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If you’ve ever been to London, you’ve probably visited one of the eight Royal Parks.
This wide green spaces in the middle of the city which includes Hyde Park, Green Park and St James’ Park are filled with stunning greenery and flowers. But this spectacle of beautiful landscaping is no accident.
It is the job of Rob Dowling and his team at the Royal Park Nursery to grow enough plants each year to support the city in bloom.
A huge greenhouse in central London
Tucked away in the center of Hyde Park is a greenhouse larger than a football field. It has 12 zones, each with its own climate control, and can grow a total of up to 450,000 plants.
“We have about 250,000 plants in cultivation for this summer’s production,” says Rob Dowling, manager of the Royal Parks Nursery.
“They will be going to the parks in the next few weeks.”
Twice a year, each Royal Park carefully designs its flower beds for spring and summer. Once the designs are complete, it’s up to Rob and his team to start growing.
“Those orders come to us and then we look at what we can produce,” says Dowling.
“Then we look at the market for seeds, cuttings, all plants and other materials. And once that starts, we’ll grow them according to each park’s delivery date.”
How do you grow enough crops for an entire city?
All year round, a team of 12 employees and 12 volunteers work to produce enough greenery for everyone London’s Royal Parks. In total, they grow around 400 species of plants.
Zone one of the nursery is used to grow tropical plants for exhibitions in St James’s and Regent’s Park. In another zone, geraniums are grown for the Buckingham Palace exterior and in another, more herbaceous plants destined for Richmond Park, the largest of the royal parks in London.
The nursery underwent a £5million (€5.9million) refurbishment in 2018 to create a super high-tech greenhouse. Each zone has its own weather station, connected to a computer and calibrated to the perfect settings for their individual crops. Both temperature and humidity are closely monitored.
“When the sun comes out and the temperature in the greenhouses rises, the vents in the roof open and that lowers the temperature,” says Dowling.
“If it gets too sunny too, we have screens that go through so the plants don’t get damaged by the strong sun.”
How does climate change affect plant growth?
So far this year London, it was unusually warm. That might not sound bad to some, but the warm temperatures have accelerated the growth of most plants, which Rob and his team are now trying to slow down.
Unexpected heat can often cause plants to grow very tall and thin without the strength to support themselves.
“We can reduce the temperature and cut out some plants,” explains Dowling.
“So it’s almost like cutting them back, which might sound drastic, cutting off the blooms from summer bloomers, but it helps the plant in the long run. This means they will bloom and grow into a much healthier plant.”
Watch the video above to learn more about Royal Parks Nursery.
