With spring’s arrival, London’s gardens come to life in dazzling displays of colour. Laura Sedlak reveals five of the best places to watch the flowers unfurl
London is one of the world’s greenest cities, and as winter gives way to spring, its parks and gardens start to bloom. With more than 40 per cent of Greater London made up of green spaces, including over 3,000 parks, these natural havens are a key part of the capital’s charm.
Hampton Court Palace
The former home of King Henry VIII bursts into kaleidoscopic life in the spring with more than 100,000 tulips taking over the gardens. In the Wilderness area, carpets of daffodils and blooming cherry blossoms add to the spring fever. Catch the annual Tulip Festival from 11 April to 5 May.
Chiswick House
A striking 18th-century mansion in west London, Chiswick House is home to one of England’s earliest and most influential landscaped gardens. As winter fades, the famous camellia collection starts to bloom, both in the conservatories and the garden. The original trees, brought from China by ship, include the rare ‘Middlemist’s Red’ – one of only two in the world.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The gardeners at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ensure a stunning spring display by planting more than five million bulbs. As well as a crocus carpet, tulips pop up under Japanese cherry blossom, magnolias bloom and bluebells carpet the woodland in a sea of violet. Without a doubt, it’s the largest spring display in the country.
Eltham Palace
Eltham Palace in southeast London is an Art Deco mansion dating back to the 14th century. In spring, new bulbs including primroses and yellow aconites decorate the gardens, while daphnes and Sarcococcas lend the air the soft, sweet scent of the new season. Hellebores fill the wide borders near the house, and scillas and spring peas frame the building with flowers.
Chelsea Physic Garden
A green oasis in the middle of the city, snowdrops light up the Chelsea Physic Garden in spring. Wintersweet scents the air and the garden shop brims with crocus, muscari, narcissus and camassias, allowing you to take home a little piece of spring.
