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The Royal Parks has published its first horticultural vision, setting out four planting projects in Hyde Park, Green Park, Kensington Gardens and Greenwich Park. The plans combine new varieties and more diverse planting with efforts to adapt historic landscapes to heat, drought, flooding and other weather extremes. The report does not give a full delivery schedule or total cost for the projects.
The Royal Parks has published its first horticultural vision, setting out four projects to introduce more diverse and climate-resilient planting in Hyde Park, Green Park, Kensington Gardens and Greenwich Park. The plans respond to hotter, drier conditions and more unpredictable weather, while aiming to retain the historic character and public appeal of the London landscapes.
The vision, led by Matthew Pottage, head of horticulture and landscape strategy, proposes changing the planting palette inherited from earlier eras. The Royal Parks says it will experiment with species better able to cope with heat, drought, frost and flooding, alongside attention to soil health and plants that need less water. Traditional features such as roses and bedding plants are not described as disappearing; the stated direction is to broaden the planting choices.
In Hyde Park’s Rose Garden, the plan is to use Rosa persica varieties, roses with origins in the Middle East that the report describes as uncommon in UK gardens and suited to heat and drought. They would sit among about 20,000 plants and up to 100,000 bulbs in pink and purple tones. The report also says visitors can donate £25 toward a rose and add a name to a celebration board.
At The Green Park, thousands of camassia bulbs are planned to evoke the River Tyburn, which once ran through the area and is now piped underground. Kensington Gardens’ Italian Gardens would feature plants from warmer regions, including water lilies, lotus and other water plants. In Greenwich Park, 130 Prunus Sekiyama cherry trees are already in the ground and are expected to form a blossom valley, with a roughly two-week flowering display each spring as they mature.
How planting plans address climate stress
The proposals matter because they apply climate adaptation to heavily used public landscapes, rather than treating it only as a matter of appearance. The parks are free to enter and visited by millions, including local residents who may have little or no private garden space. Their planting must withstand changing conditions while continuing to serve as places for recreation and as historic landscapes.
Choosing plants that can manage with less water could help reduce pressure on water supplies during dry spells, while a wider range of species may reduce reliance on a planting palette vulnerable to weather extremes. Those are aims of the vision, not results yet demonstrated by the projects. The report provides no measured water savings, survival rates or other performance data, so the practical effect will depend on what is planted and how it performs over time.
The designs also tie horticulture to the parks’ identities: a rose garden, a remembered river, formal pools and a blossom-viewing tradition. That creates a public-facing way to show how the parks may change, while testing whether new planting can balance climate resilience with historical character.
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A new direction for historic park planting
The Royal Parks manages London’s best-known historic parks, which have long relied on familiar garden plants and formal displays. The report frames the new vision as a shift away from relying on a largely Victorian-era planting palette, not as a plan to remove every traditional feature. It says roses and bedding plants will still have a place, while more varied and experimental planting is added.
The rationale is the changing climate described in the report: hotter summers, drought, wetter and wilder winters, flooding and unpredictable weather. Central London’s urban heat-island effect can make its conditions different from those elsewhere in Britain. The Royal Parks says it plans to use those growing conditions to test species that may perform better locally, with soil health treated as part of the work.
The four projects range from proposed planting to trees already planted. That distinction matters: the Greenwich cherry trees are in the ground, while the other descriptions set out intended designs. The source report does not provide a single completion date for the overall vision.
“Stop visitors in their tracks and see something memorable whether that is a river of blue flowers over a lost London River or a tunnel of scented wisteria in Hyde Park.”
— Matthew Pottage, head of horticulture and landscape strategy at The Royal Parks
Project costs and delivery dates remain open
The report does not give overall costs, a complete timetable or project-by-project planting dates. It also does not say how the Royal Parks will measure whether the new plantings use less water or withstand extreme weather better than existing choices. The plans describe intended outcomes and planting schemes; they do not supply long-term results.
Details of maintenance, replacement planting and the final number of species in each site are also not provided. The precise timing of the displays will depend on establishment and seasonal conditions. While the Greenwich trees have already been planted, the report gives no specific date for when they will reach the mature scale needed to create the proposed blossom valley.
Planting tests and displays will develop
The Royal Parks’ next practical steps are to carry out the four projects and observe how the selected plants perform. Visitors can expect the Greenwich cherry trees to develop over time, while the Hyde Park roses, Green Park camassia and Kensington Gardens’ warmer-climate planting are presented as elements of the vision. The source material does not set out a detailed rollout calendar.
Further updates could clarify planting dates, costs and how success will be judged, including whether the gardens need less water or recover better from heat, drought and flooding. Until those details and results are available, the plans show the intended direction of change rather than proof of how well the new planting will perform.
Key Questions
Which parks are included in the horticultural vision?
The four named projects are in Hyde Park, The Green Park, Kensington Gardens and Greenwich Park.
What is planned for Hyde Park’s Rose Garden?
The plan features Rosa persica roses among about 20,000 plants and up to 100,000 bulbs in pink and purple tones. The report describes the roses as suited to heat and drought.
Have all four projects started?
No full status list is provided. The report says 130 cherry trees are already in the ground in Greenwich Park; the other projects are described as planned planting schemes.
When will the projects be completed?
The report does not specify a complete schedule or completion date. It says the Greenwich cherry trees will mature over time but gives no date for the blossom valley to reach its planned form.
Will the parks stop using traditional plants?
The vision is described as broadening and changing the planting palette, not ending traditional planting. The report says there will still be a place for roses and bedding plants.
Source: rss
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