On Monday 06 July 2026, our Exploring London Group and our Gardening Group combined forces for a return visit to Church Gardens Harefield to the west of London. Our previous visit had taken place on Wednesday 04 May 2022.

Church Gardens has a fascinating history that extends back as far as Tudor times, and probably even further. The current owners arrived in 1995, and have spent the past 30 years bringing the garden back to life from its derelict state at that time. Many of the features seen in 2022 are still apparent but the contents of the garden have grown significantly over that period of time.

One prominent feature of the garden is the arcaded wall with its 33 alcoves or niches. Whilst the original purpose and use of the wall are not known, it is possible that each niche contained a statue or a plant that held special memories when the gardens were being designed for the owners in 1601, Sir Thomas Egerton and his wife, the Countess of Derby.

We again explored the Forest Garden with its many edible plants and fruits, the compost yard with its three-year cycle turning plant waste into compost, and the fern mount with its seat at the top. The kitchen garden and the pond had both grown extensively from what we remembered from 2022, and the Mayflower Narrow Boat was almost hidden by the rushes at the edge of the pond.

Our Gardening Group members had many questions about the produce coming out of the kitchen garden!

Our exploration was rounded off with a lovely summer tea.

Our next Gardening Group meeting is on 22 July 2026 at 2:00pm, and our next Exploring London event is on Friday 07 August 2026 when there will be a Blue Badge Guide taking us through Earls Court and Kensington.