Chelsea Physic Garden: A Quiet Corner of London

Chelsea Physic Garden — hidden behind its walls beside the Thames.

A few places in London feel like old friends to me — and Chelsea Physic Garden is one of them.

Whenever life feels busy or noisy, I find myself drawn back there. Hidden behind its walls beside the Thames, it feels as though you have stepped into another world. The sounds of the city fade away and everything becomes a little slower, a little quieter.

The garden has a remarkable history. It was founded in 1673 by the Apothecaries, to grow and study medicinal plants and nearly 350 years later it is still thriving — full of thousands of plants from all over the world. But if I am honest, history is not really what keeps bringing me back.

What keeps bringing me back is how the place makes me feel.

As a botanical artist, I could spend hours there — sometimes sketching, sometimes taking photographs and sometimes simply sitting and looking.

The Old Pomegranate Tree

Over the years I have found my own favourite corner, close to a pomegranate tree that is more than 300 years old.

My favourite corner — the pomegranate tree that has grown here for over three centuries.

If you know my work, you probably know how much I love painting pomegranates. Last year, after seeing my paintings, Ursula Romero called me “the Queen of Pomegranates” 😀. Who knows — perhaps my love of them began right there, standing in front of this old tree that has been growing quietly in the garden for over three centuries.

I often return to the same spot. There is something moving about standing beside a living tree that has witnessed more than 300 years of history. It puts everything into perspective and reminds me how deeply plants connect us, one generation to the next.

Open one and it gives you this — a little crown, almost too perfect to be real.

“The Elegance of Openness” — one of my own pomegranate paintings, a love that may well have begun in this garden.

The Florilegium Society

I am also fortunate to be a member of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society — a group of botanical artists who paint the plants growing in the garden, creating a lasting artistic record of its collection.

A sculpture curling around an old tree, inscribed with the names of the gardeners who have cared for this place across the centuries.

“When I leave, I feel the change straight away. I slow down without even trying. I breathe more easily. My mind feels quieter.”

Perhaps that is why I love this garden so much. Most people see gardens as places to look at plants. For me, this one is something more — a quiet corner of London where I can slow down, breathe and simply be myself.

My love of pomegranates has followed me far beyond these walls — I even started collecting ceramic pomegranates while travelling in Uzbekistan. But here in London, beside this old tree, is where it feels like it all began.

Do you have a place that feels like that for you? I would love to know.

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