London's secret gardens – in pictures

Normally private, often hidden, gardens in allotments, manor houses, shops and 10 Downing Street will be open to the public on 14 and 15 June. Open Garden Square Weekend is an annual event, run by the London Parks and Garden Trust to increase awareness and appreciation of London's varied green spaces. Here are some of the highlights

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• Sarah Gilbert
• theguardian.com, Friday 6 June 2014 12.27 BST

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The Skip Garden in King's Cross is a mobile allotment, built by a variety of local partners as an example of urban organic agriculture

Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park covers 31 acres and is a designated nature reserve

Constructed in 1736, the garden at 10 Downing Street is dominated by a large lawn and rose bushes. Tickets are allocated via ballot through the Open Garden Square Weekend website

At Highbury Square, football fans can tread the hallowed turf that once belonged to Arsenal Football Club. It's now a minimalist, modern garden. Photograph: View Pictures/Rex

Walworth Allotment Association was founded in the 70s, and is home to just 16 plots plus a wildlife area and beehives. Photograph: Mike Kear

Fenton House Garden, Hampstead, is a walled enclosure built in the 17th century. The upper and lower levels include formal walks, a herb garden and an historic orchard bearing more than 30 varieties of English apples. Photograph: The National Trust Photolibrary/Alamy

Charlton Manor primary school is a model for sustainability in schools. It's a haven that includes vegetable plots, fruit trees, a pond, chickens and a beehive. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian

The School of Oriental and African Studies has a small Japanese-inspired roof garden, designed by Peter Swift, which opened in 2001. Photograph: Lena feFld/Alamy

Bee Urban is a beekeeping and environmental education project based at the Keeper's Lodge in Kennington Park. Here volunteers can learn a variety of traditional skills, from beekeeping to carpentry and paper-making

Farm:Shop in Dalston is the world's first farm in an inner-city shop, run by the design practice Something & Son. It attempts to combine new technologies with ancient techniques, with results such as this striking basil wall

Barnsbury Wood is London's smallest nature reserve. It is used by schools for environmental education sessions, but due to its small and vulnerable nature is usually only open to the public one afternoon a week