Gardens
Discover the gardens of the Royal Parks. Glorious, inspiring gardens to explore all year round.
Gardens for all seasons
The Royal Parks are home to a wealth of beautiful gardens – some world famous and well loved, others hidden gems.
Whether you want to leave the world behind for an hour to stroll through a woodland garden in springtime, enjoy the glory of a rose garden in full summer bloom or just crunch through the autumn leaves, there’s a garden within the Royal Parks for you. Whatever your mood, whatever the reason, and whatever the season.
Some of the gardens and parks feature formal layouts, such as St. James’s Park and The Regent’s Park, designed by John Nash, and Andre Le Notre’s Greenwich Park. You can contrast these heritage gardens with the more contemporary community, woodland and wildlife gardens – like Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg’s beautiful Pollinator Pathmaker garden in Kensington Gardens.
As anyone who gardens knows, a gardener’s work is never done. Our Royal Parks teams work year round, planting, conserving and caring for the historic gardens. We’re responsible for major restoration projects, such as the lottery-funded restorations at the Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park, Brompton Cemetery and currently Greenwich Park.
Creating gardens that don’t cost the Earth
We want to create beautiful gardens, but we’re committed to creating those gardens sustainably and responsibly. That’s why our bedding plants are now grown peat-free and locally at our Hyde Park super nursery. And we make planting choices based on wildlife, biodiversity and sustainability.
-
The Rose Garden in Greenwich Park
This popular rose garden is located on the eastern side of the park and forms the backdrop to the Ranger's House.
-
Queen Mary's Gardens
Queen Mary’s Gardens are world-famous and home to London’s largest collection of roses, with 12,000 roses in bloom each year.
-
Isabella Plantation
The Isabella Plantation is a 40 acre woodland garden set within a Victorian woodland plantation planted in the 1830s. Find out more.
-
The Avenue Gardens
These Victorian style gardens are located at the end of the Broad walk near Chester Gate and include the Bog Garden, English Gardens and Lion Vase.
-
St. John's Lodge garden
Built around 1818 by John Raffield, St. John’s Lodge is now a private residence, but the main garden has public access from the Inner Circle.
-
Italian Gardens
The Italian Gardens are a beautiful ornamental water garden on the north side of Kensington Gardens, featuring an elaborate mix of four main basins.
-
The Flower Garden
Laid out in the 1890’s The Flower Garden is one of the horticultural show pieces of Greenwich Park.
-
The Rose Garden in Hyde Park
A spectacular garden featuring rose planting mixed with herbaceous planting to create rich seasonal flower beds and strong scents.