Kate swings into action at Chelsea Flower Show

19 May 2019, 14:31 | Updated: 19 May 2019, 15:23

The Duchess of Cambridge is in a playful mood as she gives a sneak peek of her ‘Back to Nature’ garden design

The Royal Family today gave a sneak preview of Kate Middleton’s plot at the Chelsea Flower Show, ahead of the event’s opening on Tuesday.

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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

Kensington Palace have shared some spectacular images of the garden, which has been co-designed by the Duchess of Cambridge with a ‘Back to Nature’ theme.

The theme intends to encourage children and families to spend more time in the great outdoors to help improve their physical and mental wellbeing.

Ahead of the opening, Kate said: “In recent years I have focused 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.”

The garden, co-created with the Royal Horticultural Society and landscape architects Andree Davies and Adam White, is intended to be both a playground for children and a relaxing space for adults. It includes a diverse range of plants – including edible ones – a large hollow log, and even a campfire for toasting snacks.

In a touching tribute to her husband’s late mother, the garden also features bunches of forget-me-nots, which were the favourite flower of Princess Diana. However the centrepiece for the mother-of-three’s creation is a quirky treehouse clad in stag horn oak, complete with rope swing seat.

And it’s this which has provided perhaps the most iconic image snapped by a palace aide – a giggling Duchess swinging from the seat as she takes a break from applying the garden’s finishing touches. The RHS Chelsea Flower Show opens this Tuesday until 25 May at The Royal Hospital, Chelsea.