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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
King Charles' testy encounter with an award-winning gardener who he 'summoned to Highgrove'
It is widely understood that Highgrove is Charles' pride and joy with the stately home becoming a sanctuary for the King and Queen. With his passion for nature, King Charles takes a particular interest in the award-winning garden which surrounds the estate. However, as the garden is so cherished by the King, his high standards have ruffled more than a few feathers among staff. Last month, reports emerged that low pay and staff shortages, coupled with the monarch's demanding attention to detail, had prompted an exodus of horticulturists employed to keep his Gloucestershire garden in good shape. Over the past three years, 11 of the 12-strong gardening team have quit, including the head gardener and his deputy. However, this is not the first time the tranquil green space has been at the centre of gardener-related drama. Writing in his book about Charles' life - titled Rebel King - author Tom Bower has recalled the time Sir Roy Strong had a testy encounter with Charles when he was invited to Highgrove. Bower claimed that the King 'summoned people to drive the two hours from London for even the briefest meeting' but it was one few refused. He wrote: 'Roy Strong was summoned to advise on the cultivation of hedges. He spent days with his own gardener perfecting his ideas.' 'At the end he submitted his employee's bill for £1,000 - and was never asked to return, or even thanked. Strong had personally inscribed a copy of his book on gardening to Charles, but it was left in a waiting room rather than included in the prince's library.' '"He's shocked by the sight of an invoice," Strong noted. "So he likes people who don't charge for their services".' Sir Roy was not the only gardening expert who Charles allegedly asked for unpaid advice and on other occasions unpaid labour. '"Grace and favour" took on a new meaning,' Bower wrote. 'To make up a floragim (a book of paintings of Highgrove's flowers), Charles recruited over 20 artists to paint two or three flowers each, for free. Similarly, he approached Jonathan Heale, a woodcut artist, for some of this work, which he expected to be donated as a gift.' 'One of the few artists known to have rebuffed similar demands was Lucian Freud. Would Freud swap one of his oils - which sold for millions of pounds - for one of Charles' watercolours? "I don't want one of your rotten paintings" Freud replied.' More recently, an investigation by the Sunday Times found that at one point in March 2022 half of the gardening team that were on the payroll were earning minimum wage, which is thought to have played a part in the exodus of staff. Charles' high interest in the upkeep of the garden is also thought to have played a part. The King, who is known to patrol the grounds with a pair of secateurs, regularly offers feedback on the garden, writing handwritten notes to staff in red ink, expressing delight or upset at the progress of individual plants or flowers. While some workers appreciate his interventions, others told the Sunday Times they found his feedback impolite and demoralising, it is claimed. In late 2023, one member of staff filed a grievance against management claiming the gardening team were under-resourced and struggling to fulfil the King's demands. The employee's complaint said some staff had developed physical injuries because they were overwhelmed with work and there was low morale among the team. 'There is little management of HMTK (His Majesty the King's) expectations and I know I would not be allowed to say we are understaffed,' the claim said. The gardener also alleged he was shouted at and given a dressing down by Constantine Innemee, the executive director of Highgrove and one of the King's most trusted advisers, when he suggested to Charles that he would need a specialist member of staff if he wanted to cultivate his magnolias in a specific way. The grievance led to an external investigation by the King's Foundation, the charitable organisation that now runs the garden. Although that inquiry found evidence of 'staff shortages' and suggested pay be reviewed if it continued to be 'an issue for recruitment and retention' of staff, the complaint about Mr Innemee's management style was not upheld. The garden at Highgrove has been King Charles' pet project for the past 45 years. In an interview with his friend, gardener and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh, Charles previously explained that he was attracted to buy the property in 1980 because of its 'blank canvas' garden. 'I actually planned everything myself, I did the whole thing, I chose all the plants,' the King said. 'I love evening patrol at the weekend. As I potter about I notice things and weed or prune bits off. I'm sure most people come here and think I don't do anything. But I do.' Over the past four decades the gardens have flourished, from the early kitchen garden and arboretum to the Sundial Garden, which showcases the King's favourite delphiniums - as well as the Thyme Walk and the Islamic-inspired Carpet Garden. In 2009 Charles received the Victoria Medal of Honour from the Royal Horticultural Society, presented by the late Queen for his services to gardening.
