Twenty specialist nurseries, a bandstand backdrop and a very good excuse to come home with more plants than you left with: the Horniman Plant Fair returns to Forest Hill this September.
The Horniman Plant Fair takes over the Gardens at the Horniman Museum and Gardens on Saturday 5 September 2026, from 11am to 4pm, with twenty independent nurseries setting up stalls across the lawns in front of the bandstand.
What’s actually for sale
Expect cottage-garden favourites, shade-loving plants, alpines, trees and shrubs, succulents and plenty more besides, the kind of specialist stock you won’t find at a standard garden centre. The event is run in partnership with Plant Fairs Roadshow, with Japanese garden tools and accessories brand Niwaki as headline sponsor this year.
Beyond the shopping, there are guided tours of the Gardens on the day for anyone who wants the full Horniman experience, its sweeping South London views included, while the growers on each stall are there to answer questions, not just take your money.
Good to know before you go
Arrival is staggered across four slots, 11am, 11.30am, midday and 12.30pm, so book the one that suits your day. There’s no parking at the venue beyond a handful of Blue Badge spaces, and seating and shade are limited, so come prepared for a proper wander rather than a sit-down. The fair runs rain or shine, with no refunds if the famously changeable Forest Hill weather doesn’t play ball.
Dogs on leads are welcome, and children can come along too, though there’s no dedicated programming for them, this one’s really built around the plants.
The London x London Take: Forest Hill doesn’t get nearly enough credit as a South London destination, and a morning spent picking through specialist nursery stock with the Horniman bandstand as your backdrop is a genuinely lovely way to spend a Saturday. Go early if you want first pick of anything unusual, the good stuff tends to sell out well before 4pm.
Need to know
- Where: The Gardens, Horniman Museum and Gardens, 100 London Road, Forest Hill, London SE23 3PQ
- When: Saturday 5 September 2026, 11am to 4pm
- Price: Adults £12, children £3, under-3s and carers free
- More info: Horniman Museum and Gardens website
