Author
James Darton
Contributing Editor
We introduce plants and flowers into our lives for a great many reasons and occasions, confident in their ability to brighten any environment. Whether you lean towards the scientific explanations behind those good vibes or prefer to indulge in a more wondrous relationship with nature (at Floom we happily sit somewhere in the middle…) there are few who dispute the simple and inherent joys of nature.
If you really want to see just how important this sensation is, all you have to do is take a stroll through our home city of London. Moving daily from outrageously-priced houses via the jam-packed commute to angst-driven offices and back again, it’s easy to get swept up in the drudgery of the rat race. But our capital is also arguably home to some of the most beautiful green spaces ever to grace a metropolis of this scale. Like so many of the social upheavals we benefit from now, it was during the Victorian age that boroughs and wealthy philanthropists alike began to put their money where their mouth is, investing in a splash of nature to break up the increasingly smog-strewn streets.
Here at Floom HQ we’ve had many a discussion about our favourite places to escape within the city when we need to satisfy our cravings for nature. Below are some of the best open, green spaces that London has to offer: some well-known destinations cross-pollinated with areas a little further off the beaten track…
![1 Floom Magazine Green Spaces Hampstead Heath 1](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_hampstead_heath_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=701eb2b77170d2c8aab95cc9abf8ab04 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_hampstead_heath_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=30e26acde5fd6c7c0cf99156fa317abc 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_hampstead_heath_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=0dd49a6e769666e233f4695f8de5784c 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_hampstead_heath_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=2474a26642dc8ea55edb1366db52d812 400w)
Hampstead Heath
Ask any seasoned Londoner about their favourite green spaces in the city, and one of the first utterances is almost always in reference to this sprawling stretch of hilly, diverse terrain. Spanning a whopping 320 acres between Hampstead and Highgate in North London, we’ve enjoyed countless weekend rambles through its woodlands, with some of the more daring members of the team having been known to take a dip in the iconic Highgate ponds..
![1 Floom Magazine Green Spaces Isabella Plantation Tomasz Dunn](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_isabella_plantation_tomasz_dunn.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=949ae16219da0b72ab0dd2ab8b1c8e5c 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_isabella_plantation_tomasz_dunn.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=45390475153256d9d0b81cc382040830 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_isabella_plantation_tomasz_dunn.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=319273204d9d4be2ad923963c4d70afe 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_isabella_plantation_tomasz_dunn.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=c97e16dd0b482d99911ae12a2667cd57 400w)
Isabella Plantation, Richmond Park
This 40-acre section of Richmond Park is a must for any discerning plant lover. Multitudes of evergreen azaleas flourish along the banks of the ponds and stream. No mere garden-variety azaleas, these are in fact the ‘National Collection of Wilson 50 Kurume Azaleas.’ Plant collector Ernest Wilson introduced them to the West in the 1920s, transplanting them from their native Japan to a slightly more manageable location for London-dwelling day-trippers. Here, they make their home amongst a cornucopia of plant life, both native and exotic, rare and unusual.
![1 Floom Magazine Green Spaces Kew Gardens Flikr Paula Funnell](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_kew_gardens_flikr_paula_funnell.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=c179ae499e21f0dee11e9d92942d6907 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_kew_gardens_flikr_paula_funnell.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=58f5e19664229eac4d697d86c45688e5 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_kew_gardens_flikr_paula_funnell.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=82c14a21e26b65d2799ef0b0036ae652 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_kew_gardens_flikr_paula_funnell.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=a07802dc702694408c129479ab37e5f6 400w)
Kew Gardens
Another titan of the London green-scene, these botanic gardens are home to the world’s largest collection of living plants. Alongside libraries and flower collections built on a staggering scale - the herbarium features over seven million preserved plant specimens - Kew also manages to find room for pursuits of a more invigorating nature. The treetop walkway, which opened in 2008, is a great way to experience the canopy of a woodland glade from a perspective usually reserved for our feathered friends
![1 Floom Magazine Green Spaces Petersham Nurseries 1](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_petersham_nurseries_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=eee6b2bdbdd868b3e1d3c7e9e7c02ca1 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_petersham_nurseries_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=cd737f1f6b0f0df106759f18c52c6d7d 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_petersham_nurseries_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=d7b2bfe54af5ef29c1c258b60944269b 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_petersham_nurseries_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=1ddf68e5bfd2dd258226e35d2b80862e 400w)
Petersham Nurseries
It was in 1970 that Petersham Nurseries first sprang from the grounds of Petersham House, however the garden centre as we know and love it today didn’t really begin to take shape until the turn of the millennium. Its endearingly ramshackle beginnings saw furniture, gifts and antiques weaving in and out of the greenhouses. Even as it continues to evolve, we love wandering amongst these simple beauties which compliment the natural delights on display perfectly. Of course it’s impossible to talk about Petersham Nurseries without allowing our minds to stray from flowers for just a tiny, mouth-watering moment… The Petersham Nurseries Café is a Michelin-starred foray into the flavours of both the English and Italian countryside and one of our favourite places to eat.
![1 Floom Magazine Green Spaces Mayfield Lavender Fields Jackie White](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_mayfield_lavender_fields_jackie_white.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=b1d46051288e8278ef41b179960ecf6d 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_mayfield_lavender_fields_jackie_white.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=26763e577af093bf9bfcfa0381fb66e5 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_mayfield_lavender_fields_jackie_white.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=537f8c4fe558e45853b74359368ba268 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_mayfield_lavender_fields_jackie_white.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=1987b759e6037c8856dfcad10274c73d 400w)
Mayfield Lavender
Floom is built on a deep love of flowers in all their majestic, natural beauty, a love shared with our florists and enthusiasts further afield. We struggle to think of anyone who embodies this passion more than Brendan Maye, who fought through innumerable challenges to realise his flower-themed vision: a 25-acre organic lavender farm. An explosion of wondrous purple as far as the eye can see, just 1.5 miles from central London. A true labour of love, Brendan overcame company collapses, sponsorship setbacks and even the entire destruction of his first year crop at the hands of magpies and crows. The stars eventually aligned however, and now each year when Mayfield reopens for the season, we love nothing more than to head south, past Croydon and drench ourselves in this alluring sea of lavender.
![1 Floom Magazine Green Spaces Barbican Conservatory Blinkypalermo 1](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_barbican_conservatory_blinkypalermo_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=d02c937beedd33eb94e6a111f2d1ee91 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_barbican_conservatory_blinkypalermo_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=54a69babe9feddf994d0c7c7f5978541 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_barbican_conservatory_blinkypalermo_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=f56801132660214c5f43aedc091f57ad 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_green_spaces_barbican_conservatory_blinkypalermo_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=7d01a016e045b841391d2f01726607c1 400w)
Barbican Conservatory
We first fell in love with the brutalist exterior of the Barbican, standing defiant against the city skyline. But one of the main things that keeps us coming back is the stunning conservatory that functions as the heart of the complex. Its tropical interior is home to a multitude of fantastical-looking palms and over 2000 species of fish. We love taking a moment’s respite on the bench near the pond, drinking in the tropical sensations and imagining ourselves far far away… It’s the perfect foil for the urban extravaganza that houses it, and therefore also feels like the best place to end our exploration of London’s natural escapes.
Photo credits: Flickr
Barbican: blinkypalermo
Hampstead Heath: Laura Nolte
Isabella Plantation: Tomasz Dunn
Kew Gardens: Paula Funnell
Petersham Nurseries: Herry Lawford
Mayfield Lavender: Jackie White