Award-winning florist to the royals, Larry Walshe, has revealed the themes and styles loved by royal households and we have examples of florals and foliage loved by the Queen, Duchess Kate and Duchess Meghan that you can emulate yourself at home – whatever your budget.
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"This style of design also lends itself particularly well to sustainable methods of construction," says Larry, the founder of the UK's first sustainable florist service, Bloom. As well as creating stunning displays for royal and celebrity homes, Larry Walshe Studios won the 2021 bronze award at The RHS Chelsea Flower Show for best floral installation.
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Keep reading to find out which floral and foliage colour schemes, themes and textures the royals have opted for in their homes.
© Larry WalsheLarry's English rose display at Hampton Court Palace
Royal households follow key trends
"The natural look is continuing to be a growing trend. Garden-inspired designs that bring the outdoors, inside are continuing to grow in popularity," Larry told HELLO!.
© Larry WalsheSimple and quintessential garden blooms make an impact
Royal households also love the English Garden theme - and there is so much scope for variety. Larry enthuses: "I always consider this look to be one of my favourites – there is a huge amount of texture, depth and movement realised with schemes of this nature and they always appear quintessentially English."
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© InstagramThe Queen decorates her banquet tables with red and pink roses
The Queen loves roses, and pink and red blossoms are featured throughout all six of her private gardens. According to the Royal Collection Trust, some of the sweetly fragranced flowers are picked and used in table decorations at banquets.
Royal households value sustainable floral décor
Larry, being a trailblazer in sustainability in floristry, passionately agrees with the royals' English Garden-themed preferences. "This style of design also lends itself particularly well to sustainable methods of construction so again, another reason it is one of my favourites."
© Larry WalsheAmple evergreen foliage is preferred
When Duchess Kate designed her Back to Nature garden for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2019, her garden featured an “incredible edibles” section. The patch included fruits such as wild strawberries, but you could add fragrant herbs and even citrus fruits are easy to grow and make a bright and modern centrepiece or coffee table feature.
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© Larry WalsheDispersing long-stemmed garden blossoms look most natural
"Using water and mosses instead of floral foam makes this look much kinder on the environment and utilising lots of flower types makes for a really interesting setting that will continue to give your guests looks to look at and discover during the day."
© Larry WalsheBe inspired by Duchess Kate's incredible edible garden
Duchess Meghan's previous Instagram posts show that mastered the art of strategically placing small potted succulents upon shelves and stacks of books throughout her former Toronto home. The decoration breathed life into the space.
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The royals embraced Zoom as a means to carry out their engagements during lockdown which provided unprecedented insight into their home decor. Meghan and Harry's home office in California is decorated with a large fiddle fig tree and Kate and William's Kensignton home featured a large palm tree and ferns, all of which grow wonderfully well in UK soil.
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© Larry WalsheKate and Meghan love having fern and palm trees indoors
Larry Walshe has since used an abundance of fern in his household and events displays for clients found and small cuttings of fern and hebs look lovely in small crystal vases.
© InstagramMeghan's former home featured tiny potted succulents
When Duchess Meghan married Prince Harry in May 2018, her bouquet included Forget-Me-Nots that were hand-picked by Harry from the couple's private garden at Kensington Palace – which were Princess Diana's favourite.
© Kate Nielen PhotographyBrides are emulating the royal preference for outdoors-indoors
As a luxury florist, Larry is often hired to design weddings and he has noticed that this natural, "quintessentially English" garden theme "is particularly popular with couples coming to the UK from abroad as they are always keen to receive a truly British experience."
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© Larry WalsheMake use of abundant garden plants like hydrangeas
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