UK: Queen Elisabeth II turns of heating in Royal greenhouse

Who could forget the proud face of Prince Charles as he led Alan Titchmarsh around his beloved organic gardens at Highgrove for a remarkably candid BBC programme into HRH’s passion for horticulture? Sadly things are rather bleaker at Sandringham, where the Queen, I can reveal, has decided to turn off the heating in her greenhouses to save money.

The royal residence near King’s Lynn has 65 acres of garden with several glasshouses where traditionally Her Majesty brings on her own young plants, such as dahlias, in the spring for planting out in the garden each summer. But not this year.

Like the rest of the nation, which is suffering from rising costs to heat their homes, the Queen has taken the decision to drastically cut back on bills.

So instead of nurturing her own saplings, or chatting to them to encourage their growth as Prince Charles does, the Queen will be forced to buy in many of her flowers from nurseries to embellish her borders this summer.

Sandringham has two greenhouses for carnations and others for chrysanthemums and dahlias, but they will be largely unused this year because only a small part of the Queen’s glasshouses will remain heated, I gather, and the heated part will be devoted mainly to houseplants.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk