Royal Trinity Hospice gardens open day

Housed in the grounds of elegant Georgian buildings, the south front of the hospice overlooks 200 acres of Clapham Common while high walls to the rear enclose a private garden of nearly two acres.

There are at least thirty different kinds of shrubs, over thirty-five types of herbaceous plants and twenty-five varieties of shrub roses. The garden also includes forty-seven different types of hellebore, a collection of twelve herbaceous geraniums, eight fruit trees (cherry, pear and apple) as well as three specimen magnolias – stellate, tulip and galdius.

There are two wild flower meadows – a mixed cornflower meadow by the pond and a mixed wildflower meadow near to the bee hives. In the spring there is an abundance of bulbs in flower – over 4,000 mixed daffodils and narcissi along with 3,000 grape hyacinths.

As in a much larger park, not all of the garden can be seen at one glance. Much of Lanning Roper's original vision has been maintained with pathways that take people through a journey into the garden with seating and rest areas under trees, on the lawns and in a covered pavilion, with the existing and new garden areas linked seamlessly.

The garden has plenty of opportunities to stop and sit down. A circular paved area surrounded by shrubs on the way to the pond is always a popular place. The benches around the pond are well used throughout the year as is the covered seating area on the other side of the garden. A very beautiful circular seat, made of oak and beaten Copper was commissioned in 2009 and surrounds the plane tree. This is a particularly peaceful part of the garden and has lovely views of both the new inpatient centre and the lovely old Georgian buildings.