It’s well known that Prince Charles is passionate about gardens, the countryside and the environment. But less so that his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, shares his passion for gardening.
The couple who live at Highgrove in Gloucestershire, have gardeners tending its famous grounds, but as the Duchess revealed to Monty Don on Gardeners’ World, she enjoys tending to her plants herself when she gets the time. Pruning, which her mother taught her to do, is one of her favourite horticultural activities as well as planting. ’In an ideal world I’d like to be in the garden all day every day,’ the Duchess said on a tour of Monty’s garden, Longmeadow.
Favourite plants mentioned include lupins and delphiniums. She grows quite a lot of dahlias including D. ’Black Knight’ and loves scent in the garden, in particular orange blossom which lifts her spirits in the early season .
The Duchess also spoke of her new gardening project. ‘I have a little bit of a woodland garden that I've started and I would love to build that up more,’ she said, adding ‘I would love to put down swathes of bulbs.
The Duchess also likes to spend time relaxing and reading in her garden. In an Instagram post for her project ‘The Reading Room’, she revealed a favourite reading spot, a private area with benches surrounded by neatly-pruned hedges. As it is for many of us the Duchess describes her garden as her ‘sanctuary’, she said. ’A couple of hours in the garden, and all is well with the world.’ We couldn’t agree more.