Civic Rose Garden Restoration

Tucked away north of the Civic Centre and behind buildings on the east side of St Peter’s Street is the little oasis known as the Rose Garden – a city pocket park, which was probably first adopted as a public garden when the adjoining large houses facing St Peter’s Street became commercial properties and gave up their outdoor space.

The Rose Garden has three gates and it has several routes in from the surrounding streets, none well signposted or obvious, so it has the feel of a secret space known and much enjoyed by the cognoscenti.

In recent years, the Rose Garden had begun to look like a faded example of former glory, insufficiently maintained, with meagre planting and a general feel of neglect. All that has changed thanks to a restoration project supported by St Albans City and District Council and sponsored by local companies and organisations, including the Civic Society.

Work to restore the garden and create a space that can be enjoyed all year round is being led by a team of volunteer gardeners. The design and planting schemes reflect the need to accommodate climate change, encourage biodiversity and provide all-season colour and interest, but also to work within the existing layout and hard landscaping, to minimise costs.

The volunteer team has planted two new trees, an Acer and a flagpole cherry, a total of 32 new roses including white roses of York and red roses of Lancaster to remember the battles of the Wars of the Roses that took place in St Albans. There’s colour and variety from the 400 new tulips, 100 alliums, snowdrops, primroses, irises and dozens of perennials added to the garden – all flowering profusely and attracting many bees and other pollinators.

As well as clearing and planting, benches are being cleaned and repositioned; some trees have been thinned to bring more light and air to the site; bins have been changed; and new access points constructed to make the garden more accessible.

From 2025 onwards, amongst other jobs, the volunteer team will be working to clear a weed-infested border in front of the long wall to the north and establish a herb garden – an appropriate choice for a former monastery city.

The restoration team welcomes new volunteers and donations of funds and plants. To get in touch just send an email to garden.regeneration@gmail.com. For more background you can find photos and details of activities and priorities on the team’s Facebook page.

In 2027 it will be 100 years since the Rose Garden became a public space. The ambition is to have the restoration project completed in time for a centenary celebration.