Like many of us, the Royal Family are known to be a green-fingered bunch who enjoy a spot of gardening. While almost all are regular attendees of various flower and garden shows each year, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh recently took things a step further when she co-designed a garden of her own, for the 2026 Royal Windsor Flower Show. Now, King Charles has followed suit, this time with his impressive redesign – the Venus Garden at Windsor Castle.
On Thursday 16 July, the Venus Garden opened its gates to its very first visitors, allowing attendees to explore the newly designed space in the grounds of Windsor Castle. The planetary name of the garden ties to the space-related inspiration behind it – the ‘petal-like pattern created by the orbit of Venus’, the Royal Collection explains in a release.
Former royal gardener Jack Stooks isn’t surprised by King Charles’ latest project, and says The King would ‘very much get involved with garden designs’ when they worked together. ‘I recall one time, when I was working at Highgrove, there were a whole bunch of topiary specimens on the main lawn, and the King wanted them to be different varieties of mushrooms,’ Jack tells Good Housekeeping via OLBG. ‘He sketched out how he wanted them to look. So small scale to big scale – that’s how he does things.’
Speaking about the King’s new garden project, Jack says he knew that The King had ‘been planning these gardens for some time, and it’s only coming into fruition now, so it’s been a long time coming.’ Jack explains that the Venus Garden ‘is trying to be more environmentally friendly and is trying to bring back old Elizabethan designs,’ which involves details such as ‘wild flower meadows, shrubs and trees so there is a huge variety of nature’. He says we’ll also ‘find more insects and bees’ as the King is ‘creating a new environment that is not only pleasing to the eye, but also for animals and insects to thrive.’
One of the highlights of the redesigned space at Windsor is a ‘dramatic new treescape including ornamental pear trees, dogwood and crab apple creates a renewed sense of scale and spectacle across the garden,’ explains the Royal Collection.
According to Jack, this is right on brand for King Charles. ‘The King adores trees. He uses them everywhere, and he likes his delphiniums. The King has also always liked ferns and hostas, especially a large national leaf collection. He also has the national collection of Fagus.’
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And it’s not just King Charles who is a fan of gardening as his wife, Queen Camilla, shares this hobby. In fact, Jack says he doesn’t know one member of the Royal Family who ‘doesn’t like gardens or isn’t very green.’ He says, ‘all the royals have gardens, and they are very conscious about the environment.’
The Venus Garden at Windsor Castle is open until 13 September and entry is included in the price of a standard ticket at no extra charge.
