Kate Middletontook a very special guest around to see her newly designed garden on Monday:Queen Elizabeth.
William and Kate kissed the Queen on both cheeks. Kate, who wore her hair in a braided half-updo, followed her greeting with a perfect curtsy.
The garden was created with help from the Royal Horticultural Society and designers Andrée Davies and Adam White tohighlight the benefitsof playing outdoors.
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As Kate waited for the Queen’s arrival, she nervously inspected her garden, picking up leaves and twigs that had drifted on to the walkways — hastily putting them into her handbag. She then called over one of her aides to hurriedly hand over the bag offending rubbish. The prep seemed to be worth it as when the Queen approached the garden she said to her entourage, “It’s very tidy.”
During the tour, Kate pointed out the blue color scheme, featuring bluebells and forget-me-nots (Princess Diana’s favorite flower), the stream her children had played in on Sunday and the moss and sticks they had collected for the den.
“All the sticks are from Anmer and the children collected the pine cones,” Kate said proudly.
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Kate had consulted the Queen on her Chelsea garden – and included some of her childhood memories. There are carrots and beetroot, which the Queen remembers planting as a child with her sister Princess Margaret, and a waterfall in tribute to the one she loves at her Norfolk home Sandringham.
Kate’s children have been sailing on the lake at Sandringham — which was also said to be part of Kate’s inspiration. William’s childhood memory of pine trees and Kate’s of bluebell woods was also included in the planting. William and Kate then showed the Queen the reed boats that Kate had made earlier that day with local schoolchildren. She laughed as William told her how some of them had failed to float.
Earlier, when she visited with the local schoolchildren, Kate told parents at the garden that her “children played last night in a way I hadn’t imagined. They were throwing stones. I hadn’t actually thought that that was what they would be doing. They kicked their shoes off, and wanted to paddle in the stream . . . using it in a way that I hadn’t anticipated.”
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The project to create the woodland-themed garden was a “passion” for the royal, 37, who has taken on a very hands-on role to add inspiration and practical ideas for the garden.
“Over the past few months, The Duchess and landscape architects Davies White have visited plant nurseries, suppliers and specialist craftspeople who have been growing and building elements of the garden ready for Chelsea,” Kensington Palace said in a statement.
“The Duchess has worked with @the_rhs and Davies White to design and build the garden, to highlight how being active in nature can positively impact our physical and mental health. The garden has a natural woodland feel and contains lots of unique design features to inspire families to get outside and explore nature together.”
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The Chelsea Flower Show is the start of the summer season of festivities in and around London.
Along with her own garden, Kate planned to visit a garden themed around one of her charities,Family Action,on Monday.
source: people.com
