Chelsea Flower Show's Australian garden replanted

1 hour ago

Amy Clarke

News image — Horticultural apprentices are taking on the replanting work at Kensington Gardens

The Royal Parks Sandy patch of ground with small plants placed around, in a park with trees and blue sky in the background. — Horticultural apprentices are taking on the replanting work at Kensington Gardens

Hundreds of plants from an Australian garden displayed at the Chelsea Flower Show are being moved to Kensington Gardens to see if they can handle London's climate.

Experts will track how species from South and Western Australia cope with the city's microclimate, in a joint research project by designer Max Parker-Smith and The Royal Parks.

Horticultural apprentices are replanting them along the stretch from Buck Hill Lodge to Queen Anne's Alcove.

Russell Stevens, head gardener at Kensington Gardens, said: "We've got a microclimate here in central London that can cope with things that are a little bit on the edges of what you could normally plant in your gardens."

RHS / Sarah Cuttle Wooden garden structure with seating and plants around it, set in front of a large brick building. — The Chelsea Flower Show garden was named Journey Beyond the Tracks: From Adelaide to Perth

The garden, named Journey Beyond the Tracks: From Adelaide to Perth, was a "real showstopper" at Chelsea, according to Stevens.

He added that Londoners could take inspiration from the garden, as many of the plants, including kangaroo paw, bottlebrush and paperbark, were likely to thrive locally.

A man wearing a wide-brim brown hat and plant patterned shirt gestures with one hand. — Max Parker-Smith designed the garden

Max Parker-Smith, the designer of the original Chelsea garden, said the plants required plenty of sun, good airflow and free-draining conditions.

He added: "By rehoming species from the vibrant kangaroo paw to ancient grass trees, we are sharing the wild, authentic nature of South Australia and Western Australia."

The Royal Parks A man kneels in a garden bed planting, while another stands behind, both beside a large spiky grass plant in front of a wooden fence. — Richard Fitzpatrick, an apprentice gardener, planting a grass tree at the new site

Richard Fitzpatrick, an apprentice gardener, explained that the team at Kensington Gardens was "trying to mimic the ground you have in Australia, with sandy, aggregate-rich soil, which helps with drainage and water retention for the plants".

Stevens added: "Kangaroo paws are not plants Londoners are used to seeing in their parks, and I think visitors will be fascinated to watch them establish and evolve through the seasons.

"Kensington Gardens has a long history of bold, beautiful planting, and these Australian species will add something genuinely new to that story."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk