Winter in Regent’s Park means winter bedding. This often comes down to pansies and polyanthas with wildly optimistic names like ‘sunrise’ or ‘surprise’. The surprise is that the gardeners make the beds look as good as they do. You can see winter bedding in Avenue Gardens and Queen Mary’s Garden. Regent’s Park does in fact have a Winter Garden just north of Winfield House. It is a long thin garden wedged between two paths that link the Outer Circle to the playing fields.
If you are looking for something to brighten a February day, however, head to the St John’s Lodge Garden. Here you will find a group of three well established Edgeworthia Chrysantha Grandiflora. The scented yellow and white flowers hang from the branches like Christmas decorations. It’s a very unusual plant, and probably the one that winter visitors ask about most often.