Petersham Nurseries: Glasshouses, Garden and Shop in Richmond

Mismatched chairs with yellow and red cushions. A round table under a roof of leaves and vines. A potted plant set down as if someone meant to come back for it. That was the first thing I saw at Petersham Nurseries, on a sunny Sunday in late July.

Church Lane is a narrow lane with St Peter's Church at its side. Through the gate there are glasshouses, pots, urns and plants in every direction. I spent about twenty minutes walking through the garden, the glasshouses and the shop. Afterwards I looked up the history.

What Is Petersham Nurseries Like on a Summer Sunday?

Petersham Nurseries is a working garden nursery with a shop, a café called the Teahouse and a restaurant, all on one plot off Petersham Road in Richmond. It sits on Church Lane, right beside St Peter's Church. The address is TW10 7AB.

On a Sunday the shop and nursery open at 11am. Outside, a white parasol with a long fringe hung over a courtyard packed with pots and stone urns. The planting looked loose and full rather than clipped.

The planting spills over everything. Vines climb the frames of the glasshouses. Tables sit on gravel and packed earth rather than paving. Café tables sit among the pots, so the nursery and the Teahouse run into each other.

It is a very different Sunday morning from the flower stalls of the East End. My guide to Columbia Road Flower Market covers that one.

Who Started Petersham Nurseries and Why?

The story starts with the house next door. Petersham House is a Grade II* listed house completed around 1674, and nobody knows who designed it. In the 18th century it passed through the Montrose and Rutland families. By the 1990s it had been heavily altered, with 1920s murals, chintz and fake windows.

Gael and Francesco Boglione bought it in the 1990s and moved their family to Richmond in 1997. Gael is Australian and a former model. Francesco was born in Turin. They restored the house with English Heritage, stripping back later additions and bringing back details such as the paintings by Louis Laguerre on the staircase.

A plant nursery had been carved out of the old estate in the 1970s. When it came up for sale, the couple bought it to stop a developer getting it. The family's own site dates the opening of Petersham Nurseries to 2002. Their children are part of the business too.

Much of the look comes from Francesco's travels in India as a young man. He paid for those trips by buying and selling furniture, art and decorations. You can see the habit in the shop, where carved wood, painted cabinets and old glass sit next to trays of seedlings.

One change set the tone for everything. Francesco took the concrete off the glasshouse floors and replaced it with earth. That earth floor is still there, under the tables, and it is one of the things people mention most.

Did Petersham Nurseries Really Have a Michelin Star?

Yes. The Australian chef Skye Gyngell ran the kitchen from 2004. In the 2011 Michelin guide the restaurant won a star, which was unusual for a place with an earth floor and non-linen tablecloths. Gyngell did not enjoy it.

She later called the star a curse. Her point was that people arrived expecting a formal Michelin meal, and a glasshouse café in a nursery could not give them that. She left in 2012 and went on to open Spring at Somerset House. Skye Gyngell died in November 2025, aged 62.

The restaurant carried on. Its own page lists a Michelin Green Star, the award for sustainable cooking, and names Csaba Nagy as executive chef. The garden of Petersham House next door grows herbs and edible flowers for the kitchen.

When I walked through, the long glasshouse table was stacked with plates, before the restaurant's noon opening. Glass vases stood on another table nearby, with painted wooden cabinets behind them.

What Is Inside the Glasshouses and the Shop?

The Lifestyle Shop runs through the glasshouses. On my walk round it had glassware, ceramics, homeware and books, mixed in with plants. A big ribbed green planter sat on one table. On another, orange glass vases caught the light in front of a whitewashed wall hung with paintings.

The Teahouse is the more casual of the two places to eat. It is a glasshouse full of tree ferns, palms and bougainvillea, with tables set straight onto a sandy floor. It serves seasonal salads, pasta, cakes, tea and coffee. The Teahouse does not take reservations, so you walk in and wait if it is busy.

The details are the fun part. A big fern sat between two carved wooden elephants, next to an open book of food photographs. A stone bowl held floating roses, dahlias and lily pads. Almost every table is styled like that, so it is worth walking slowly.

