Royal garden opened in honour of Princess Diana

Kensington Palace has opened a garden to honour the late Princess Diana, marking the 20th anniversary of her death.

While planning, gardeners interviewed her friends and family to ensure it could be filled with her favourite flowers, such as forget-me-nots that were given to her by her brother Earl Spencer when she was child.

Talking to the Telegraph, head gardener from 1984 to 1992 Graham Dillamore said he had many fond memories of the princess.

“She was incredibly flattering and complimentary about the work that we did,” Graham Dillamore said. “I think she appreciated the hard work we put in, she was more worried about us out in the cold and asking are we wrapped up.”

He described how she loved the colours and the brightness of the garden and would ask how they picked colours and planned the colour scheme.

“She never confessed to being a fantastic gardener, but there were certain colours she liked in the garden – soft pinks, whites, yellow, pastel shades. She used to turn her nose up if I ever put red or deep purple flowers.”

The White Garden, which took a year to prepare, is now open at the princesses’ former home in Kensington Palace. It was given the name The White Garden due to the 12,000 bulbs of white bulbs and flowers planted there.  It will remain open to the public, free of charge, until September this year.

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