Chelsea Physic Garden

Disappointed.  I’ve heard so many good things about this garden, but it isn’t really a garden - it’s actually a plant museum, so walking around it does sometimes feel like being on a school trip.  Which you might like.

Aside from this, it’s very small, pricey (£8 for an adult, and you also have to pay for children over 5 - although the money does all go to support the garden, which doesn’t have any public funding) and there is a very busy road at the bottom end that means it’s not that quiet.  Although I didn’t mind paying as it’s for a good cause, I ran out of money very quickly in the Tangerine Dream Cafe when I had some lunch (around £10 for a main, around £2 for a tea or coffee) and didn’t have enough left for any cake - which was a shame as it looked nice.  The salmon en croute was okay, interesting, but not wonderful which I was kind of expecting (okay I’m spoilt!)

What was lovely was sharing my table with two very nice ladies who also came for lunch - and this really was the highlight of my visit.

It’s got some amazing plants, interesting stuff about honey, and it also got me thinking about healing in a different way - it’s often the same plants that are poisonous that are healing too, so maybe it’s more about dosage?  Some types of healing, foods, books, movies can be great, but we can overdose on them too, don’t you think?

If you live nearby, the annual membership is only £30, and you can bring in a family member for free, and visit on otherwise closed days, and get free entrance to lots of events, so if you are at all interested in plants it might be worth it for you.

But for me, the best park in London is still Cannizaro Park in Wimbledon, which is beautifully planted and free - as well as having free parking next to it and being close to lots of lovely cafes and shops if you fancy a picnic.

Don’t get me wrong, some of these are excellent, but I couldn’t, in good conscience give them a Pearl Recommendation.  Sometimes they were just beaten to the punch, or I couldn’t decide a clear winner, other times they had a lot right, but I felt they just weren’t there.  I don’t really want to give bad reviews, but anything I felt was really best avoided you’ll find in the Jellyfish section.