5 garden design secrets from Buckingham Palace gardens

When we had the chance to look around Buckingham Palace gardens recently, we were struck by the flowing lines and strong focus on wildlife. Very much a working garden, it certainly isn't all manicured lawns.

In fact, there are lots of garden ideas we can apply to our own gardens, big or small - here are five of our favourites.

Curved paths

The Buckingham Palace gardens are filled with gently curving paths. This means that as you wander through the garden, you often can't quite see what's around the corner, with the area behind you also concealed from view.

Just wide enough for a horse and carriage, the meandering paths create a sense of wonder as the garden slowly reveals itself.

Purple blooms

The gardens feature beautiful pink and purple hydrangeas - a real classic in English gardens. There were lots of other purple flowers in the herbaceous borders.

Bees are most sensitive to blue and purple, so they're not only a striking addition, but they also encourage pollinators.

A long grass area

There is a 'long grass policy' in five of the 39 acres of Buckingham Palace gardens. These areas are dedicated to local wildlife, with grass left to grow wild.

Biodiversity is at the forefront of everything the gardeners do at Buckingham Palace. Over fifty types of birds and over 600 species of wild plants and wildlife have been identified since 1959.

A mown path

The palace gave us lots of other garden path ideas, with a simple mown grass path leading to a garden statue. This is a simple technique that can also be used to create an enchanting pathway leading to a bench.

Rose beds in parallel rows

There are a few rules at play in the rose garden, with rose beds positioned in parallel rows, each bed containing sixty bushes. Also, no two beds adjacent to each other can be of the same colour.

So while the gardens were less traditional than we might have expected, the rose garden is a space where meticulous order reigns.

Will you be taking inspiration from the royal gardens?