Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are shown a new vegetable patch by a Buckingham Palace gardener. (Photo courtesy The Telegraph)
Queen Elizabeth II has pronounced gardening an honourable profession.
In the annual New Year Honours List she acts on behalf of the government and gives titles and medals to hundreds of politicians and their pals. Some worthy citizens who have served their country are commended too.
The Queen also has a few awards that are her own personal gift, and this year she recognized four gardeners.
No doubt as we weed and hoe we wish that someday, someone would notice our efforts. These lucky four had The Queen notice and reward them. Let's take a look at the gardens where they toil.
Sandringham House, The Queen's residence in Norfolk, England
(Photo courtesy KL Magazine)
People who live in glass houses...well, they apparently get gold medals. Royal Victorian Gold Medals.
David James Benefer, RVM. Glasshouses manager, Sandringham Estate (he has previously been awarded the Silver Royal Victorian Medal).
Highgrove House, Prince Charles' country home in Gloucestershire, England
(Photo courtesy Highgrove)
Royal Victorian Medal (Silver) to Mrs. Marion Rose Cox. Part-time Gardener, Highgrove House.
The Queen on the grounds of Balmoral, her estate in Scotland
(Photo courtesy The Telegraph )
Royal Victorian Medal (Silver) to Joseph MacLugash. Woods Foreman, Balmoral Estate.
Savill Garden, Windsor Castle, England
(Photo courtesy Charlotte Weychan)
Royal Victorian Medal (Silver) to Graham Passmore Stone. Horticulturalist, Crown Estate, Windsor.
Dr. Shirley Sherwood at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery, Kew Gardens, England
(Photo courtesy Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)
The government fished up this garden great and The Queen will give the Order of the British Empire to Dr. Shirley Angela Sherwood. Botanical Art Collector. For services to Botanical Art.
All hail Shirley for her astonishing collection, now safely stashed in an eponymous gallery at Kew Gardens; the first gallery ever to focus on botanical art.
As for the rest of us, we'll have to name a lot of plants after The Queen in her Diamond Jubilee Year and see if that gets us on the list.
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5 comments:
Good luck getting on the list! Your writing style is so witty and charming, I would think that might get you an award someday! It made my day! Happy New Year!
ps: I really love the Savill Garden picture!
Love the lawn at Highgrove House, or the meadow - quite beautiful. Someday, when I have 100 acres, I'll have a nice little meadow filled with native wildflowers!
So love that the queen said gardening was an honorable profession!
Welcome Emmon, Thanks for your kind words! And I agree, Windsor would be a fine thing to see.
Welcome Chiot's Run, Prince Charles' Highgrove House and farm are run on sustainable lines to a great extent (even filtering waste water with a reed bed). Thanks for visiting!
What better way to start the year right than reading a clever post. On top of that, talking about the Queen's new found admiration for all gardeners is just inspiring in every way. Hoping this will give more attention to gardening, per se.
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