If glasshouses and old gardens are your thing, Chelsea Physic Garden is another London garden with a café among the plants. It was founded in 1673, around the time Petersham House was being built.

How Do You Walk to Petersham Nurseries from Richmond?

Walk if you can. From Richmond Station it takes about 25 minutes, following the Thames upstream past Richmond Bridge. From the towpath a footpath cuts across Petersham Meadows and comes out by St Peter's Church on Church Lane.

Petersham Meadows cover 24 acres beside the river. They used to belong to the Ham House estate, and cattle have grazed them since at least the 17th century. Every summer a small herd of Belted Galloway cattle arrives to keep the grass in check. They go back to winter quarters in October or November.

The view across these fields from Richmond Hill has been protected by an Act of Parliament since 1902. Reynolds and Turner both painted it. The National Trust has looked after the meadows since 2010. Its rent to the Mayor of Richmond is a posy of wildflowers, paid on St Peter's Day.

I wrote about the riverside stretch in a summer's day in Richmond, which covers the walk from the station along the Thames.

What Else Is Next Door in Petersham?

St Peter's Church is right beside the nursery gate. Parts of the chancel date from 1266, and the church was largely rebuilt in 1505. Inside there are Georgian box pews and a two-decker pulpit from 1796. It is Grade II* listed.

The explorer Captain George Vancouver is buried in the churchyard. He retired to Petersham, lived on River Lane and wrote his account of his voyage to the North Pacific here. He died in 1798, and his grave is Grade II listed. Vancouver Island and the city of Vancouver, in British Columbia, are both named after him.

The church has a royal link as well. In 1881 Claude Bowes-Lyon married Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck here. They were the parents of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. The publisher Jonathan Cape is also buried in the churchyard.

Ham House, built in 1610, is a short walk further along, and its lavender and cherry garden makes a good pair with the nursery on a summer day. For more flowers nearby, the Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park is a longer walk or a short bus ride away.

There is also a second, city branch. Petersham Nurseries opened restaurants in Floral Court, Covent Garden, in April 2018, with a shop, deli and florist alongside. It has the same style, in a courtyard between King Street and Floral Street.

Visiting Petersham Nurseries: Practical Notes

📍 Where: Church Lane, off Petersham Road, Richmond TW10 7AB. The gate is next to St Peter's Church.

⏰ Opening: Shop and garden nursery: Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sundays and bank holidays 11am to 5pm. The Teahouse opens at 10am (11am on Sundays), with last seating mid-afternoon. The restaurant opens from noon, with dinner on Thursday to Saturday. Hours differ between pages of the official site, so check petershamnurseries.com before you go.

📅 Open days: Tuesday to Sunday. Closed on Mondays, except bank holidays.

🎫 Admission: Free to walk round the nursery and shop. The Teahouse is walk-in only. Booking is recommended for the restaurant, and needed for the weekend Garden Afternoon Tea.

🚇 Getting there: Richmond Station (District line, Overground and trains from Waterloo), then about 25 minutes on foot along the Thames. The 65 bus from outside the station stops on Petersham Road.

🚗 Parking: Parking on Church Lane is very limited, and on Sunday mornings the spaces go to the congregation of St Peter's Church. The nursery asks visitors to walk, cycle or take the bus.

☕ Food: The Teahouse serves salads, pasta, cakes, tea and coffee. The restaurant serves seasonal Italian-leaning lunches, and dinners later in the week.

⏳ How long: Twenty minutes for a walk through the garden, glasshouses and shop. Allow longer for lunch, and an hour or more if you walk from Richmond.

📷 Best time: Arrive at opening, before the lunch crowd. Summer brings the vines and bougainvillea at their fullest.

🗺️ Nearby: St Peter's Church and George Vancouver's grave, Petersham Meadows, Ham House and Richmond Park.

♿ Access: Paths are gravel and packed earth, and some glasshouse floors are uneven. Call 020 8940 5230 to check routes before a visit.

Have you walked across Petersham Meadows to the nursery, or do you know another London garden where the café sits right among the plants?

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