Crossrail Place rooftop garden, Canary Wharf

You might have heard the major London Crossrail project which has been making a rumble across the city recently. Scheduled to open in 2018, Crossrail will make travelling from west to east London fabulously easy with a network of stations connecting Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to parts of Essex and South East London. But this major design event is not just about travel, it's also getting us talking about new public spaces, namely the roof garden now open at Crossrail Place in the city.

Crossrail Place, Canary Wharf 

Designed by the London-based design studio Gillespies within the Foster & Partners Canary Wharf Crossrail station, the 4,160-square-metre garden sits inside a spectacular seven-storey structure which mimics the Thames clipper boats which used to be docked at Canary Wharf. The garden also embraces Canary Wharf's maritime past with a sympathetic design to match the existing architectural language, a stunning view of the river and planting inspired by countries on the 19th century trade network. Sitting beneath a 210-metre cover, the garden is designed to unite the busy suits of Canary Wharf's business district with the sleepy residential area of Poplar. Before work is complete on the station, there will also be a host of restaurants and shops to find at Crossrail Place.

So if the Walkie Talkie Sky Garden's confusing booking system is too much to handle, we recommend a visit to this quieter secret garden in Canary Wharf before the London Crossrail completion date arrives and this station becomes an epicentre for commuters.