Do you love roses? If you find yourself in London during the summer months do try and find the time to visit Regent's Park. It's a sight you will never forget.

Regent's Park is one of the major parks of London. Right in the centre of the park is an area of flower beds called Queen Mary's Gardens. This ornate gate is the main entrance to this section of the park. If you visit the park at the weekend you can often see couples who have just got married standing nearby having wedding photographs taken amongst the flowers.

If you enter the gardens by this gate you will see a path leading away to the left. Beautiful beds of roses line your route. In the distance there is a lovely herbaceous border of blue, silver and white flowers. Tucked away amongst the trees there is also a cafe, but don't stop there just yet, we have some walking to do.

Once you have had a wander around these flower beds go back to the gate and follow the same path in the other direction.

The extensive lawns and mature trees in this area provide a wonderful backdrop to the roses. If you are wondering about the grey pole sticking out of the rose bed, I think it is a tool belonging to one of the gardeners working nearby. They were weeding the beds and removing any dead flowers as I took the photos.

As you can see, this whole area is a series of rose beds of various colours. It's a wonderful place to spot different varieties. I always stop at each bed to smell the roses. Some of the roses are highly scented, whilst other varieties have no scent at all. I do love the scent of roses, there is nothing to compare with it. 

I love these peach roses, and the lilac coloured ones in the distance, but I also like the deep red roses and the yellow ones are pretty too. Oh dear, it's impossible to choose a favourite.

We now follow the path under the willow tree towards the bench where those people are sitting.

On our left there is an attractive little lake. It's not the biggest lake in the park. Nearby there is a much larger lake with rowing boats that you can hire by the hour. As you pass the lake have a look at the waterfowl, many exotic species nest under these trees or on the little island in the lake.

The gardens are planned so that there is always something in bloom in each section. In the foreground you can see that the pale pink roses are just coming into bloom whilst the white roses in next bed are in full flower. The roses start to bloom in early June and continue throughout the summer months. 

By late August many have finished flowering. However I returned to the park in October and even then there were quite a few late roses in flower. 

Last winter we had a lot of rain in England ( unfortunately even floods in some areas) and all this moisture sunk into the ground and made the roses particularly good this year.

The centrepiece of the rose garden is a circular area of rose beds, surrounded by these arches of climbing roses. Ropes are hung between each of the wooden uprights to allow the roses to drape across them. These lovely white roses have a glorious scent but only a short flowering season. By mid August many of the arches are bare of flowers.

Don't the pink and white roses look lovely together. One of my favourite combinations. As the white roses start to lose their petals they fall to the ground like snowflakes. The people in the background are having a picnic in this delightful spot. Already some of the local pigeons are approaching to see if there are any scraps for them.

These two ladies are having a chat and enjoying the roses. Throughout this section of the park there are many wooden benches provided for people to sit and have a rest.

The pastel shades in this section of the garden are lovely. The two Japanese girls in the distance were busy taking pictures of each other amongst the roses. I don't think they realized they were in another photo!

The stunning blooms in this bed were almost as big as your hand. The rosebuds start out a salmon colour and gradually turn to pure pink as they came into full bloom. You can see from the sign that this rose is called 'Warm Wishes'. There are signs like these throughout the gardens, telling you the names of all the flowers.

Isn't it a dream! I can't imagine anything more delightful. The gardens really were at their best on the day I visited. I hope you enjoyed our brief visit to the roses. Directions on how to reach these gardens can be found on the next page. 

To find these spectacular gardens take a bus or tube to Regent's Park, which is located just to the north of central London. The nearest underground station is Baker Street, from which you can walk to the park. Many buses go to Regent's Park. 

The rose garden is called Queen Mary's gardens and is near the centre of the park. There are maps and signposts giving directions to the gardens. Regent's Park contains many other delights. Here is a small formal garden with a stunning display of begonias and other flowers. There are many other gardens in the park. London Zoo is on the north side of the park and in the summer there is an open air theatre in the park.