardens was ballot only.

Battersea Roof Gardens is the big draw. It sits on top of a Foster + Partners building at Battersea Power Station. The garden covers 29,000 square feet, with 23,000 plants and 55 trees, and was designed by James Corner Field Operations. It was unveiled in August 2023 as a garden for residents.

For 2026, ballot winners were told on 25 May and needed both a time slot and a valid weekend ticket. The official guide warns that pre-booked visits often sell out before the weekend. The practical lesson is simple: buy your ticket early and enter any ballot the day it opens.

The rarest ballot of 2026 was the garden of 10 Downing Street. Time Out reported two guided tours on the Saturday, with 24 places each. Entry was by free ballot for adults, which closed on 5 May. Whether it returns in 2027 is not yet known.

What Is the Roof Garden at 25 Cannon Street Like?

This was one of the gardens I went to. 25 Cannon Street is an office building in the City, redesigned by Buckley Gray Yeoman and completed in July 2022. Its roof garden is not open to the public on ordinary days, which is exactly why London Open Gardens is worth it.

The terrace covers roughly 5,400 square feet. There are raised beds of perennials and grasses, low box hedges and a few tables. The real point, though, is the view. St Paul's sits right across the road, and the photos don't exaggerate how close the dome feels.

Visitors go up in small groups, so a queue is normal. For 2026 it opened on the Saturday only, from 10am to 3.30pm. Arrive early if you want the roof with fewer people on it.

A shallow oval pool on the roof mirrors the dome, so you get St Paul's twice. I wrote a full post on the rooftop terrace at 25 Cannon Street with more pictures and practical notes. If you want a City view on a normal weekday, the Sky Garden is free with a booked slot.

There are more photos from my garden-hopping on Instagram, here and here.

Which Other Gardens Have Opened for London Open Gardens?

The list changes every year, but some favourites come back again and again. These are a few that stand out, with their 2026 details as a guide.

Inner Temple Garden, off Fleet Street, has been gardened for centuries. London Parks & Gardens dates its cultivation back to 1195. It hosted the RHS spring flower show before that show moved to Chelsea. Deep herbaceous borders, a timber greenhouse and a Broadwalk of plane trees run down towards the Thames.

Inner Temple is not strictly secret. It usually opens to the public on weekdays from 12.30pm to 3pm, bank holidays excluded. What London Open Gardens adds is a weekend visit. For 2026 it opened on the Sunday from 1pm to 5pm.

Eccleston Square in Pimlico is a private residents' garden. Thomas Cubitt, the builder behind much of Pimlico and Belgravia, laid out the square in the 1830s. Historic England registers it at Grade II. It holds a National Collection of ceanothus, plus camellias, roses and a Wollemi pine. For 2026 it opened on the Sunday from 2pm to 5pm.

Other names from the 2026 list give a sense of the range. There were the Charterhouse courtyard gardens and Bedford Square, a Georgian square usually locked behind railings. There was Fassett Square in Dalston, often said to have inspired Albert Square in EastEnders. There was also Emery Walker's House by the river in Hammersmith.

If historic plant collections are your thing, the Chelsea Physic Garden is open to the public through much of the year and makes a good warm-up.

Is the Hurlingham Club Part of London Open Gardens?

No. It's a common mix-up, so it's worth being clear. The Hurlingham Club in Fulham is a private members' club, and its grounds are closed to non-members for the rest of the year. It does not open through London Open Gardens.

The club opens its grounds to the public once a year through a different charity, the National Garden Scheme. The open day falls on a Saturday in May, a few weeks before London Open Gardens. Tickets are booked in advance through the NGS website and tend to sell out.

The National Garden Scheme describes 42 acres of mature trees, lawns and a two-acre lake, running down to the Thames. I have been to the open day: purple irises along the lake and wisteria over the white bridge. Everything you need is in my guide on how to visit the Hurlingham Club open day.

If you want both in one season, plan ahead in spring. Book Hurlingham for May through the National Garden Scheme listing, then buy your London Open Gardens ticket for June.

How Do You Plan a Route Around London Open Gardens?

With over 100 gardens spread across the city, you cannot see them all. Trying to criss-cross London is the quickest way to spend the weekend on the Tube. Pick one or two areas per day and stay in them.

The organisers make this easier. Volunteer garden coordinators put together self-guided walking routes for each area. The City and Temple, Bloomsbury and King's Cross, and Belgravia and Pimlico all have dense clusters of gardens within walking distance of each other.

A few tips that follow from how the weekend is set up:

Check each garden's day and hours first. So many open for just one afternoon that a Saturday-only garden is easy to miss.

Start early at the rooftops. Roof gardens let people up in batches, so queues build through the day.

Book the extras the moment you have a ticket. Ballots, pre-booked gardens and guided walks fill up before the weekend.

Wear comfortable shoes and carry water. Many gardens have gravel paths, and a day of garden-hopping adds up to a lot of walking.

Leave room for surprises. Some of the best stops are small community gardens you've never heard of.

Visiting London Open Gardens: Practical Notes

📍 Where: More than 120 gardens across London in 2026, with the densest clusters in zones 1 and 2.

📅 Open days: Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 June 2027. The 2026 weekend was 6 and 7 June. Each garden sets its own day and hours.

⏰ Opening: Most gardens opened between 10am and 5pm in 2026, often for only part of the day. Check each listing.

🎫 Admission: One weekend ticket covers most gardens. For 2026 an adult ticket was £26.15 plus a booking fee, and under-12s went free. A few gardens need a separate booking or ballot. Check the official site for 2027 prices.

🚇 Getting there: Use public transport and walk between gardens. Each listing gives the nearest station and postcode.

🚗 Parking: Not recommended. Many gardens are in central London, inside the Congestion Charge zone.

☕ Food: A few gardens serve refreshments and some allow picnics, as Eccleston Square did in 2026. Otherwise plan cafés along your route.

⏳ How long: Two to three hours for one area, or both days for a proper tour.

📷 Best time: Arrive at opening time for rooftops and popular gardens before the queues build.

♿ Access: Varies by garden. Battersea Roof Gardens has lifts and step-free access, while Eccleston Square has uneven gravel. Access details are on each garden's listing.

Official information and tickets: London Parks & Gardens.

Have you been to London Open Gardens, and which garden would you queue for first?

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All photos were taken by Ina/WithinLondon, unless stated otherwise.