Q & A with Dave Green
Designer Dave Green talks about his design for the RHS Garden of Royal Reflection and Celebration
Tell us about the garden you have created
How did you make your plant choices?
The head gardener from Sandringham Estate sent me a list of trees, shrubs and
Can you tell us about some of the key plants in the garden?
Camassia are very important because at King Charles’s residence at Highgrove, these are planted en masse in the meadow that’s just next to the house. There’s a path through the meadow and there are thousands of camassias on either side, framing the view to the house. We’re using two varieties in the garden. There are also a lot of trees and shrubs in the garden, which were picked because they’re grown at Sandringham. We have a tall conical Magnolia ‘Heaven Scent’ at the front of the garden, it’s very nicely scented when in flower. Just behind the magnolia is a Cornus kousa, a Chinese shrub with white flowers in the spring. We tried to choose plants that are right for the season. There were some plants, such as Hydrangea macrophylla, which is not in flower at the moment, so we picked Hydrangea quercifolia and Hydrangea paniculata ‘Early Harry’, which flower early, so we’ve used varieties that are appropriate for the show.
How important is the royal connection to RHS Chelsea?
The show was so well supported by the Queen, and the King is very interested in conservation, ecology and the environment and I think the show ties in very well with those interests. Hopefully it’s the start of another long lasting relationship.