When you're next in the Park come and explore the improved garden behind the Visitor Centre - our Jubilee Garden. 

Thanks to funding from the National Lottery Platinum Jubilee Fund last year we have been able to improve the garden to create a peaceful and reflective space for visitors and provide more flowers and plants for pollinating insects. 

The first stage of garden developments was to decide what we wanted to keep and what we wanted to replace. Some of the plants had grown too big for the location and weren’t offering much value aesthetically or for wildlife. The beautiful birch trees have been retained but given a trim to ensure they thrive in a compact space. An old fence has been removed and the large windpipes located to a different area.

An attractive Amelanchier Lamarckii tree has been planted as a focal point on entering the garden. This tree is more commonly known as June Berry or Snowy Mespilus with its snow like flowers in April or May. The honour of planting the tree went to our work experience rangers who had successfully completed their course.

The special tree from The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) ‘Tree of Trees’ which we were presented with last October by the Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire Mrs Julie Spence OBE QPM has also been planted in the garden. The tree is a multi-stem betula pendula (birch) and has a special plaque next to it with the Queen's cypher. 

To increase the variety and longevity of the new plants in the garden, we have raised the bed level using a brick edging and back filled this with lots of nutritious mushroom compost mixed into the soil. Hundreds of bulbs were planted in the autumn with a purple and white colour scheme, which are already making a beautiful display. The colours used are also a nod to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations last summer. 

Peterborough’s Poet Laureate Kat Beeton has written a poem to welcome visitors into the garden. 

As you explore, be sure to admire our bespoke bird boxes designed by our young artist group. We hope these will not only provide homes for birds but also add interest in the garden particularly in the winter months when much of the colour has disappeared. New seating has also been added to the garden in secluded spots and dappled shade to help with those hotter summer days.

Thank you to the National Lottery for the funding of this project but also to our amazing conservation volunteers who helped clear the garden, barrowed a huge amount of compost and planted all the bulbs.