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South Park Plaza
The South Park Plaza is a dynamic public space dedicated to entertainment and activity offering people new experiences every time they visit, a 21st century Pleasure Garden. Framed by the Aquatics Centre, the Stadium and the ArcelorMittal Orbit, the 28 acre space sits at the heart of South Park and is a place for local residents and businesses, visitors and organisations from further afield to enjoy these unique park spaces.
A sequence of 'event rooms' for both informal social uses as well as more formal programmed events are defined by a ribbon of vibrant perennial planting. The north-south axis of Tessa Jowell Boulevard provides a promenade for people to stroll, sit and watch the activity in the adjoining water fountains, play areas and garden spaces.
Event Rooms
Event Rooms
Built on the grounds of the main concourse for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the design for the post-Games transformation of South Park Plaza was led by landscape architect James Corner Field Operations. The spine of the South Park Plaza is the 12m wide tree-lined promenade, Tessa Jowell Boulevard, that opens onto a series of outdoor ‘rooms’, each with its own distinctive character.
These community-oriented, flexible spaces include the Water Labyrinth fountains, areas of lawn and hard standing for events and programming, quieter spaces for seating, a small stage for impromptu performances and a series of linked play spaces with climbing wall descending to the canal-side.
Planting Ribbon
Planting Ribbon
The delineating 'Planting Ribbon' of South Park Plaza was designed by renowned Dutch landscape architect and planting designer Piet Oudolf and builds on the plantmanship started with the Games-time Park. Tall textural grasses and long-lived clump forming perennials create a planting design full of complex colours and architectural forms which define the South Park Plaza spaces.
The Planting Ribbon, along with the 2012 Gardens, has become a tourist attraction in its own right, with horticultural tourists and students visiting from all over the world to gain inspiration.
Plant Species
Trees
Acer platanoides - Norway Maple
Alnus glutinosa - Alder
Betula pubsecens - Downy Birch
Betula nigra - Black Birch
Fraxinus excelsior - Ash
Magnolia sp. - Magnolia
Pinus nigra - Black Pine
Prunus avium - Wild Cherry
Prunus serrula - Tibetan Cherry
Prunus yedoensis - Tokyo Cherry
Quercus palustris - Pin Oak
Quercus robur - Oak
Tilia cordata - Small-leaved Lime
Shrubs
Amorpha canescens - Lead Plant
Bupleurum fruticosum - Shrubby Hare’s Ear
Clematis heraclefolia 'Cassandra' - Tube Clematis
Glycyrrhiza uralensis - Chinese Licorice
Indigofera amblyantha - Pink-flowered Indigo
Sambucus 'Black Lace' - Elder
Vitex 'Silver Spire' - Chaste Tree
Perennials
Achillea filipendulina 'Parker's Variety' - Yarrow
Althaea 'Park Rondell' - Althaea
Amsonia 'Hubrichtii' - Arkansas Bluestar
Anemone tomentosa 'Robustissima' - Japanese Anemone
Aruncus dioicus 'Zweiweltenkind' - Goat’s Beard
Aruncus 'Horatio' - Goat’s Beard
Asclepias incarnata - Swamp Milkweed
Aster lateriflorus 'Horizontalis' - Horizontal Calico Aster
Aster 'Little Carlow' - Michaelmas Daisy
Aster 'Twilight' - Aster
Aster umbellatus - Flat-topped Aster
Astrantia 'Roma' - Masterwort
Baptisia australis - Blue False Indigo
Baptista leucantha - Largeleaf Wild Indigo
Cimicifuga 'Pritchard Giant' - Actaea
Cimicifuga ' Queen of Sheba' - Actaea
Crambe cordifolia - Sea Kale
Datisca cannabina - Cretan Hemp
Delphinium elatum - Candle Larkspur
Echinacea pallida - Pale Purple Coneflower
Echinops bannaticus - Globe Thistle
Eupatorium maculata 'Musk' - Joe Pye Weed
Eupatorium maculata 'Riesenschirm' - Joe Pye Weed
Eupatorium maculata 'Snow Ball' - Joe Pye Weed
Filipendula rubra 'Venusta Magnifica' - Meadowsweet
Geranium 'Claridge Druce' - Cranesbill
Geranium 'Patricia' - Cranesbill
Geranium pratense 'Spinners' - Cranesbill
Gillenia trifoliata - Bowman’s Root
Helenium 'Loysderwieck' - Sneezewort
Helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' - Sneezewort
Hemerocallis citrina x ochroleuca - Citron Daylily
Inula magnifica 'Sonnenstrahl' - Fleabane
Iris sibirica 'Caesar's Brother' - Iris
Iris sibirica 'Perry's Blue' - Iris
Kirengeshoma palmata - Yellow Wax Bells
Lobelia vedrariensis - Purple Lobelia
Lychnis chalcedonica - Maltese Cross
Lysimachia ephemerum - Willow-leaved Loosestrife
Lythrum 'Swirl' - Purple Loosestrife
Monarda 'Jacob Cline' - Bergamot
Nasaella tenuissima - Mexican Feathergrass
Origanum 'Hopleys' - Oregano
Papaver 'Karine' - Oriental Poppy
Papaver 'Scarlet O'Hara’ - Oriental Poppy
Partenium integrifolium - American Feverfew
Penstemon 'Huskers Red' - Penstemon
Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Alba' - Red Bistort
Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Orange Field' - Red Bistort
Phlomis tuberosa 'Little Amazone' - Safe-leaf Mullein
Phlox amplifolia - Phlox
Phlox paniculata 'Great Dixter' - Phlox
Rudbeckia subtomentosa 'Henry Eilers' - Coneflower
Sanguisorba canadensis - White Burnet
Sanguisorba 'Tanna' - Burnet
Sanguisorba tenuifolia 'Purpurea' - Burnet
Sedum 'Sunkissed' - Stone Crop
Selineum wallichianum - Wallich Milk Parsley
Solidago 'Lemore' - Goldenrod
Stachys officinalis 'Hummelo' - Betony
Thalictrum 'Elin' - Meadow Rue
Thalictrum 'Illuminator' - Meadow Rue
Thalictrum polygamum - Meadow Rue
Thalictrum rochebruneanum - Meadow Rue
Veratrum nigrum - Black False Hellebore
Vernonia noveboraciensis - New York Ironweed
Veronica longifolia 'Blauriesin' - Garden Speedwell
Veronicastrum 'Adoration' - Culver’s Root
Veronicastrum virginicum 'Diane' - Culver’s Root
Veronicastrum virginicum 'Erica' - Culver’s Root
Grasses
Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' - Feather Reed Grass
Calamagrostis brachytricha - Korean Feather Reed Grass
Deschampsia 'Goldtau' - Hair Grass
Miscanthus sinensis 'Ferner Osten' - Japanese Silver Grass
Molinia caerulea 'Heidebraut' - Moor Grass
Molinia caerulea 'Transparent' - Moor Grass
Panicum 'Dallas Blues' - Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum 'Cloud Nine' - Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum 'Northwind' - Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah' - Switchgrass
Pennisetum viridescens - Black Fountain Grass
Sorghastrum nutans 'Sioux Blue' - Indian Grass
Spodiopogon sibiricus - Frost Grass
Stipa gigantea - Golden Oats