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Bulbs planted for Queen Elizabeth II's tribute garden

Amy Walker & Paul MurphyLondon
News imagePA Media A female volunteer with french braids, wearing a hi vis waistcoast, rainproof jacket and gloves, plants a bulb in the new gardenPA Media
Members of the public were also given a guided tour of the new garden

Members of the public have taken part in a spring bulb planting day at a new garden to honour Queen Elizabeth II in Regent's Park.

The two-acre garden, created by The Royal Parks Charity to commemorate the life of the late Queen, is set to open in central London in spring next year.

About 200 people signed-up to one-hour slots on Saturday to plant bulbs including daffodils and snowdrops, and be given a guided tour of the garden.

The garden is in addition to the UK National Memorial to Queen Elizabeth II, which will be in St James's Park, close to Buckingham Palace.

News imageHTA Design An artist's impression of the new garden shows a man standing on a viewing platform with two children overlooking a large pond which is surrounded by pagodas and benchesHTA Design
The garden will feature a circular pond, seen here in an artist's impression

Sonya, a gardener from north London, told the BBC she was on a "busman's holiday" after agreeing to attend the event with a friend.

When the garden opens, she said she would be back to see her bulbs in flower, adding: "I might put a little flag in it or something".

Fiona Packe, Head Gardener at The Regent's Park, said while people also planted alliums, tulips and hyacinths on Saturday, the garden would have a Mediterranean planting style with a "long seasonal interest".

"I think any time of the year you could come to this garden and there'll be something that looks interesting," she added.

News imageSonya, wearing a grey hat and scarf underneath a yellow raincoat and Royal Parks hi vis waistcoat, holds up a muddied trowel and smiles
Sonya said it was "cool" to be part of preparations for the garden

The late queen became patron of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in 1952, the year she acceded to the throne, and attended the RHS Chelsea Flower Show regularly during her 70-year reign.

The charity said the garden has been designed by London-based landscape architects HTA Design, to be "a tranquil space for reflection in the centre of London".

It will feature a pond, a viewing platform and a flower garden, "with plants significant to the late Queen", it added.

Bulbs selected for Saturday's event were chosen to add a pop of colour and "to provide nectar and pollen for vital pollinating insects", it added.

The site, which is on the Broad Walk and close to the Avenue Gardens, was once used to grow shrubs and plants for London's Royal Parks.

It was decommissioned in 2018 after the opening of the Hyde Park Nursery.

The new garden in Regent's Park is expected to cost around £5 million once complete, funded by The Royal Parks charity.