To celebrate the release of the RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Design, DK and The Society of Garden Designers have teamed up to create The Great London Garden Trail.

On Monday 4 May, this unique free event will showcase the very best of London’s gardens. Featuring outstanding planting and design ideas, many of these gardens have never been open to the public before.

The ten gardens comprising The Great London Garden Trail are grouped into small clusters in zones 1 to 3 and will be open, for free, between 12–4pm, making it the perfect way to spend a Bank Holiday Monday.

The trail offers a broad spectrum of gardens intended to inspire budding gardeners whatever your style or restrictions on space. The gardens range from a stylish and functional communal roof terrace tucked away off the Kings Road to a bold, architectural garden at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Seven of the gardens in The Great London Garden Trail have been designed by members of the SGD. Three gardens in the trail are the winners of a competition run by DK and the RHS – and supported by Homes & Property - which offered London home-owners the chance to win a garden makeover by top designers Chris Collins and Sven Wombwell. These three gardens were chosen as they represent a variety of challenges facing London residents with a garden or outdoor space.

To find out more about each garden in The Great London Garden Trail, click on the letters on the map below.