Friday 8 June 2012

The Garden of Reason - Ham House



The weather over the Jubilee and following Half Term has been changeable to say the least!  The thought of going to central London, with the combination of huge crowds and dreadful weather did not  appeal, so this break my little girl and I have stayed with local activities.  We have had a play date at home, we have been to a Pottery Cafe to do some painting, and we visited Ham House.

Our local National Trust property is Ham House, and at present it is hosting a modern art garden based exhibition: The Garden of Reason.

We chose an afternoon when the weather was not quite so bad, and popped along, we decided to visit the garden and miss the house (we have visited it many times before).

We loved the art installations, particularly the  interactive ones.  We'll be returning again before the exhibition  closes.  If you live in London or Surrey, or are visiting for a few days, do make your way to Ham and visit the house, it's wonderful,  the gardens are superb.  You could combine it with a lunch at Petersham Nurseries, a walk in Richmond Park and maybe even take in a Polo match at Ham Polo Club.


Ham House (with some modern art)

Ham always seems so rural with so many horses and riders

A place of contemplation?

I'm never sure about modern sculpture

But this we loved

Look through the lens and it turns everything upsidedown

The Compass is marvellous

Climb one of the ladders and what do you see?

The House

And the Garden from a different perspective

I loved this old and new

And these are such great fun

Just Fab!

My daughter loved this, there is a recorded conversation
coming from various speakers

And even after the exhibition is finished there are
fantastic herbs

And the Kitchen garden

Looks delicious and enticing

When my sons were little we used to have fun playing in
these "little houses" - perfect for hide and seek

Now there some interactive descriptions for this part
of the garden, The Wilderness

We are going to bring my husband to turn the handle for us
next time!


When I write about Ham, and post photos, I am always reminded  how fortunate I am  to live in such a pretty and green part of London.  I hope you get a chance to visit sometime, and do get in touch if you do.

2 comments:

  1. That was a lovely, lovely post. I really enjoyed 'my' tour round Ham House gardens. That was lovely, the kitchen gardens, yum, and the sculpture and so many other interesting things, wish we were nearer, I would certainly visit. And I would let you know! You can now breathe a sigh of relief.

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  2. Thanks Jill, apparently it was so breezy there today the large balls had to be put away, shame really it would have been fun to watch them float by! LOL!

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