About us

Housed inside the historic former church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, next door to Lambeth Palace, the museum is home to a collection of art and objects from garden history, telling the stories of great gardeners and exploring how and why we garden.

Exhibitions, events, and community projects dig into art, architecture, plant science, food, sustainability, well-being and more, all through the lens of gardening.

The Garden Museum is also home to the Archive of Garden Design, which preserves and provides access to the working records of leading British garden designers of the 20^th and 21^st century.

The Garden Museum was founded by Rosemary and John Nicholson in 1977 to rescue the abandoned St Mary-at-Lambeth Church, which was due for demolition. The church is the burial place of John Tradescant (c1570 – 1638), the first great gardener and plant hunter in British history. His tomb is the centrepiece of the courtyard garden, designed to reflect Tradescant’s life and spirit.