The Duchess of Edinburgh has spoken about how her garden at the Royal Windsor Flower Show this year is her “garden in a box” from her childhood, in a new interview with Alan Titchmarsh. The prestigious annual gardening event is taking place on June 6 this year. Duchess Sophie co-designed the central garden feature and built it alongside Alan Williams of Landform Consultants. The Plants With Purpose Garden aims to highlight the importance of healthy soil and an understanding of how food is grown, and will reflect the Duchess’s love of gardening, and passion for encouraging people to grow plants with purpose.
Speaking to Sir Alan in a video uploaded on the event’s Instagram page, Sophie said about her garden: “Gardens can look beautiful, but I’m also, I’m interested to look at what can come from a garden, plants that are going to be good for pollinators, and actually how much you can incorporate into your garden that is going to provide you with something that you can use in your kitchen.”
She then is seen looking at the plans for the garden, which is packed with fruit trees and shrubs, underplanted with aromatic herbs, wildflowers and perennial vegetables.
There are also beehives and borders of self-seeding perennials offering food and shelter for other beneficial insects, birds and other wildlife.
It has a central point, a table, crafted from a fallen tree, which will provide a space for community, family and friends to gather, share knowledge and exchange seeds and plants, while enjoying a shared picnic.
Sir Alan told Sophie and Mr Williams: “You’ve put together the most mouth-watering display of plants, everything from the trees that are going to be at stature, the statement pieces.”
Sophie then added: “It’s my garden in a box as a child come to life.”
After the show in June, the plants and garden features will be repurposed into schools piloting the new Nature Studies Programme funded by proceeds from the Royal Windsor Flower Show.