The Botanic Gardens, Regent's Park
In his survey of London's Squares and Parks in Imperial London, first published in 1901, Arthur H. Beavan found this to say about the Botanic Gardens in Regent's Park:
The Botanic Gardens, about 18 acres, occupy the entire inner circle of Regent's
Park.
Formerly a nursery ground, no spot could have been better selected for its present
purpose.
Small as it is, the skill of the landscape gardener is very apparent, and so quiet
and retired is it, that London seems a long way off.
It has a winter garden and numerous conservatories; herbal garden and rockeries;
a pretty lake; nice lawns for promenading (on fete-days bright with well-dressed
people); and a museum and library.
The periodical shows of the Royal Botanic Society (instituted in 1839), held generally
in early summer in large marquees, are splendid; there is a wonderful display
of rhododendrons, their colour against the background of canvas producing a fine
effect.
Another notable show, at the end of June, is that of the Viola, which, north of
the Tweed, is one of the most favoured of gardening hobbies, and most lovely are
the dainty bouquets and examples of the "tufted pansy" as they are often
called, the blossoms covering a large range of colour, from peach, lavender, and
lilac, to warm purple, and from canary to deep orange.
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