The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Camilla says thanks a bunch
● Duchess urges public to help lift spirits and support independent florists
The Duchess of Rothesay has hailed the power of flowers to “lift our spirits” as she took part in an initiative to support British Flowers Week.
Camilla, a keen gardener, placed a bouquet of her home-grown blooms in the window of Birkhall near Balmoral in Deeside in celebration.
New Covent Garden Market, which runs British Flowers Week, is calling on the public to join in by positioning British-grown flowers in their windows, front porches or gates.
Camilla said in a video message: “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. They are nature’s healers. In our gardens, in our window boxes, or even in just a simple vase, their glorious scents and myriad of colours are veritable life enhancers.”
The duchess’s bouquet was made of flowers she grew, picked and arranged herself. It included forgetme-nots, cranesbill, alchemilla, tulips, peonies, poppies, cow parsley and Solomon’s seal.
Camilla is also patron of Floral Angels, a charity based at New Covent Garden’s Flower Market in London, which recycles flowers used at weddings and events into smaller bouquets to send to community organisations, such as care homes and hospices.
She added: “That is why, this year in particular, British Flowers Week is even more important than ever.
“As the patron of Floral Angels, who are based at the market, I would like to say a huge thank you to the New Covent Garden Market and the Garden Museum for making this celebration of the wealth and variety of British-grown flowers possible, and to the people behind them – the growers, the gardeners, the florists and everyone who appreciates their beauty and their contribution to our well-being.”
Rebecca Barrett, of the Covent Garden Market Authority, said: “It’s more important than ever to show your support for independent British florists and growers.”