Duchess dials in for a sprig of herb advice
The Duchess of Cornwall will ring the Radio 4 gardening show with a question about lavender
She may be a “passionate gardener” and married to one of the country’s most famous plant lovers, but when the Duchess of Cornwall had a pressing question about lavender, there was only one place to go for help. Listeners to BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’
Question Time will this week hear the Duchess calling to quiz the panel about a variety of Scottish lavender she hopes to get her hands on. Calling from Birkhall, the Duchess says she “loves listening to your programme”.
SHE describes herself as a “passionate gardener”, married to one of the country’s most famous plant lovers and with a wealth of professional expertise at her fingertips.
But when the Duchess of Cornwall had a pressing question about lavender, there was still only one place she could call.
Listeners to BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time will this week recognise a familiar voice, as the Duchess joins a phone-in to quiz the panel about a variety of Scottish lavender she hopes to get her hands on.
Calling from Birkhall in Scotland, the Duchess says she “loves listening to your programme” before posing her question, as one of a selection of knowledgeable fans who call in each week.
In the programme due to air on Friday, she will say: “Good afternoon panel, this is the Duchess of Cornwall calling you from Aberdeenshire.
“I’m a passionate gardener and love listening to your programme and have a question that I hope you can answer.
“One of my favourite plants is English lavender but it doesn’t have the best reputation for growing in the Highlands. However, several years ago the town of Banchory, which is about 30 minutes away from us, had a worldfamous lavender industry.
“The lavender was called Dee lavender. What variety of lavender would Dee lavender have been, and is it all possible to find it?
“Thank you, and I look forward to hearing your answers.”
This week’s expert panel, made up of Chris Beardshaw, Matt Biggs and Pippa Greenwood, will provide their answer during the show.
The Duchess’s question marks her first appearance on the show, and comes as she sends a public message of support for British Flowers Week.
She follows in illustrious Royal family footsteps, after the Queen recorded a message for the programme in honour of its 70th anniversary.
Recorded two years before Frogmore Cottage became famous as the home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, she spoke of the “special place” the house and grounds had in her family’s hearts and her early memories of her mother as a “hands-on” gardener.
“I’m not any sort of expert on gardening, but plants, trees and flowers have been a source of pleasure throughout my life,” the Queen said.
“I have an early memory of my mother, Queen Elizabeth, being a hands-on gardener; a tradition that has been followed by other members of my family.
“I know this passion is shared by your listeners and many other people besides.”
In 2016, the Prince of Wales was interviewed on the show from his home at Highgrove, speaking of how he had tried to foster a love of the hobby in his grandson Prince George by planting trees together.
The Duchess will today release a video message for British Flowers Week, which runs until Sunday and is a celebration of native gardens in which experts at New Covent Garden Market encourage the public to pick and display their own success stories.
Appearing on camera alongside a small vase filled with forgot-me-not, cranesbill, lady’s mantle, tulips, peonies, poppies, cow parsley and Solomon’s Seal from Birkhall, the Duchess speaks of flowers as the great “life enhancers”.
“In these difficult times, when we are all searching for something to brighten our lives, there is nothing that can lift our spirits more than our native flowers and plants,”
she says.
“They are nature’s healers. In our gardens, in our window boxes, or even in just a simple vase, their glorious scents and myriad colours are veritable life enhancers.” She added: “Keep safe and ‘say it with flowers’.”
The special episode of
Gardeners’ Question Time
will be broadcast on Radio 4 on Friday at 3pm.