The Royal Parks in photos - February

Around the parks

In the Bog Garden, found in Richmond Park's Isabella Plantation, all five deep pools have been desilted. The nutrient-rich silt taken from these pools has been dried alongside the waterbodies and will be spread around the garden. Beds have been cleared of plants and topped up with soil.

Work will begin in March to resurface paths, replace the central deck area, and renew bridges and log stepping stones. Then comes replanting the flower beds with a mix of plants lifted and divided from the original scheme, as well as a selection of new plants to help restore this area to its original glory. 

In the Pembroke Lodge area of Richmond Park lies the Cottage Garden. Over the years the garden’s more competitive plants have outcompeted the less vigorous and short-lived herbaceous perennials that bloom in the warmer months and die back in the cold. This autumn our gardeners and volunteers removed and stored plants from all beds, allowing for weeding and moving irrigation points.

Beds were dug over and left fallow for the winter to aerate and break up the soil, then in early spring they will be replanted following the original plan with a few tweaks to remove the plants that tend to take over. 

Two inlets were made in the banks of Bushy Park's Heron Pond recently, reinstating the flow of water from the pond to the land alongside it. Over time this will become valuable wetland habitat supporting more varied plant life, which will in turn be a great benefit for wildlife.

One particular plant we hope to encourage is the nationally scarce Mudwort (Limosella aquatica) which favours the damp and boggy conditions created by the works. The presence of deer will help to maintain patches of exposed mud which in the past has encouraged this plant to thrive. We will be keeping a close eye on the area waiting for it to appear.

The newly-painted Richmond Park minibus free bus service is starting up again this March and will run for the whole of 2025. The bus runs three days a week and when not in service is used to bring local community groups and school classes to Richmond Park that may not have been able to access it otherwise.

Our wildlife officer invited our Access and Engagement team to feed the pelicans in St. James's Park. They were joined by a family group from Cardinal Hume Centre, a local charity who support families and young people facing poverty and homelessness. The team works with local communities around the Royal Parks to help them discover all that the parks have to offer, with a particular focus on those who face barriers to fully accessing and benefitting from these green spaces. 

While the parks burst into bloom for spring, the Hyde Park nursery team are already looking ahead to summer. They grow around 20,000 plants of around 140 different varieties from seed for the season each year.