Chelsea Physic Gardens

Looking for something to enliven the senses in Central London? Head to the Chelsea Physic Gardens – Britain’s second oldest botanical garden, est. 1673 - which reopens to the general public on 1 April.

The whole experience of the gardens is somehow very good for the soul. We're sure the plants manage to extend their healing properties into the air that you breathe there.

We're particularly excited about the unveiling of the new Garden of Medicinal Plants in April - a three-quarter-acre plot devoted to the herbal collections for which the garden has been famed for over 340 years. The new beds tour how plants have been used to make us healthier, faster and stronger from the ancient times to the present day,from the HIV-inhibitive properties of Musa acuminata (the household banana to you and us) to Catharanthus roseus: the plant credited with raising childhood leukaemia survival rates from less than 10% to 90% in 50 years. 

For the horticulturally inclined, there's a selection of these unusual genera, and other flowering plants, available to buy.

Tickets for adults and senior citizens are £9.90, while children, students and unemployed people get in for £6.60.

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The Chelsea Physic Garden is open Tuesday - Friday, and Sundays, from 11am – 6pm. It's closed on Saturdays.