10 Reasons King Charles III Is Our Most Green-Fingered Monarch to Date

King Charles III is well-known for his love of flowers, gardening, and nature.

As prestige London florists, we love this about our new monarch.

He brings his passion to projects that put the beauty of flowers in the spotlight and place a focus on the sustainable aspects of gardening and how it can help the planet.

Want to know more about why King Charles III is our most green-fingered monarch to date, how his passion started in childhood, and how he has protected the environment with his love of nature?

Keep reading to learn more about our monarch's love of flowers and his green-fingered activities.

Let's start with the love King Charles III has for flowers.

When the pandemic took the Chelsea Flower Show online, members of the Royal Family tweeted about their favourite blooms.

King Charles III, who was still Prince Charles at the time, said the delphinium was his favourite flower.

He said, "For me, the magnificent, gloriously appareled delphinium, with its impeccable bearing and massed in platoons, holds pride of place in my botanical affections.”

If you look at royal gardens like those at Highgrove House, you'll see that these colourful blooms are a feature there, reflecting the King's passion for them.

King Charles III also loves wildflowers.

He included a wildflower meadow, Meadow Gatefold, on the grounds of Highgrove.

This passion for native wild blooms includes rare flowers such as the Lady's slipper orchid and spreading bellflower and more common flowers such as the bluebell.

This love of flowers is something that King Charles III shares with the Queen Consort.

Queen Camilla loves alchemilla mollis with its bright green foliage.

Take a closer look at the flowers that mean a lot to King Charles III in my blog post.

"PREDICTION: What Flowers Will We See at King Charles III Coronation in May 2023"

When King Charles III threw his first state banquet as monarch, he requested flowers from the gardens of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle to decorate the ballroom location.

160 guests, including President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, admired the blooms.

The request from King Charles III marked the first time that flowers from the Royal gardens were used for a state banquet.

This was a sustainable change as it meant that flowers didn't need to be transported across long distances for the occasion as seasonal blooms were used.

This sustainable approach reduced the carbon footprint of the banquet.

And the impact of blooms, including cyclamen, nerines, rosehips, anemones, chrysanthemum, hydrangea, and amaryllis, was spectacular.

The request from King Charles III was novel but not entirely unexpected.

Over the years, he has developed a reputation as a green-fingered and sustainability-minded member of the Royal Family.

In 2002, when he was still Prince Charles, our monarch became patron of the National Gardens Scheme.

He took this role due to a love of gardens which he invested in developing the gardens at Highgrove.

King Charles III takes great pride in these gardens at what remains his country home.

Every aspect of the design of these gardens is influenced by organic principles that are good for the surrounding environment.

The public can see the results of the King's influence by visiting the gardens at Highgrove.

The development of the grounds began after the then Prince Charles purchased Highgrove House and Gardens in 1980.

Since then, he has had a passion for enhancing the Highgrove gardens with the help of designers like Molly Salisbury and Rosemary Verey.

The overall plot covers 15 acres which are now split into a collection of stunning gardens, including the Sundial Garden, Wildflower Meadow, and Cottage Garden.

There's also a gorgeous Arboretum with its array of green shades.

Anyone who wants to share in the passion of King Charles III can visit Highgrove gardens between April and October.

The landscape is magnificent, and as the King himself said, it was designed to "please the eye and sit in harmony with nature."

King Charles III has a hands-on approach to garden design.

Through his involvement, he has shown an impressive eye for detail and an understanding of colour and spatial design.

The Cottage Garden is one area of the Highgrove grounds where King Charles III had especially hands-on involvement in its design.

He worked with Rosemary Verey to create the design for the Cottage Garden, including an oak summerhouse and a glorious display of colourful blooms during the summer months.

The Cottage Garden is just one area of the Highrove grounds where visitors can see stunning floral displays.

There are also majestic trees, like the black mulberry tree, across the site.

When he spoke to Bunny Guinness in a 2014 interview, King Charles III, then heir to the throne, said he never had a big plan when designing the Cottage Garden.

