Sunday, December 22, 2024

Flowers and a kiss as Titchmarsh welcomes Queen to ‘gardening bohemia’

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The Queen, an avid reader who has long used her platform to promote a love of literature, was greeted on arrival by Alan Titchmarsh, the president of the Garden Museum, Christopher Woodward, its director, and Rupert Tyler, the chairman of trustees.

She also met Shane Connolly, the florist who designed the floral arrangements for the Coronation last May.

The Queen was shown around the exhibition by curators Dr Claudia Tobin and Emma House.

Among the other items on display is a 17th-century tapestry depicting gardens in spring, which was recently acquired by the museum, as well as landscaping plans of well-known 20th- and 21st-century British gardens in the archive of garden design.

The Queen will also watch a “clay for dementia” session, inspired by the Gardening Bohemia exhibition as part of the museum’s learning programme.

The free sessions, led by ceramicist Katie Spragg since 2017, are offered to those with dementia and their carers. The Queen will meet volunteers who help to support the workshops.

Her Majesty last visited the Garden Museum, on the banks of the River Thames in central London, in December 2023 when she opened the Winter Flowers Week, a celebration of seasonal flowers and foliage.

The King has been patron of the museum since December 2021.

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