The Duchess of Cambridge has shared the first images of the garden she has co-designed for this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show – and it is packed with fun details for all the family. Kate has collaborated with award-winning landscape architects Andrée Davis and Adam White to create the RHS Back to Nature garden, which features at its heart a high platform treehouse, perfect for little explorers. Clad in stag horn oak to resemble a bird or animal nest, the shelter "will provide a wonderful place to retreat and look out through the trees," according to a statement issued by Kensington Palace.
The Duchess of Cambridge has helped to create a family-friendly garden design
The garden will also feature a swing seat, a campfire and a rustic den similar to one used by Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in the grounds of Anmer Hall. Other natural elements chosen to stimulate active play include tree stumps, stepping stones and a hollow log to test and improve children’s balance, strength and co-ordination. The garden, which will have a multisensory, green and blue plant scheme, aims to inspire people to interact with nature and improve their wellbeing.
Kate's design also features "incredible edibles" including wild strawberries, plants for craft activities, forest scents and a waterfall and stream for children to paddle in and play imaginatively. The 10m by 15m garden will have a natural, woodland feel and is designed to trigger childhood memories of being in nature and highlight the benefits of the natural world on our mental and physical wellbeing. The Duchess and the designers hope it will inspire families to get outside and explore nature together and create new experiences in the great outdoors.
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The trio during the planning process
The trio, pictured here during the planning process in Norfolk and at Kensington Palace, have been in almost daily contact to fine-tune the design. Last month Andrée said of Kate: "She is very hands on, model making, emailing images, coming up with all the ideas that we want to capture. She would often bring a folder of cuttings with her full of ideas. The Duchess was very keen to use natural materials, has a clear idea of the colour palette she wants and her desire to incorporate the natural elements."
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A drawing of the final garden design
A royal source said of the Duchess: "She has been really involved in the whole thing, the concept and all the elements. She has been really inspired by her childhood memories and the garden will be full of surprises." HELLO! understands that other members of the Royal Family, thought to include Kate's husband William and father-in-law Prince Charles, have also shared their memories as inspiration.
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