FOR A rare peek at the Queen’s London back yard, tune into PBS this Sunday at 10pm to watch The Queen’s Garden.
Screening conveniently on the heels of the second episode of the new season of Downton Abbey, this absorbing, one-hour documentary recounts a year in the Buckingham Palace Garden, exploring the history and natural history of this remarkable 39-acre oasis hidden in the heart of London. With permission from Her Majesty the Queen, the filmmakers explore this urban oasis with a five-century history – a “living museum” where almost every plant (and some of the animals) have royal stories to tell.
Viewers see the garden’s transformation across four seasons, with a chance to marvel at rare flowers bred specially for the queen, extraordinary wildlife captured with hidden cameras, a vast lake with an island in the middle where royal bees make honey that has been gifted to the pope, and a 15-foot marble urn that once belonged to Napoleon. The wildest corners of the garden function as an important wildlife haven in London, as well as serve as a backdrop for the annual 8,000-attendee Royal Garden Party.
The Queen’s Garden is an Oxford Scientific Films Production in association with PBS for ITV.
