The Queen has bemoaned the noise from the Heathrow flight path over her beloved Frogmore Gardens
In Queen Victoria’s day royal retreat the Frogmore Gardens were a silent and tranquil haven.
But for the present-day queen the roaring of planes overhead means they are slightly less so.
In a message to gardeners the Queen has bemoaned the noise from the Heathrow flight path, which passes over the Windsor garden.
‘I very much hope you have enjoyed visiting Frogmore House and Gardens, which holds a special place in my family’s affections,’ she said in a message for Radio 4 programme Gardeners’ Question Time.
‘Indeed, I would echo the sentiments of Queen Victoria who, 150 years ago, wrote of this dear lovely garden where “all is peace and you only hear the hum of bees, the singing of the birds”.
‘These days there is more noise from the air than in 1867, but Frogmore remains a wonderfully relaxing environment.’
During the programme a recording made outside in the garden by John Anderson, the keeper of the gardens, is played, and the sound of planes roaring overhead can clearly be heard.
But the 91-year-old monarch did speak of her affection for the garden.
Mr Anderson added that she took a keen interest in the garden’s development and that she ‘knows her stuff’.
The fascinating insights into a hitherto unknown aspect of the Queen’s life come in a special edition recorded for the show’s 70th anniversary, a week before Her Majesty and Prince Philip mark their own platinum anniversary.
In the pre-recorded address she added: ‘I have an early memory of my mother Queen Elizabeth being a hands-on gardener, a tradition that has been followed by other members of my family.
‘I’m not any sort of expert on gardening, but plants, trees and flowers have been a source of pleasure throughout my life.’ She also thanked the programme for the a daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’, a fragrant winter-flowering shrub from Nepal, which will be planted in the garden as a wedding anniversary gift to Her Majesty and Prince Philip.
Frogmore is a historic royal retreat rarely open to the public, and a garden the Queen Mother was also fond of, having spend her honeymoon there in 1923.
In Queen Victoria’s day royal retreat the Frogmore Gardens were a silent and tranquil haven
It was bought in 1792 by George III for his wife Queen Charlotte, who used it for herself and her unmarried daughters as a country retreat.
The Queen takes a huge interest in the gardens, which were created by Queen Charlotte, who had a passionate interest in botany.
In the 1790s the Queen introduced over 4,000 trees and shrubs to create a model ‘picturesque’ landscape, which in the last century was restored by Queen Mary and enhanced for the present Queen’s Silver Jubilee.
The keeper of the gardens, John Anderson, reveals much about the monarch’s tastes in an interview with Gardeners’ Question Time’s host Peter Gibbs.
Asked whether she likes any particular colours, he says: ‘The Queen wears bright colours and that’s reflected in the garden. She has a very wide palate of colours which she enjoys.
‘The queen will let us know if she likes the idea and if she likes the idea we will get on with it.
‘When it comes to Frogmore, because it is such a special garden, I will often have a meeting with Her Majesty, take a walk around the gardens, put ideas out of things I hope she will like. And if she approves we then get on and do the work. And hopefully she will enjoy it. ‘
Asked about the Queen’s knowledge of gardening, Mr Anderson said: ‘The Queen certainly knows her stuff, she certainly know what she likes.
‘And this is a very special garden to her. And we make that very special for her. She is very keen on enjoying this garden both as a picturesque, beautiful garden, and as something with colour and interest for the time she spends in it.
‘She certainly knows a lot about gardening and plants and knows what she likes.’
The gardener revealed that the Queen particularly loves spring at Frogmore, when the cherry trees are in full bloom and banks are filled with primroses and daffodils.
But asked whether the Queen would get her hands dirty, Mr Anderson said tactfully: ‘She would leave that role to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.’
Queen Victoria added a gothic Tea House and white-marble Indian Kiosk to the garden, and used the Gothic Ruin as a breakfast and reading room.
Although it is no longer a royal residence, Frogmore House is frequently used by the Royal Family for entertaining.
It was used as the reception venue for the wedding of The Queen’s eldest grandson, Peter Phillips, to Autumn Kelly in May 2008.