Nigel Dunnet’s Superbloom at the Tower of London is in flower again this year, and much of what you can see now was self-seeded from last year

By Daisy Bowie-Sell

Published: Wednesday, 07 June 2023 at 12:00 am

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The Tower of London Superbloom, has emerged and opened to the public for the first time this year, after it was planted in 2022 to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

Nigel Dunnett, the designer and plantsperson behind the Superbloom, said that many of the plants currently on show were self-seeded from last year’s planting.

In a post on Instagram he explains: ‘The engineered soils used for Superbloom were weed free, and therefore allowed the seeds to come up again a second time. But only the species that are the most successful self-seeders will come through.’

This means this year there is not quite the level of diversity in the planting, and the planting scheme will also not come through in the same way.

He also added that several species that failed to appear in big numbers last year have emerged this year, such as Gilia capitata.

Access to the moat is part of the standard entry ticket to the tower of London.

Management of the planting at the Tower of London is managed entirely by the gardens team and there is a lot more flowering to come throughout the year.

Read Nigel’s full post

Over 20 million carefully selected seeds were sown in the Tower of London’s moat in 2022, designed to develop in sweeping waves of colour throughout the summer. This month flowers gradually begin to flourish throughout the display, changing colours and patterns until September.

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