Holland Park’s original Japanese Garden

If you stand by the Ecology Centre and look east, you will see the ground cover has been cleared to reveal some old stones descending from the higher ground down towards where you are standing. What you are looking at is the original Japanese Garden. The water started from a spring near the current Holland Park Pond, and burbled through Sir Walter Cope’s Water Garden and rockery until it reached a pond roughly where today’s Kyoto Pond is sited. The Japanese Garden was created around 1900, starting at the bottom of the Water Garden, with a watercourse linking a series of small ponds and terminating at the entrance to the Adventure Playground. These gardens were a collaboration between the 5th Earl of Ilchester and his head gardener, Charles Dixon. 

Some eight years ago, then head gardener, Rob May, planted drifts of snowdrops to emulate the water flowing down through the Japanese Garden. Look carefully, and you can see those lovely flowers heralding the spring once again. It is now the plan to keep this area cleared so we can enjoy the historic garden.

[February 2026]

Illustration: Old Japanese garden showing line of ponds. Mike Thrift

AGM – come and hear about achievements and plans

 Wed 15 April 7.30 pm in The Orangery, Holland Park 

Please put the date in your diary and do come and join us. The formal part (voting to approve the 2025 accounts and voting for your trustees) is usually over quickly, and then we will have time to talk about future projects and to hear your comments, questions  and suggestions. The park continues to look impressive, in spite of significant challenges due to cuts in the Council’s budgets and process restrictions because of the major Cyber-attack on the Council’s website in December. As always, there is a great deal going on in the park and we are working closely with the parks teams to get projects agreed, paid for and implemented.

Our president, Eric Ellul, will chair the meeting and keep it all on track and on time.

Often, when it seems things are going well, people don’t feel they need to come to the AGM.  But please do come as these are challenging times and we would like you to be part of the discussion. We also need your votes at the meeting to ensure your committee remains in place to carry on the work. Come with your thoughtful questions and share your ideas. The trustees need your support and want to know that we are representing you.   

Members should please register to attend by contacting your chairman on jennie.kettlewell@thefriendsofhollandpark.org or calling 020 7243 0804.

We look forward to seeing lots of you on Wed 15 April.

[February 2026]

Photo:  The Orangery. Jennie Kettlewell.

Dates for your Diary – events in Holland Park

The events listed below are either organised by The Friends (F), or organised by the Ecology Service (ES), most of which are sponsored by The Friends.

Guided tours of Holland Park

Expert Blue Badge Guides will entertain you with fascinating stories about the long history of Holland Park and what went on there – scandals and all. 

Sat. 7 March.     2.30pm-4pm. History of Holland House and the people who lived there. Last opportunity to see the front of Holland House before the area is closed for the summer opera.

GuideLeila Sukiur  

Sat. 25 April.    10.30pm-12 noon. Holland House in two world wars – how it survived.

Guide Rowan Freeland. New tour!

Sun. 17 May.   2.00-3.30pm. The glorious architectural decoration on the Park’s historic buildings. Rare access to the tiled walkway above the café.

Guide Leila Sukiur. New tour!

£10.00 per person

Book a ticket HERE.

Meeting point will be on the ticket.

Any questions about these tours should be addressed to Isabelle Beaumont on 07549 138 461/IBeaumont@gmail.com. Unless otherwise instructed when you book, meet by The Friends’ notice board in the Café Yard.

The Ecology Service (ES) events can be booked on Eventbrite. 

Holland Park Conservation Volunteers (adults) meet on the third Saturday of each month from 10.30am to 3.30 pm. Tasks focus on practical conservation that helps deliver the Ecology Service management plan and might include dead-hedging, scything, pond clearing and maintaining the paths in the Wildlife Enclosure. If you want to join, or find out more, please email Gerry Kelsey, idverde’s Training and Community Manager, at Gerald.Kelsey@idverde.co.uk. 

[February 2026]