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On June 11 and 12, hundreds of private and hidden gardens will open their gates to the public for London Square Open Gardens Weekend. Natasha Goodfellow enjoys a preview

- Natasha Goodfellow

REGULAR visitors to Bloomsbury may have noticed a particularly fine pair of wrought-iron gates set between 20 and 21, Montague Street, WC1. Emblazoned with the Duke of Bedford’s crest (he owns much of the land around these parts) and topped with some gloriously exuberant gilded lilies, they mark the entrance to Montague Street Gardens —although little can be seen of the oasis within. That all changes later this month, when the gardens, together with more than 100 other private and hidden spaces, will open for London Square Open Gardens Weekend, a rare opportunity to explore some of the capital’s secret Edens.

The open weekend dates back to 1999 and the opening of a handful of private residents’ squares. Under the aegis of the London Historic Parks & Gardens Trust—more commonly known as the London Gardens Trust (LGT) —it has grown into one of the capital’s bestloved events, attracting crowds in their thousands. A single ticket gives you access to as many gardens as you can physically manage in a day—community allotments, wildlife havens, rooftop plots, contemporary gardens and more. ‘There’s something for everyone,’ says Nathan Oley, chair of the event and a trustee of the LGT. ‘We have passionate amateur growers raising tomatoes in tins and rice bags, alongside gardens of real horticultural excellence, such as Mona’s Garden in Highgate, N10, which is home to [the National Plant Collection of] corokias.’