The Museum of Garden History starts its dramatic reconstruction
On Friday 31st July the Museum of Garden history closed its doors to the
public and opened them for architects, contractors and designers to begin the
construction of a new gallery.
The museum will be closed for three months for the construction of better spaces for visitors to enjoy the building and collection. On 18th November, the museum will re-open as The Garden Museum, a new space to explore and celebrate British gardening and gardens through the collection, temporary exhibitions, events, symposia and garden.
The new interior of the Museum, designed by Dow Jones Architects, will include a gallery for temporary exhibitions and a new space for education. The Director, Christopher Woodward, explained the outreach of the project::
"We're shut for three months, during which time we're going to build new galleries inside this historic church, begun in 1384. It's a beautiful, bright space but it doesn't have spaces in which we can display works on paper, work with schools - or mount exhibitions. Last year we held a competition, which was won by Dow Jones, who have just been short-listed as RIBA Architect of the Year. Their design will be prefabricated in Switzerland and be delivered in three huge trucks. It's freestanding, and won't touch the old stone walls. It's a ground-breaking use of new building technology. In effect, we're fitting a modern museum inside an historic church, and it's amazing that we can do that in three months. At the same time we're building Britain's first venue dedicated to a programme of exhibitions about gardens and garden design."
The new gallery will open with the first-ever retrospective of Beth Chatto,
one of the most influential living gardeners in Britain. The exhibition will
examine the subtlety of her approach to design and explore important influences
to her particular kind of gardening.
The new spaces on the Garden Museum will allow old and new treasures from the permanent collection to be displayed for the first time.
During the closure period the garden will remain open daily from 9.30 to 5.30. The Garden Café will open Monday to Friday from 10.30 to 4.45.
For further information, please see www.museumgardenhistory.org


A
record 743 green spaces across the country, all freely accessible to the public,
have received a Green Flag Award - the national standard for quality parks and
green spaces. Winners are judged to be welcoming and well maintained with the
support and involvement of the local community.
Visitors will have a rare opportunity to peer behind the walls of many of
London's private community gardens and squares over the weekend of 7 and 8
June during Transport for London Open Garden Squares Weekend. Over 170 venues
will take part, offering a range of horticultural delights and curiosities
including formal set-pieces, typical English flower gardens and the prison
gardens at 