JUNE’S ROSIEST DESTINATIONS
Roses are the official flowers of June. And one of the best places to enjoy them is in London’s Royal Parks and Gardens.
England, known for its lush, fragrant gardens, is especially known for its rose gardens. In fact, the rose is England's national flower. With mild summers, dotted with rain, the climate is perfect for roses -- they flourish at every turn.
England’s love affair with roses dates back to Elizabeth I, who designated this flower as her emblem. The white eglantine, known as the “queen’s rose,” appears in several of her portraits to symbolize her chastity.
The rose is also featured in heraldic imagery of England’s kings and queens.
The liveries of the houses of York and Lancaster, for example, were represented by white and red roses respectively, and the civil war that broke out between these two houses between 1455 and 1485 was later termed the Wars of the Roses.
The Wars of the Roses ended when King Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, in 1486, combining two dynasties and two roses, which gave birth to the famous red and white Tudor Rose.
June and July are peak rose blossom season, just the time English strawberries and cream are calling. Here are some favorite London rose gardens to visit now:
Hyde Park’s spectacular rose garden features rose bushes mixed with herbaceous plantings. This mix offers a rich range of colors, textures and the most complex scents, so it’s multisensory bonanza.
The Rose Garden is located at the southeast corner of Hyde Park, south of Serpentine Road, near Hyde Park Corner.
The central circular area enclosed by the yew hedge is designed to resemble the mouth of a trumpet or horn, while the seasonal flower beds flare out resemble notes coming out of the horn.
Two fountains are featured in the Rose Garden. The Boy and Dolphin Fountain, was sculpted by Alexander Munro (1862). The Diana the Huntress Fountain was sculpted by Lady Feodora Gleichen, the first female member of the Royal British society of sculptors, in 1899.
A grand pergola and a rose arbour, with pillars and chains, add flourish.
Greenwich Park's beautiful rose garden forms a lush backdrop to the Ranger's House, an elegant Georgian villa, which now belongs to English Heritage. Inside, check out The Wernher Collection, a remarkable collection of works of art amassed by diamond magnate Sir Julius Wernher (1850-1912).
The Rose Garden beds are laid out in a semi-circular design and planted with predominantly hybrid tea and floribunda roses.
The rose garden, in Queen Mary’s Gardens, holds London's largest collection of roses, (Approximately 12,000 roses) Out of 400 varieties of roses planted here, there are 85 single-variety beds on display, including one London’s very own 'Royal Parks' rose.
We especially love the National Collection Delphinium Border, the Mediterranean Borders, and the Begonia Garden, with its 9,000 begonias, all in bloom with the roses.
Kew Royal Botanic Gardens is home to a magnificent rose pergola, wreathed in pairs of climbing and rambling roses. The varieties were curated to deliver a long, profuse blossom experience. You’ll see red Rosa 'Danse Des Sylphes' and pink R. 'Mary Wallace' roses, which create a tunnel of color that frames the view of the Plant Family Beds as you stroll down the central path.
See more beautiful rose gardens around the world here.
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