The Ever After Garden: The Glowing White Roses That Lit Up Grosvenor Square

Have you ever stood in a field of glowing white roses in the middle of Mayfair, on a dark December evening?

That was the Ever After Garden at Grosvenor Square. My photos here are from its winter there in 2021. Each rose could be dedicated to someone who had died, and the donation went to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

It was such a pensive break from the usual Christmas lights buzz in the city. The garden made me stop, think about the loved ones I have lost, and spare a moment to send them my love.

Christmas is when I miss most the people who have crossed to other worlds. This garden was a beautiful reminder to keep cherishing my memories of them.

The garden has since moved. In 2025 it opened at Duke of York Square in Chelsea, because Grosvenor Square was closed for a year-long redesign. This is its story, and how to find it.

What Is the Ever After Garden?

A temporary garden of illuminated white roses, laid out on a London lawn from mid-November to mid-December. The roses are artificial, on tall stems, and they light up at dusk. From a distance the whole lawn looks lit from underneath.

The first garden, in 2019, had over 27,000 roses. By 2025 there were 30,000. Walking through it is free.

The point of it is remembrance. You can dedicate a rose to someone, with a donation to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. By 2025 the garden had raised more than £1.2 million.

Who Created the Ever After Garden, and Why?

The fashion designer Anya Hindmarch and the writer Camilla Morton created it in memory of their friend Michael Howells. He was a production designer who worked across film and fashion. His films included Orlando and Emma, and he designed shows for John Galliano.

Howells died in July 2018, aged 61. The garden takes its name from Ever After, the 1998 Cinderella film he worked on.

Morton has called it “a garden for everyone”. It is about remembering a life rather than the loss. You don't need to have dedicated a rose to walk in and think of someone.

Why Was the Ever After Garden in Grosvenor Square?

Grosvenor Square was its home from the start. The garden opened there on 30 November 2019. It missed 2020 and came back every winter from 2021 to 2024.

The square was laid out in the 1720s by the Grosvenor family, whose Mayfair estate still surrounds it. It has had American links since John Adams set up the first US mission there in 1785. A statue of Franklin D. Roosevelt stands in the garden.

In December the square is dark and quiet after about four o'clock. That is what made the roses work. The lit windows around the square sat behind them like a stage set.

Where Is the Ever After Garden Now?

In 2025 the garden moved to the green at Duke of York Square in Chelsea, just off the King's Road. It was the first year there. It ran from 13 November to 16 December 2025.

It moved because Grosvenor Square closed on 8 June 2025 for a £25 million redesign. The architects were Tonkin Liu, with planting by Professor Nigel Dunnett. The square reopened on 20 July 2026 as a woodland-style garden, with 44 new trees, two small wetlands and a café kiosk.

When I updated this post in September 2026, no location or dates had been announced for the 2026 garden. The Royal Marsden's own Ever After Garden page is where they appear first.

When Is the Ever After Garden Open?

Every edition so far has run from mid-November to mid-December. In 2019 it opened on 30 November and closed on 22 December. In 2024 it ran from 14 November to 18 December, and in 2025 from 13 November to 16 December.

In 2024 and 2025 the roses were lit daily from 3pm to 9pm. Go after dark. In December the sun sets before 4pm, so by half past four the garden is at its best.

How Do You Dedicate a Rose in the Ever After Garden?

You make a donation to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and dedicate a rose to someone. The suggested donation was £10 a rose in 2019 and 2024, and £15 in 2025.

The Royal Marsden is a specialist cancer hospital with sites in Chelsea and Sutton. The money raised goes to its research and care. Walking through the garden itself costs nothing.

What Does the Ever After Garden Look Like at Night?

Row after row of white roses on thin stems, set close together, with narrow paths between the beds. Under the bare trees the light turns faintly blue. In photographs it can look almost icy.

The best view is from the edge of the lawn, crouched low, with the roses running away from you towards the buildings. Up close, each flower is simple. It is the number of them that stops you.

Where Else Can You See Winter Lights in London?

If you are making an evening of it in Mayfair, the Bond Street Christmas windows are a short walk from Grosvenor Square. I have also ranked the best Christmas lights in London in a separate guide.

For somewhere warm to eat, Mercato Mayfair is a food hall in a converted church on North Audley Street, two minutes from the square.

Visiting the Ever After Garden: Practical Notes

📍 Where: In 2025, the green at Duke of York Square, King's Road, Chelsea, London SW3 4LY. From 2019 to 2024, Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, London W1K 2HP.

⏰ Opening: 3pm to 9pm daily in 2024 and 2025.

📅 Open days: Mid-November to mid-December. In 2025, 13 November to 16 December.

🎫 Admission: Free. Dedicating a rose is a donation to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, suggested at £15 in 2025.

🚇 Getting there: Duke of York Square is two minutes' walk from Sloane Square station (District and Circle lines). Grosvenor Square is a short walk from Bond Street (Central, Jubilee and Elizabeth lines) or Marble Arch (Central line).

🚗 Parking: Street parking in Chelsea and Mayfair is scarce and expensive in the evening. The Underground is easier.

☕ Food: Duke of York Square has cafés and restaurants around the green. The reopened Grosvenor Square has a café kiosk, and Mercato Mayfair is two minutes away.

⏳ How long: Twenty minutes to half an hour.

📷 Best time: After dark on a weekday. December weekends get busy.

🗺️ Nearby: Near Grosvenor Square, the Wallace Collection and Handel Hendrix House on Brook Street. In Chelsea, the Saatchi Gallery is on Duke of York Square itself.

♿ Access: At Grosvenor Square the roses were laid out on flat lawn, with paths between the rows.

Have you dedicated a rose in the Ever After Garden, or walked through it on a December night? Would you rather see it back in Grosvenor Square, or staying in Chelsea?

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All photos were taken by Ina/WithinLondon, unless stated otherwise.