POG2016: The Glasshouse

The Glasshouse is an other top attraction in Petersham Open Gardens though that is probably due as much to the house as it is to the garden.

That garden is deceptively spacious and it easily swallowed up the dozen of people who were there at the same time as me. Because of the large number of people there I had to struggle and wait to get some decent shots of the garden without including people wearing distracting bright clothing. The bright white walls are good at showing off the structural plants but also good at showing off bright clothing too.

The Glasshouse in Petersham Open Gardens 2014

The Glasshouse is always a personal highlight of Petersham Open Gardens and this year the geometric design was helped by the good sunlight emphasising the shapes.

The bad news was that the fame of the garden and the good weather had combined to bring out the crowds and as the lawn was off limits that meant that we were all squeezed on to the path.

The compensation was that with no people on it the lawn could be photographed at any time and from any angle. I just had to make sure that nobody in bright clothes was lurking in the background.

I spent a lot of time in this garden and sat for a while on one of the benches where I could look along the lawn to the garden room. Despite the number of the people milling around the garden there was a peaceful and restful atmosphere to enjoy.

Inside the Glasshouse

I had been in to the garden at the Glasshouse in River Lane a few times but it was not until Open House London 2013 that I was able to get inside.Not that there were many surprises as the walls facing the garden are almost all glass so a lot of the house is visible from the outside.

The long side of the house has a kitchen area (shown here) and a separate dining area of a similar size that form one large room.

In the corner of the almost L-shaped house is a wide corridor that leads from the kitchen/dining area to the sitting room. It also contains the staircase to the upper level.

The sitting room has the garden on two sides so is very light and has great views. The garden is bounded by a high wall so it is very private, expect when visitors are in the garden.

Above the corridor is a reading area that cannot be seen from the garden so it was nice to be able to go inside the house to discover it.

There are some bedrooms and bathrooms above the kitchen/dining area but these are not very interesting rooms and they were not all open to visitors. The one that was is spacious but it is just a room with a bed in it and I cannot get too excited by that.

The dark side of The Glasshouse

The back garden at The Glasshouse is just as structural as the front garden but it is much smaller so instead of a lawn and hedges there is a pond and ferns. And while the front garden favours whites and light colours here at the back darker shades are allowed.

Front garden at The Glasshouse

The Glasshouse on River Lane is always one of the highlights of Petersham Open Gardens and so it was in 2012, even though it seems not to have changed one iota in the last two years.The grass and box hedge are kept trimmed and the trees have decided not to grow old.

The garden is violently regimented and ornamental. This is a garden for looking at rather than playing in. And that's fine as the house has two large glass walls that mean you can see the garden clearly from (almost) every room.

The Glasshouse

I've kept my favourite of the Petersham Open Gardens to last and that is The Glasshouse in River Lane. It's a modern house (2004) with a very modern garden that does all the things that a modern garden should do and it does them all exceptionally well. Here the bright white walls of the courtyard accentuate the vibrant shapes of the dark green plants that conspire to hide one of the seats conveniently placed to enjoy the garden.

The Glasshouse

A real bonus of Petersham Village Open Gardens 2008 was being able to look at The Glasshouse and its neighbours. These exquisite modern houses were built in 2004 in land next to the German School and are accessed via a long drive off River Lane, which makes them very private.