{"id":182528,"date":"2026-04-01T19:41:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/182528\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T19:41:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:41:14","slug":"first-look-inside-queen-elizabeth-11s-new-memorial-garden-celebrating-her-100th-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/182528\/","title":{"rendered":"First look inside Queen Elizabeth 11’s new memorial garden celebrating her 100th birthday"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0The daffodils and tulips are in bloom, and grape hyacinths have started to flower as the new memorial garden to commemorate the life of Queen Elizabeth 11<\/a> takes shape.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hello! has been given an exclusive preview of the two-acre space in London\u2019s Regents Park, which will officially open in late April to coincide with the late monarch\u2019s 100th birthday.<\/p>\n

Filled with trees, shrubs, perennials and some of Elizabeth\u2019s favourite flowers, the garden will be a tranquil city oasis where visitors can find peace and calm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The\u00a9 Alex IngramThe new space is taking shape <\/p>\n

\u201cI always admired the Queen; she had such a resilience, and I loved her sense of colour and fashion, which we have tried to replicate with the bold colours of the flowers,\u201d head gardener Fiona Packe tells us as she shows us around the space, which will reference Elizabeth\u2019s life and service through plants.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Special flowers\u00a0<\/p>\n

These include lily of the valley, which featured in her wedding bouquet, as well as rosemary and myrtle, which were in her funeral wreath<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Specially bred plants, such as the Narcissus \u2018Diamond Jubilee\u2019 or Tulipa \u2018Royal Celebration\u2019,\u00a0reference Elizabeth\u2019s life and service, while a central straight promenade symbolises her unwavering duty and service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Fiona\u00a9 Alex IngramFiona Packe, head gardener for the new memorial garden <\/p>\n

In the centre is a roundel with a magnolia tree \u2013 a favourite in royal gardens \u2013 surrounded by benches made from eco-friendly coir wood, which is manufactured from coconut husks. At the base of the tree, where the official opening will take place, an inscription from Her late Majesty\u2019s 2013 Christmas broadcast reads: \u201cWe all need to get the balance right between action and reflection. With so many distractions, it is easy to forget to pause and take stock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0Some 200,000 spring bulbs have been planted to bloom in time for the opening, while other species like lavender, sunflowers and Red Hot Pokers will bring different colours and scents throughout the year. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Fiona\u00a9 Alex IngramFiona prepares for the grand opening <\/p>\n

\u201cWe really thought about the succession of bulbs, so it looks interesting throughout the whole year and we’ve got some nice references to the late Queen,\u201d Fiona says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 56 countries of the Commonwealth are represented by the 56 steel supports on a pagoda, which will eventually be covered with wisteria, while the wrought iron design on the water tower lookout is inspired by the embroidery on Elizabeth\u2019s coronation gown.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The\u00a9 Alex IngramThe wrought iron is inspired by Ellizabeth’s coronation gown <\/p>\n

The vision of London landscaping company HTA Designs, the garden is built on the site of a demolished plant nursery, and Fiona, who specialises in dry gardens, has used the crushed concrete as a sustainable growing medium which will require little water. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Crowdfund\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe plants will have deeper roots and be stockier and more robust,\u201d says Fiona, who trained as a gardener 10 years ago after a career in fashion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile Royal Parks, the charity funding the \u00a35 million project, is offering the public a chance to fund a patch of a \u00a320,000 wildflower meadow, which will attract\u00a0bees, butterflies and other wildlife. A square metre costs \u00a322.<\/p>\n

\"An\u00a9 HTA DesignAn artist’s impression of the completed garden <\/p>\n

\u201cYou will be able to see it grow and come alive with insects and know that you have contributed,\u201d Fiona says. \u201cIt will attract all sorts of wildlife \u2013 definitely bats and hopefully hedgehogs. Ponds are brilliant for wildlife too – the Egyptian geese have already moved in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got such a great mix of people around Regents Park – tourists, locals and people from all sorts of different backgrounds. It\u2019s such a calm and relaxing space and I\u2019m looking forward to seeing how people use it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Donate to The Regent\u2019s Park Garden | The Royal Parks<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0The daffodils and tulips are in bloom, and grape hyacinths have started to flower as the new memorial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":182529,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[1432,68,9,24,63,122,124,123,1431],"class_list":{"0":"post-182528","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-british-royals","9":"tag-exclusive","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-city","12":"tag-nyc","13":"tag-queens","14":"tag-queens-headlines","15":"tag-queens-news","16":"tag-royalty"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}