Prince tells of gardening joy

The Prince of Wales has spoken about his fondness for a “splendid” gardener who helped him and the Princess Royal with their “little garden” during their childhood.

Speaking to Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, Charles said he and his sister Anne had a “little vegetable patch” and had “great fun” as youngsters trying to grow tomatoes.

And he said there was “nothing to beat” eating homegrown food, as he suggested it is important to encourage children to grow their own produce.

The prince said: “My sister and I had a little vegetable patch in the back of some border somewhere. We had great fun trying to grow tomatoes rather unsuccessfully, and things like that.”

He went on to tell Radio 4’s The Poet Laureate Has Gone To His Shed: “There was a wonderful head gardener at Buckingham Palace, he was called Mr Nutbeam, rather splendidly.

“He was splendid and helped us a bit, my sister and I, with the little garden we had.”

He added: “There’s nothing to beat, is there, I think, eating what you have grown?

“This is another reason why I always feel it is so important to find ways of encouraging children to grow vegetables and things at school.”

Later, discussing younger generations’ attitudes to the environment, Charles said: “I don’t want to be confronted by my grandchildren and other people’s grandchildren saying, ‘Why didn’t you do something when you could?’ ”

Charles’s Welsh home, Llwynwermod, was the backdrop for the talk, which also saw the men speak about Charles’s fondness for trees and the need for their protection in the face of diseases in species such as ash and elm.

They also spoke about mankind’s relationship with the planet, with Charles saying: “I think we are at a point of rediscovering now, rather late in the day, the importance of reconnection and of understanding that we are a part of nature, not apart from it.”

The conversation features in Mr Armitage’s The Poet Laureate Has

Gone To His Shed, which will air on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds at 7.15pm this evening.

INTERVIEW: Prince Charles spoke to Poet Laureate Simon Armitage on the radio show.