I’m King Charles’ gardener – the four jobs you need to do this Bank Holiday, including the £8 flower to plant
KING Charles’ senior gardener has revealed the four garden jobs you should do this Bank Holiday to get ready for the summer.
Jack Stooks, who has worked at the monarch’s Highgrove House for 20 years, revealed what to do now that the weather is hopefully getting warmer.
And if you haven’t already, it could be time for a lawn cut, just as long as it hasn’t been raining.
Speaking to Fabulous, Jack shared: “In the spring, once the grass starts growing generally you know it is warm enough in the roots, so you can do the first cut.
“Ideally you don’t want to do it when it’s too frosty or cold as you create these divots and you get a horrible mess.
“The grass has to be dry enough and the soil as you don’t want to compact it.”
Aside from cutting your lawn, here are four jobs Jack recommends this weekend…
Scarify your lawn
The royal gardener shared: “If you haven’t already you can scarify the lawn, get all the old dead grass out.
“By doing that you also get the moss out, you are getting rid of any old materials like late autumn leaves that have gone into the ground.
“The best thing to do is to use a wire metal rake as you can go at the soil.”
Jack said sometimes people are surprised at the “state” of the lawn after he’s raked it, but said it’s key to getting the old “mess out.”
Add fertiliser
The bank holiday weekend could be the perfect time to add fertiliser into your lawn to get your “nitrogen” content up.
Speaking to Fabulous in association with Alt Index, Jack revealed that a fertiliser or plant food with nitrogen helps you to get “super green” grass.
He explained: “Adding nitrogen into the soil [is key].
“You can either get a mix, it’s sort of more like a water base mix that you can pour into a watering can and at a ratio of whatever it might be on the can.
“Ideally you want to start adding that when you know it’s going to rain, when it’s not too dry, because otherwise that will just kill the grass off as well, it just sort of burns it.”
Start adding plants
Jack shared how garden centres will start getting new flowers around this time of year and some will have started to bloom.
And thankfully you don’t need to spend a fortune to get a garden fit for royalty.
Speaking of his favourite budget plant, the royal staff member advised: “I always recommend for height, you want a clematis which are really, really good.
Royal gardener Jack Stook's top tips for green lawns
JACK, who has worked at King Charles' Highgrove House for 20 years, shares his top tips..
- Scarify the lawn with a rake to remove any old leaves and moss
- Add nitrogen fertiliser into the soil
- Alternatively, put granular feed over the lawn, or a ‘plant soup’ from plant material over the lawn
“The Montana Clematis – they normally like either pinks or whites – and once you’ve got them and they go up and over a wall or a fence, they do amazingly and they just keep coming year after year after year.
“I mean they’re just so giving and they’re about £8 to £10 depending on where you get them.
“In a supermarket you sometimes see them on really good deals for sort of like £6, so they are very, very reasonably priced.”
Give your garden a spring clean
As well as tidying up your lawn and borders, Jack advised that now is the perfect time to think about sprucing up your garden furniture too.
Anything that is “green” and “mucky” can be cleaned with a jet washer to give it a new lease of life – or you can add a few bits to transform your space.
He added: “With your garden you are very much king of your own castle, it’s what you want and want to show your garden off to be.
“You can add sculptures – you can find all sorts in garden centres and supermarkets – and ornaments.
“A friend of mine does willow weaving and she makes willow sculptures.
“You could add an arch that you can put sweet peas on, you can do a lot on a budget.”
Inside Highgrove House, where King Charles lives
HIGHGROVE House is located in the Cotswolds, just miles from Tetbury in Gloucestershire.
The Georgian home dates back to the 1780s and was bought by the then-Prince Charles from Maurice Macmillan, a former politician in 1980.
Each of the gardens reflect the interests of King Charles, who has long held a deep commitment to environmental efforts and a sustainable lifestyle.
The King has even planted rare trees and heritage seeds to ensure these varieties continue flourishing for future generations.
Highgrove is located within 347 acres of sprawling countryside with the Royal Gardens often open for tours, including group garden tours and champagne and tea tours.
There is even a shop that sells artisan products like ports and chutneys.
All profits from the produce on sale, garden tours and events are donated to the Prince of Wales’ Charitable Fund, which supports mental and physical health activities, the arts and the environment.
Highgrove House itself is closed to the public as it is the private home of King Charles III and the Queen Consort Camilla.