Queen Mary’s Garden in Regent’s Park is famous for its roses. I went there last week with a Japanese friend, who wanted to see real English roses on her visit to the UK, just as we want to see cherry blossom in Japan. The roses were so lovely I decided to post some pictures here for you to enjoy too. And I’ve also added a post on the top five rose gardens in London in case you want to find some more roses.
The garden is named after Queen Mary, who was the wife of King George V. She was the present queen’s grandmother and lived to see her ascend the throne but died just before the coronation in 1953. Queen Mary officially opened the gardens to the public in 1932; the first superintendent of the garden planted the rose garden, which was completed in 1934. It now has London’s largest collection of roses with approximately 12,000 plants including eighty-five single variety beds.
It’s not just roses – the Delphinium border around the central circle has full National Collection status.
What I like best about it is the way it combines the formal, academic planting of the single variety beds with the romantic charm of climbing roses around the circular borders and vistas of green lawns and a quiet lake beyond.
There are seats carefully placed among the roses for a quiet enjoyment of the view. Unfortunately I can’t bring you the scent of the roses – but it’s fascinating how much the scent varies between varieties.
The garden is situated just inside the Inner Ring of Regent’s Park. It’s currently guarded by Stephen the elephant, made from over three thousand plants from a range of species including Echeveria, Ajuga, Sedum and Alternanthera.
If you enter the park through the south-east entrance you can walk up along the Broad Walk and admire the magnificent High Victorian-style bedding schemes with fountains and ornaments laid out by the leading garden designer of the day, William Nesfield, in 1864, then enter through the magnificent Chester Gate.
Regent’s Park opens from 5:00 am all year round. The roses are still in bloom, though some are a little past their best. (The ideal time to go is in June) You can take a picnic (yes, they’re allowed) and spend the whole day in the park in the sunshine.
Very beautiful. It’s nice to see roses in bushes as we (I) tend to think of them as individual, stand-alone flowers when we see them in shops.
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I like the untidy, sprawling ones best! 🙂
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Beautiful. I really should go to Regent’s Park more often! My parents used to have rose bushes in their back garden, but my mum dug them up because she didn’t like them – something I’ve never quite understood.
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I’ve got roses in my back garden – they last for years and don’t need much attention. But I agree formal plantings can be a bit of a pain – you need to mix them in with everything else.
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Hi Fran – such a lovely post. About this time of year I would occasionally be able to time things right to spend a late summer’s evening in Regent’s Park after meetings nearby. The rose garden looks absolutely wonderful in these photos.
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Thank you – the roses are spectacular right now. A late summer’s evening in the park sounds perfect!
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Wow, these gardens look absolutely gorgeous – perfect place to spend a sunny afternoon pottering round. I found the history you posted really interesting too. Beautiful pictures!
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Thank you – it really is a wonderful place. 🙂
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I didn’t know this garden existed. What a nice place to take a walk. I love the variety of roses there are to see.
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There’s so many more varieties there than I could show – you should take a look!
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Beautiful! I always like QM Gardens but hardly ever go because they don’t let dogs in. I’m usually in Regents Park walking my dog.
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I’ll have to look out for you next time I’m there! 🙂
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Just so gorgeous, nothing beats a rose garden in bloom!
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You’re so right!
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I have been here countless times but have learned some fascinating background from your post. As for the photos – well, I admit I couldn’t actually smell the roses, but I really feel as though I have. Gorgeous.
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Thank you! Makes me feel like going back for another visit. 🙂
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Wow! I’m used to getting excited about individual rose in my garden. It’s great to see them flowering with such abandon.
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Yes, it’s really a spectacular display – so many varieties and all of them flowering together – it’s overwhelming.
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Are the roses species labelled or indicated in some way?
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Yes, each bed of roses is labelled.
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