It’s no secret that the Royal Family are fans of nature and that many of them are keen gardeners. The current garden and flower show season is always a busy period for the royals, with the King, Queen and other members attending Chelsea Flower Show after-hours – and now Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh is collaborating on her own first garden design. For this year’s Royal Windsor Flower Show, the Duchess has joined forces with Alan Williams of Landform Consultants to create the Plants With Purpose Garden. Alan spoke to Good Housekeeping about the exciting new project.
‘She’s really excited,’ said Alan, discussing a key feature which will soon be on display in the finished garden and which is a favourite of the Duchess’s. It might even be something you have yourself at home: a potting shed. ‘We weren’t sure if we were gonna do the potting shed,’ said Alan. ‘I sneakily included it on the mood board within the final presentation of ideas because I knew she was gonna love it.’
Alan describes the potting shed as ‘something that's really quirky’, with an oak frame structure. ‘As soon as she saw it, she absolutely fell in love with it,’ said Alan, adding that Sophie told him, ‘This is what I would really love at home.’ Reflecting on their design, Alan said the shed is now a favourite aspect of his own: ‘That’s the bit I’m most excited about because it’s turning what she really wants into reality.’
The garden design project has been ‘a true collaboration’ with the Duchess, according to Alan. ‘It’s not just one-sided,’ he said. ‘It’s not me putting things in front of the Duchess and saying, “This is what we’re doing.” She’s been really involved in the whole process and we’ve changed materials and we’ve chosen them together and we’ve talked it all through to make sure that she’s happy with them. So when she said, “It’d be great to get some oak planters in there,” we've made sure that that’s happened.’
Alan said the pair got together at royal residence Bagshot Park for some ‘amazing meetings’ over tea and biscuits, as well visiting Creepers nursery to choose plants. While connecting, they would talk through ‘what her likes are and her dislikes are, and what I’m into,’ so that Alan could start ‘aligning all of those sorts of things to come up with a beautiful garden that celebrates both her passions and my passions’.
The Plants with Purpose Garden ‘will highlight the importance of healthy soil and an understanding of how food is grown’, the Royal Family announced on social media. ‘Her Royal Highness dedicates much of her time to championing opportunities for young people to forge a career in the British food industry, supporting sustainable food production, and engaging everyone with where our food comes from.’
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And after the show is finished, all Sophie and Alan’s hard work won’t go to waste. The garden is being relocated to two different schools, says Alan, so the brilliant spaces can be enjoyed for the long term.
The Royal Windsor Flower Show takes place on 6 June 2026