He described how he decided slowly how to work his way around the garden and said that he wanted it to work in compartments that visitors could explore.

This approach to design has created a space that unfolds in front of visitors and reflects the passions of King Charles III, including plants, trees, wildlife, and ecology.

King Charles III took a leading role in the redesign of the garden at Clarence House.

There were already several trees in place, including a mulberry tree that's thought to have been planted during the reign of James I.

King Charles III, when he was still Prince Charles, introduced a small vegetable garden to the grounds as well as unmown areas of lawn to encourage wildlife.

He designed the changes around the trees that were already there, including a foxglove tree and a handkerchief tree.

He also included a formal parterre close to the main entrance at Clarence House in memory of his grandmother, the Queen Mother.

This area of the grounds includes box-edged flower beds filled with plants such as lavender, salvias, and roses.

King Charles III is passionate about organic gardening and farming.

He introduced it to his Highgrove estate back in the 1980s.

Some farmers with properties neighbouring Highgrove were sceptical about his efforts.

However, the introduction of organic practices at Highgrove eventually led to the creation of the Duchy Organic business.

This business sells produce in Waitrose.

All profits made from the sales go towards charitable causes via the King’s own foundation. 

Since 2009, £30 million has gone to good causes.

The other garden of King Charles III is at Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate.

It's not as well-known as Highgrove, but the King is just as passionate about it.

Birkhall used to belong to the Queen Mother until it passed down to her grandson when she died in 2002.

King Charles III has spoken about how special the garden is to him because it was a favourite space for his grandmother.

During his childhood, King Charles III spent time at Birkhall.

Since he inherited the space, he has spent time enhancing it.

The garden is south-facing, and it slopes down to a terrace that has a large vegetable and cutting garden.

His grandmother would be proud of the changes King Charles III has made.

Many people think that King Charles III will spend time at Birkhall when he visits Scotland rather than staying at Balmoral itself.

Whether this proves to be the case or not, he will certainly keep his close connection with the garden he loves.

One reason why King Charles III is one of our most green-fingered monarchs ever is that his interest in gardening started at a young age.

He and his younger sister Princess Anne had a space at Buckingham Palace where they could grow vegetables and other things.

King Charles III also mentioned how important the Queen Mother's garden at the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park was to him when he was young.

He spoke about being captivated by the plants as he walked around the garden.

The King commented about being affected by the smells of that childhood environment.

He also said that it was in his grandmother's garden that his love of trees began.

King Charles III doesn't just love plants and flowers himself, he also encourages others to share in his passion.

The Coronation Meadows campaign he nurtured is a good example of this.

This campaign happened in 2013, the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation.

The aim was to nurture 60 meadows.

Since then, King Charles III has spoken of his love for meadows during an interview with BBC Radio 4’s On Your Farm.

He spoke of the association between wildflower meadows and butterflies.

This association is well-known as wildflowers provide food for insects and pollinators

Wildflower meadows also provide shelter and breeding places for pollinators and various insects.

The King's love of flowers extends to trees as well.

In 70 facts released for his 70th birthday, he revealed his passion for trees.

The final fact said that King Charles III shakes one of the branches of every tree he plants to wish the tree well.

The King was also involved in the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative launched to celebrate the Queen's jubilee when he was still air to the throne.

The aim of the initiative was to encourage people to plant a tree in honour of the jubilee.

We love that our monarch is so passionate about tree planting.

Every time we complete a project, like designing floral displays for a wedding or corporate event, we arrange for a tree to be planted in the client's name.

It's our way of giving back.

At Blooming Haus, we've pioneered a new type of floral luxury that's all about ethics and artistry.

We share the King's passion for protecting the environment.

So, our design practices and operations are eco-minded and sustainable too.

Some of these practices include:

- Switching to green energy
- Having daylight sensors for the optimal use of energy
- Using low-flow water fixtures and fittings
- Recycling packaging
- Using local suppliers where possible

Enjoy the joy flowers bring without feeling guilty you're damaging the environment.

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