Duchess brings play paradise to Chelsea
THE Duchess of Cambridge has designed a woodland idyll for the Chelsea Flower Show, as she brings the outdoor fun enjoyed by her children to the nation with dens, swing seats and a treehouse fit for a prince.
The Duchess, who has long spoken of the benefits of outdoor play, is to unveil the results of months of work behind the scenes, taking the favourite playthings of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis and installing them for the RHS.
With a “back to nature” theme, the garden will include a large but simple wigwam made from sticks, a replica of the Cambridge children’s own den in the woodlands of Anmer, that can be seen in the family’s official photograph released at Christmas.
The garden, which will be on show at Chelsea before moving to Hampton Court and Wisley for the public to play in, will feature “incredible edibles” including wild strawberries, and a range of sensory plants. With a blue and green colour scheme, it will introduce a waterfall and flowing stream for paddling in, stepping stones and a hollow log for small children to crawl through.
A treehouse platform, inspired by a bird’s nest and clad in sustainable stag horn oak, will be pitched high enough for youngsters to see over the canopy – or, in this case, the competitive gardens of Chelsea.
A wooden seat will swing underneath it, with a rustic den made from sticks nearby and space for a campfire ready for storytelling adventures.
The garden has been created by the Duchess and Davies White, the landscape architects.
Andrée Davies and Adam White have been to visit the Cambridges’ home in Norfolk to see the Duchess’s inspiration first hand, with the three of them bonding over their shared appreciation of Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods, which warned of a “nature deficit disorder” in a new generation. The garden is intended to emphasise the benefits of the natural world on mental and physical well-being. In children, it is supposed to boost their development by stimulating their active play, balance, strength and co-ordination, while the layout encourages parents and grandparents to also get involved.
The Duchess has made children’s early years development a cornerstone of her public work, and she is likely to unveil the garden with the help of youngsters from the schools and charities she has worked with.
The Chelsea garden will have a “natural walkway” through it, but elements like the treehouse are not likely to be fully opened due to capacity.