CTV News
31-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
‘A hidden gem': Lougheed House gardens in full bloom thanks to volunteers
The flowers in the gardens at Calgary's Lougheed House are in full bloom. The grounds of the historic Lougheed House in downtown Calgary are filled with a variety of plants and flowers, but the colourful gardens wouldn't exist without a team of close to 30 dedicated volunteers. The gardens are open to the public, and for the last six years it's been head gardener Jane Reksten's job to map out the various spaces. 'I do all the planning, designing of the garden displays, purchasing all the plants, making sure the (volunteer) gardeners have everything they need to get their job done – so supplies and soil and all of that kind of stuff,' she said. 'Then on our work days, I guide the work of the volunteers. They do all the heavy lifting – I just steer them in the right direction.' Gardening days are on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the growing season. Reksten says some of the volunteers are so dedicated they show up twice a week. 'It is quite astonishing how often people will stop and thank the volunteers – thank them for what they're doing – say 'You're doing a fabulous job,' we love the gardens,'' she said. 'We know that the work is appreciated and really valued, especially for the folks that live within the area and treat this as their backyard.' Volunteer Jackie Marston has been part of the team for six years and says she enjoys putting bouquets together with flowers from the garden for visitors to enjoy inside the Lougheed House. 'It's getting out in the fresh air, it's lovely,' she said. 'Even in the springtime, in the summer, in the autumn – you get all the different colors and it's such a beautiful garden and I live very close, so that helps too.' Jeff Walker started volunteering in 2018 after he retired. He says he likes to build things and does a lot of heavy lifting in the garden. 'Pruning, deadheading, weeding,' he said. 'I'm a bit of a handy guy so we put up trellises and the signs and put some of the furniture together, just odd jobs.' Walker says he's proud of not only the work the volunteers do, but also how beautiful the gardens look. 'It's nice to see and people come by and thank you for having the gardens in nice shape,' he said. 'It's a pride of mine. Not pride of ownership, but a pride in [us] doing something for the neighborhood.' Nearby resident Mariana Araujo de Castro says she enjoys coming to the park with her dog Sky every chance she gets. 'It's a hidden gem,' she said. 'I just love to come here, and the flowers are so beautiful. I love to come here with my dog and let her sit here on the grass while I admire the flowers. Sometimes I take pictures. I think the garden is so well taken care of.' Reksten says the gardens are not original to the property, because at one time there were buildings on the space. However, staff have done their best to design the layout of the gardens close to what the Lougheed family would have had in the late 1800s. 'The Lougheed's in the Victorian Era were into what we call carpet bedding, so low plants that created shapes and designs,' she said. 'Well, those are very difficult to design, very difficult to look after, and not reflective of what anyone is going to be doing in their gardens now.' The plants in the garden are not original, but some of the native species are used throughout the space. 'They absolutely would have had tons of roses,' Reksten said. 'We have lots of roses, peonies and delphiniums, because the garden has been rebuilt from what it was originally.' 'We can't say for sure that any of the plants are still in their same place, but the hollyhocks – those are biennials – they self seed and pop up in all kinds of different corners of the gardens, and we can be pretty confident that those have been on site ever since the Lougheed's were here in the 1890s and early 1900s.' The Lougheed House is hosting an event on August 24th called The House Meets Garden tour. For more information, you can visit the Lougheed House website.
BBC News
27-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Leek fly-tipped wasteland turned into community garden
A frustrated gardener was so riled by a dirty and inaccessible plot of land in his town centre, that he stripped the site and helped turn it into a community Collingwood was looking for a project after being diagnosed with leukaemia and, being a passionate nature enthusiast, wanted to attract wildlife to a forgotten area of Leek in clearing the mess, he was joined by like-minded gardener Jack Laverick, who planted beds and flowers to create a "secret garden"."It's a piece of long neglected land which we've converted from a complete disaster into a garden," said Mr Collingwood. "We're a good team," he said, pointing to Mr Laverick, "I'm the destroyer and he's the creator." The patch of land is accessible via a graffitied and littered alleyway just off Haywood Street, the main access road through the Staffordshire Moorlands used to be the site of a workshop, warehouse and cottages, which decayed and were eventually fly-tippers threw old mattresses, oil drums and plastic bags filled with rubbish into the thick foliage, making the area inaccessible and unpleasant. "I think a lot of people, particularly women, didn't like to walk down this alleyway, because they felt rather threatened by it," Mr Collingwood said."It was such a mess on this piece of land."In February 2024, Mr Collingwood started a new regime of chemotherapy and was looking for an activity to take his mind off his condition."This used to irritate me so much that I just decided that I needed a project to get stuck into," he said. After clearing the site, Mr Collingwood went on holiday and on his return unexpectedly found Mr Laverick had started planting."I'd seen other people doing similar things online, trying to clear up fly-tipped areas and alleyways in Manchester," Mr Laverick said."They were using plants and gardens as a way to keep rubbish from coming back.""I'd seen what Neil was doing and I thought it could be great for that."Recycling is also an important aspect of the gardening pair have repurposed filing cabinets, trampoline pieces and a bath to create flower beds, an archway and a bird bath."Lots of people are wandering in, sitting down, having lunch, just appreciating the plants, learning about nature," Mr Laverick said."People are really enjoying it."Those people include Leek town councillors, who have visited the site and think it is an excellent idea to use the space for an urban garden.
