Princess Diana's Faves Bloom in Kate Middleton Chelsea Garden

 

Kate Middleton, formally known as the Duchess of Cambridge, was tapped to design a flower garden for the world-renowned Chelsea Flower Show this year. She collaborated with landscape architects Andrée Davies and Adam White of Davies White who made her vision a reality.

‘Back to Nature’ Garden

The official social media accounts of Kensington Royal has been posting updates since April 2019, sharing sketches of the plan and snippets of the Duchess in her element while working in the garden. The “Back to Nature” Garden at the Royal Horticultural Society boasts of a sculptural tree house, a waterfall, and a swing seat that will encourage exploration and active play among young children and the young at heart.

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How many marks out of 🔟 for the #RHSChelsea Back to Nature Garden, Prince George?

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on May 20, 2019 at 12:13pm PDT

In support of the Duchess, Prince William and Queen Elizabeth made an appearance at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2019 opening. The little royals, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Princess Louis all had a grand time and had nothing but wonderful words for their mom’s masterpiece. 

Forget-me-nots for Princess Diana

The Duchess of Cambridge also thoughtfully honored her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana of Wales, by making sure that the garden would bloom with forget-me-nots. In a feature article on Vogue, Sean Harkin, head gardener at Kensington Palace, revealed that Princess Diana always had a soft spot for the perennial flowering plant because of his brother, Earl Spencer, who gave them to her as a gift when she was a young girl.

 

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👀 We invite you to take a sneak peek at The Duchess of Cambridge’s #RHSChelsea ‘Back to Nature’ Garden! The woodland wilderness garden aims to get people back to nature, and highlight the benefits of the natural world on our mental and physical wellbeing. Speaking ahead of @The_RHS garden unveiling, The Duchess of Cambridge said: “In recent years I have focussed much of my work on the early years, and how instrumental they are for outcomes later in life. I believe that spending time outdoors when we are young can play a role in laying the foundations for children to become happy, healthy adults.” Some features of the #ChelseaFlowerShow garden include: 1. A swing seat hanging below the garden’s centrepiece, a high platform tree house, encouraging creative play and discovery for all generations. 2. The high platform tree house is inspired by a bird or animal nest and provides a wonderful place to retreat and look out through the trees. The treehouse is made from chestnut, with hazel, stag horn oak and larch nest cladding. 3/4. The garden is aiming to inspire interaction with the natural environment through its multi-sensory, green and blue plant scheme. The garden will be filled with incredible edibles, plants for craft activities, forest scents and a diverse range of plants, shrubs and trees of different heights and textures. The garden forms part of Her Royal Highness’s ongoing work on early childhood development and her mission to support efforts that give every child the best possible start in life. The Duchess has committed to making early childhood development the focus of her work in the years to come, and believes that providing children with the opportunity to spend time outdoors can play an important role.

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on May 18, 2019 at 2:31pm PDT

 

Aside from forget-me-nots, other notable fresh flowers near and dear to Princess Diana included white lilies, white roses, tulips, narcissi, and Cosmo daisies. It will be recalled that in 2017, the Kensington Palace paid tribute to her 20th death anniversary by creating the captivating “White Garden” at the Sunken Garden, featuring all of her favorite flowers in creamy white hues.

Recognizing the Importance of Surrounding Yourself with Nature

 

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to share some new photographs of their family as they visited the RHS Back to Nature Garden at the #ChelseaFlowerShow on Sunday afternoon. The photographs were taken by @mattporteous. The #RHSChelsea Back to Nature Garden, designed by The Duchess and award-winning landscape architects Andrée Davies and Adam White of Davies White Landscape Architects, is a woodland setting for families and communities to come together and connect with nature. Her Royal Highness is a strong advocate for the proven benefits the outdoors has on physical and mental health, and the positive impact that nature and the environment can have on childhood development in particular. Over the past months, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have helped The Duchess gather moss, leaves and twigs to help decorate @The_RHS Back to Nature Garden. Hazel sticks collected by the family were also used to make the garden’s den. The Duchess told Monty Don in an interview for the BBC: “I really feel that nature and being interactive outdoors has huge benefits on our physical and mental wellbeing, particularly for young children. I really hope that this woodland that we have created really inspires families, kids and communities to get outside, enjoy nature and the outdoors, and spend quality time together.”

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on May 19, 2019 at 2:31pm PDT

“In recent years I have focussed much of my work on the early years, and how instrumental they are for outcomes later in life,” said the Duchess. “I believe that spending time outdoors when we are young can play a role in laying the foundations for children to become happy, healthy adults.”

The Duchess has always been passionate and vocal in her advocacy to ensure early childhood development and fighting off the stigma against mental illness. Being in touch with nature can play a crucial role in both aspects.