Gardens at home – London, Giverny, Capri
posted on 07/05/20
As the days lengthen and warmer spring sunshine is brightening days across the UK, many of us would have planned to visit our local gardens or gardens further afield. As we write the travel restrictions as a result of the coronavirus pandemic are still in place, and so instead of visiting these gardens in person, we would like to offer some gardens that are opening their doors to virtual visitors.
RHS Chelsea Flower Show, as well as a number of other Spring flower shows, have been cancelled for the first time in history, but the Royal Horticultural Society is planning to create a virtual RHS Chelsea to celebrate the UK’s great horticultural industry and gardening heritage. The planned dates are from 19–23 May, and more details will be available in the coming weeks on the RHS website.
Another extraordinary London-based garden is at Kew, home to over 50,000 living plants across its UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s opening its doors to virtual visitors – click here to see more on the Kew Gardens website.
The National Trust also has a series of podcasts about gardens available on its website.
In France, one of the best-known gardens is at Giverny, where Claude Monet lived and worked for much of his life, and which is probably unique for its intersection of art history with horticultural achievement. There is a virtual tour of the garden available, which was created in 2016 by the Royal Academy to tie in with their exhibition of the same year, Monet to Matisse. There is also the opportunity to take a virtual tour of Monet’s house.
In Italy, nowhere is more delightful in the spring than the island of Capri, in the Bay of Naples. The beautiful Villa San Michele, sitting high above the sea at Anacapri, has developed a virtual tour of the gardens and house, led by the director Kristina Kappelin, all available via their website Villa San Michele.
