The Duchess of Cambridge was back in the garden this week, hosting a picnic for children on Monday to celebrate the opening of her re-designed Back To Nature garden which has been relocated to the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.
Kate was clearly embracing the warmer weather, opting for a gorgeous green printed midi dress by Sandro which she paired with her go-to Castaner espadrilles.
The Duchess was embracing the warmer months with her gorgeous summery ensemble. (Image: Getty)
A little over a month since she unveiled the original garden at the Chelsea Garden Show – which included sharing some adorable images of the Cambridge children having a blast exploring the garden – her Back to Nature Garden has been transferred to a new home complete with additional interactive features.
Along with a waterfall and stream, den, campfire, treehouse and rope swing from the original Chelsea design, the new Hampton garden includes a rolling hill, bug hotel, hidden burrow and bee-friendly wildflower meadow – all created to stimulate engagement with nature and free play.
The Duchess got stuck in, hosting a treasure hunt and bug hunting activity with children supported from a handful of her patronages including the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, Evelina London, Action For Children and Place 2 Be, along with local children from Hampton Hill Junior School.
According to People, Kate also revealed that her eldest children Prince George, 5, and Princess Charlotte, 4, had lent a helping hand in finding materials for the expanded garden along with pinecones Kate hid for the treasure hunt.
“There are eight, Charlotte helped me find them,” Kate told the children as they began their hunt of the pinecones using magnifying glasses.
Kate set up a treasure hunt and went bug spotting with the children. (Image: Getty)
The Duchess’ Back To Nature Garden, which she created in collaboration with landscape architects Adam White and Andree Smith and the Royal Horticultural Society, is part of Kate’s longstanding passion and work on supporting children’s early years of development.
“The Duchess believes that spending time outdoors plays a pivotal role in children’s future health and happiness,” explains an Instagram post shared by Kensington Palace about the day.
“Her garden highlights how time spent in natural environments can help build the foundations for positive physical and mental wellbeing that last through childhood and over a lifetime.”
The post goes on to explain that the interactive features of the garden enables children to develop skills for life through free play, building their confidence, strength, resilience and social skills.
The Duchess is no stranger to getting her hands a little dirty – last month she made a surprise appearance on the children’s TV show Blue Peter, where she was right at home joining school children as they examined wildlife in a pond, known as ‘pond dipping’, building a den out branches and planting flowers.
Asked whether she’d ever done pond dipping before, Kate replied enthusiastically that it was “massively up my street.”
During her appearance she also revealed that she spends a lot of time with her family outdoors joking that “rain or shine” they get “dragged outside.”
It was also announced that The Duchess would be joining forces with Blue Peter to launch a special competition that asks viewers to design a sculpture to go into Kate’s Back To Nature garden, when it moves from its current location at Hampton Gardens, to RHS Garden Wisley in September – where it will permanently stay.
WATCH: Duchess Kate makes a surprise appearance on kids show Blue Peter. Story continues below…
Earlier this week Kensington Palace announced the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge would be embarking on a royal tour of Pakistan in the British autumn (New Zealand’s spring).
The trip will mark the couple’s first visit to the South Asian country, having visited their neighbouring country India in 2016.
