Chelsea Physic Garden

During the freezing cold, pitch black days of January, any sign of the warmer weather to come is a welcome one, so it’s always a happy occasion when Chelsea Physic Garden’s annual Heralding Spring season rolls around. London’s oldest botanical garden has its very own unique microclimate, which means that come late January the ancient spot is home to over 120 species of snowdrops that bloom unusually early each year there. As the gardens to reopen for visitors, guests are invited to embark on the Heralding Spring trail to check out the dainty white flowers and other early spring plants including a 70-year-old grapefruit tree and the fragrant wintersweet. There are also a variety of gardener tours, talks and botanical workshops throughout the season, from a Japanese kokedama-making workshop (Sun Jan 26) where you can craft your flowery own moss ball (they’re kind of like hanging baskets without the basket) to a tea and talk (Mon Jan 27) where you can learn about snowdrops in folklore. For more details on special events check out the website here. 

Some of the most potent symbols of queerness come from the natural world: like pansies, fruits, and especially, lavender. This fragrant herb is getting a moment in the spotlight at ‘A Dash of Lavender’, Chelsea Physic Garden’s collaboration with Queer Botany in honour of LGBTQ+ history month. Visitors to the garden can pick up a printed map which shares stories about plants from a queer perspective, and get stuck into various activities across February all exploring queer ecology. Look out for botanical drawing workshops, poetry evenings, folklore circles and more.