Get your floral fix with these blossoming beauties
Winter in London can feel neverending. But one sure sign that the cold weather's on the way out is the sight of delicate flowers springing up in parks and front gardens. In February, snowdrops and crocuses begin to emerge from the ground, hinting at the explosion of colourful blooms to come. Cheery daffodils follow in March, then cherry blossom petals flutter gently onto the pavements in April, before flowerbeds erupt into colourful tulip and hyacinth displays all May long.
Our handy guide will introduce you to the ten varieties of flowers that make London sing with colour each spring, and we'll tell you the best places to find them too. Dress up pretty for a Bridgerton-worthy photoshoot or just soak up the colourful beauty with your eyes – either way, you can’t beat ushering in Spring in London with fields full of florals.
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Where? Kew Gardens, Cannizaro Park (Wimbledon), Battersea Park.
When? March-early April.
Flowery fact Kew’s impressive ‘crocus carpet’ makes up just part of the whopping 5 million bulbs planted in the gardens. In total, it’s the biggest spring flower display in the country. Who needs the countryside?
Image: Kew Gardens, RBG Kew
Where? Chiswick House, Kenwood House (edge of Hampstead Health), Isabella Plantation (Richmond Park).
When? February-April.
Flowery fact Chiswick House is home to one of the world’s rarest varieties of camellias, the deep pink ‘Middlemist’s Red’. It was brought back from China in 1804 by Londoner John Middlemist and the only other known plant of this kind is in Waitangi, New Zealand. Hopping on a train to west London doesn’t seem like quite so much of a trek now, does it?
Image: Chiswick House, John Fielding
Where? Greenwich Park, St Paul’s Cathedral, Kew Gardens.
When? March-May.
Flowery fact In Japan, cherry blossom is thought of as the unofficial national flower. They call it ‘sakura’, which is also the word for ‘raw horsemeat’. No prizes for guessing which will get you more likes on Instagram.
Image: Greenwich Park, @shadz_ig
Where? Osterley Park (Hounslow), Highgate Wood, Wanstead Flats.
When? Mid April-May.
Flowery fact Bluebells are a protected species, so don’t be tempted to pick them and take them home. What would Sir David Attenborough think?
Image: Osterley Park, @loucamera
Where? Isabella Plantation, Kenwood House.
When? late April-June.
Flowery fact Hidden away in Richmond Park, Isabella Plantation is home to 100 different varieties of azaleas – but it hasn’t always been a flowery haven. Back in the seventeenth century, it was known as The Sleyt, which meant ‘boggy ground’. Doesn’t sound quite as aesthetically delightful.
Image: Isabella Plantation, Shereagh Dunphy
Where? Green Park, Hampton Court Palace, St James’s Park.
When? March-April.
Flowery fact Green Park is a sea of yellow in spring, with 1 million daffodils in bloom – but that’s the only time you’ll see flowers there. The park has no formal flower beds – rumour has it that’s because King Charles II’s wife had them removed after she caught him picking flowers there for another woman. Busted.
Image: St James’s Park, @rodwey2004
Where? Buckingham Palace Memorial Gardens, Regent’s Park, Kensington Gardens.
When? March-May.
Flowery fact Created in honour of Queen Victoria, the Memorial Garden outside Buckingham Palace is filled with around 50,000 yellow wallflowers and red tulips. Replanting takes up to ten staff around two weeks. That’s a lot of bad backs.
Image: Buckingham Palace, @piccoloexplorer
Where? Peckham Rye Common, Hampstead Heath Pergola, Holland Park.
When? April-June.
Flowery fact Built in the 1900s, the Hampstead Heath Pergola is as long as 1 Canada Square at Canary Wharf is tall. In spring, it’s even more impressive, as it gets covered with Parma Violet-coloured, sweet-smelling wisteria. Cop a whiff of that!
Image: Peckham Rye Park, @misskizzylew
Where? Fulham Palace botanic gardens, Portobello Road, Regent’s Park.
When? March-April.
Flowery fact We have the former Bishop of London, Henry Compton, to thank for the beautiful blooms of magnolia that blossom all over the city. It was he who first introduced the flower to the UK, after acquiring the American M. Virginiana bud from John Bannister in 1687.
Where? Regent’s Park, Hyde Park, Greenwich Park.
When? May-June.
Flowery fact Queen Mary’s Gardens in Regent’s Park is home to around a staggering 12,000 roses, with 85 different varieties brightening up the place. It even boasts its own type of flower – the Royal Parks rose – among its colourful petals.
Gardens that you won't find growing in the guidebooks
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