I have just done a dvd tour of the Queen's garden at Buckingham Palace. Some interesting facts - she holds five garden parties every year, rain or shine. Her gardeners spray her rose bushes with garlic for pesticide as she doesn't like to use chemical sprays. The Queen has honeybees in hives on an island in a lake in her garden, and they flock to the herbaceous border and produce honey which she gives as gifts. She also provides nesting boxes for birds over winter, canada geese, owls and flamingoes are some of the wildfowl found in her garden. Queen Charlotte kept a menagerie when she lived there. One King tried to plant mulberries so he could start a silk industry, but the mulberries were the wrong kind. So they eat the fruit instead, which is made into jelly and served at palace suppers. But you know what the secret ingredient is to the bountiful royal produce? Horse manure.
Prince William was also the first royal to host a game of footy on his Granny's lawn. He warned others not to break any windows.
I am thinking if I don't have a chance to visit her son's garden at Highgrove perhaps I might be invited to a garden party? It takes five months to plan for these parties and not a blade of grass is out of place - the Queen does her walkabouts and inspects everything. I recently saw Poi E the movie, how the Patea Maori Club were invited to perform at the Royal Command Performance in London. They couldn't afford to go and even the NZ Govt wouldn't sponsor them (despite reaching number one on the pop charts for four weeks and appearing on 'Blue Peter'.) So Dalvanius Prime mortgaged his house.
I could mortgage my house? Oh wait, I don't have a house.
Nevermind. Maybe I will just watch the garden on tv. It has time-lapse photography so I can imagine what it looks like through autumn, winter, spring and summer.
I have just found out there's something called the Quiet Garden Movement. Its a charity based in the UK for people to open their gardens so people can have quiet prayer time and go and be close to God. The garden can be on a private property or a hospital or a church or retreat. I think its a lovely idea.
Joanne and I planted up the garden bed outside church which now has Diosma 'breath of heaven' and poppies along with Joyful Bliss lavender. I am thinking if they become available, Grape hyacinth muscari 'Heavenly Blue' would be also good for that bed. Then all we need is a seat so people can sit and enjoy the colour and fragrance.
My back border is now planted up with rain lilies, parsley, and carex 'frosted curls'. I am in a frenzy of planting before I go away on holiday to Raro where I intend to relax in a hammock and sip coconuts with hibiscus and gardenia in my hair.
