Flowers at the Tower
The Tower of London’s moat will become a sea of wildflowers next year to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s 70-year reign. Landscape architects Grant and Associates have been working on the “Superbloom” display with University of Sheffield Professor of Planting Design and Urban Horticulture, Nigel Dunnett, for the last couple of years.
Next Spring (UK time) 20 million seeds will be sown from carefully designed seed mixes, with the display in full bloom from June to September. Visitors will be able to weave their way through the flowers into the centre of the garden.
Blooms at the Tower of London. Photo Credit: Historic Royal Palaces
“The prospect of transforming the Tower of London moat from barren amenity grassland into a spectacle of nature was irresistible and we look forward to seeing this historic evolution unfold over the coming months,” Andrew Grant, director of Grant Associates says. “This is set to be a highly significant transformation - one that will build on the moat’s legacy to create a nature-rich, sustainable landscape for the benefit of both biodiversity and the communities of the Tower, Tower Hamlets, London and all future visitors.
“We anticipate this bold intervention will be a catalyst for many other transformational projects across the country, bringing colour and life to renew our urban neighbourhoods.”
“Superbloom” will celebrate the value of nature to people's wellbeing. The positive impact of green space on health is widely recognised and the pandemic has highlighted its importance, Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) says. Schoolchildren are being invited to take part in a major initiative to support the project; growing their own displays, created from a special palette of seeds, to bloom alongside the one at the Tower – and learning about what gardens can do to improve sustainability and support ecology as part of that process.
Plants have been chosen to attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators, and a specially commissioned sound installation and sculptural elements will be part of the experience. Photo Credit: Historic Royal Palaces
It’s hoped the abundance of flowers will attract pollinators and seed-eating birds to the heart of London, acting as a “new biodiverse habitat for wildlife”, says HRP.
“We hope that the effect of being surrounded by a sea of colourful, sparkling and vibrant flowers will release feelings of pure liberated joy in visitors,” says Sheffield University’s Nigel Dunnett. “It will be such a powerful, emotional and celebratory experience.
“We’ve undertaken a lot of testing and trials to ensure that we deliver dramatic and beautiful impressionistic blends of colours, a long and continuous sequence of flowering, and a wonderful place for pollinating insects.”
When the display ends in September 2022, the new natural landscape created to support it will remain in the moat as a permanent Jubilee legacy. Photo Credit: Historic Royal Palaces
“Superbloom” will be the first stage of a permanent transformation of the famous moat into a new natural landscape in the heart of the City of London.
In recent years, the vast 14,000 square metre moat is best known for being the setting for two major commemorations of the Centenary of the First World War: the 2014 ‘Poppies’ and 2018 ‘Flames’ installations.
However, the space has had many uses in its long history. It housed a medieval orchard, a grazing ground for Victorian livestock, and allotments during the Second World War.