A little bit of repetition in these images, but I am dithering about editing them and can’t decide exactly which I prefer, so you’re getting pretty much them all! A beautiful sunshiny spring morning, after a night of stormy electric rain, and everything after the warmth of the last week – and the weeks of rain preceding them – have served to awaken a beautiful garden after what seems like the longest of winters.
Petersham House is the home of Gael and Francesco Boglione, the owners of Petersham Nurseries here in Richmond, close to the banks of the River Thames (and now their new outpost in Covent Garden which fully opens this week). Rosie Bines and her team, Edward, Steve and her posse of volunteers have created and maintained an inspired series of gardens – a cutting and rose garden, formal lawns and statement topiary, shaded beds, the borders originally laid out by Mary Keen, (who is a regular visitor still), a very atmospheric shaded conservatory and the stunning double herbaceous border with structural yew hedging and sculptural forms.
The gardens feature a pool, behind the recently introduced hawthorn screen, tennis court, the old orchard, three behives, a chicken run, impressive figs and a rambling rose climbing high into the holly and new vegetable garden – all this extend the grounds with views over Petersham Meadows and past St Peter’s Church up to the Star and Garter on Richmond Hill. And we’re twelve miles from Central London?
Inside the nurseries themselves, the Cutting Garden has exploded into colour and fragrance in the past week, featuring thousands of tulips and other spring bulbs and is an exciting a hundred feet of garden as you are likely to find anywhere (to my mind it rivalled Great Dixter in its intensity and drama).
if you missed the opening today, I think the gardens re-open to public view on June 3rd, as part of Petersham Open Garden, so hope to see you then. Petersham Nurseries and the planting and gardens therein are of course open all year round.
This next gallery features Petersham Nurseries itself, the Cutting Garden and environs and the Garden Shop.
Finally, and in an unrelated fashion, just a few photos from my own little front garden and the pots of tulips, Imperial Fritillaries and wallflowers on the path … everything above, in miniature!
The Teddington Gardener 
Beautiful!! Thanks for sharing!