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
The hidden team behind Wimbledon's floral displays
Two gardeners from the West of England are keeping the flowers at the UK's biggest tennis competition in top Bliss Carter, from Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, and Karen Dehalu, from Crewkerne in Somerset, have been horticulturalists at Wimbledon for five pair told the BBC they have been battling with the recent heatwaves, meaning extra watering for the team. Speaking to the BBC, Mr Carter said: "We make sure we're on top of it and ahead of the game - we beat the weather." Mr Carter, who works seasonally at the site, started out as a horticulturalist after completing an apprenticeship in said: "[Wimbledon] is the best place to be a horticulturalist in London and I'd say probably the country."Everyone's got their own part to play - we've got painters intricately painting with little tiny hand brushes, the gardeners fine tuning with dead-heading and planting on the courts. "I liken it to Charlie and the chocolate factory, we're all Oompa-Loompas in the Chocolate factory - hiding in secret but making it the best show in the world." The 20-person gardening team arrives at the site at 6:00 BST to make sure every flower is the best it can be for the tournament's guests. Ms Dehalu, who has worked year-round at the site since 2022, said the job is "very rewarding".She said: "We usually work a few hours in the morning - making some changes to the plants where they might have been sat on or crushed a little bit, zhuzh them up a little bit."Then we disappear off the grounds so the public can enjoy the site and the tournament." Ms Dehalu said Wimbledon houses around 27,000 extra plants for the tournament, making up the bedding, containers and the living said: "We always have plants - it's a seasonal grounds, so summertime will still have things in - but then these extra plants we put in as well."It just gives it that wow factor - makes it look like that English country garden."This year's Wimbledon will run until 13 July and is available across BBC 1, BBC 2 and iPlayer.
News.com.au
26-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Wimbledon: England's garden Grand Slam
Wimbledon head gardener Martyn Falconer is the only man at the All England Club who welcomes a drop of rain. While wet weather wreaks havoc with the tournament schedule, he is not disappointed with the occasional cloudburst to keep his spectacular flower displays in perfect condition. Falconer oversees the delivery of 27,000 plants for the Championships in leafy southwest London to add to thousands already in place in the immaculate grounds. Hydrangeas and petunias in blues, purples and whites tumble over the sides of hanging baskets and window boxes, filling herbaceous borders and floral installations. Roses are scattered throughout the grounds and Boston ivy creeps over the outside walls of Centre Court to create the picture-perfect Grand Slam event. Falconer, who has worked at the All England Club for 25 years, spending 11 years in his current role, says Wimbledon's ethos is "tennis in an English garden". He manages a team of 10 permanent gardeners and two apprentices, which expands by around 10 in the lead-up to the tournament, which this year starts on June 30. Falconer's team was this week applying the final tweaks as the club prepares to throw open its doors to thousands of tennis fans from Monday. "We're making sure it looks lovely and presentable for everyone," he said. "It's never-ending. And then from the Monday, once the public are in, we kind of take a little bit of a breath. "But then every morning it's watering and maintaining and deadheading and just making sure everything looks good for everyone coming on each day." The horticulture team keeps a stock of spare plants in reserve to replenish those that are damaged by the crowds that swarm the All England Club. "We've got a nice selection of bits and pieces just in case of an accident," said Falconer. "We do get a lot of bums sat on the planters. Where there's somewhere to park a bum, they will. "We've got what we call a Wimbledon twist, so we can get a couple of days out of a hydrangea or a few plants. And then when it gets to the point of no more twisting, we'll do a little swap around." Falconer's aim is to have the grounds looking as pristine on the final day of the Championships as they do on day one. - 'There's nothing like it' - Tradition plays a big role in the planting colour schemes but there is some room for innovation. "Obviously we've got our greens and purples and whites, which are very Wimbledon," he said. "For us it's more actually about the feel of being in an English garden. So that gives us a greater palette to work with, nothing too garish -- we won't go super bright oranges everywhere. But it allows us to bring in all those pastel colours, pinks, yellows." Wimbledon's planting plans are months in the making. "We can't get them in too late because they grow too much," said Falconer. "So we need to do most of that growing here. So the nursery will pot them on, get them started, and then they come to us." The team is continuously assessing the performances of specific plant varieties but plans are carefully calibrated to make sure the grounds are always saturated with colour. "We have enough variation that there's always something doing something," said Falconer. "And hopefully most of it's doing what we want it to do at the right time." Wimbledon's head gardener said one of the challenges is adapting to a changing climate. There have been weeks of warm, dry weather in the build-up to this year's tournament. "It's challenging," said Falconer. "I'm the only one walking around looking for a little bit of rain I think at Wimbledon." He and his team might breathe a sigh of relief when the last fan leaves after the two-week tournament, but managing the 42-acre site at the All England Club is a year-round task. "It's a big site, so there's a lot to do," he said. "Pruning, hedge-cutting, mulching, making sure it's good and ready for the springtime." Despite the pressure, Falconer still gets a buzz from his work even after so many years. "There's nothing like it," he said. "You work to get it delivered and that first day when the public walk through the gate there's a sigh of relief that it's done but then you almost start again."
