There's a Special Meaning Behind Princess Diana's New ''White Garden'' at Kensington Palace

Flowers planted in honor of the 20th anniversary of her death

By Kendall Fisher Apr 13, 2017 7:14 PMTags
Kensington Palace, White GardenDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

As we approach the 20th anniversary of her death, the world continues to remember and honor Princess Diana.

Today, a temporary all-white garden opened at Kensington Palace—where the late royal called her home in London for many years. It's taken over the sunken garden (beside the visitor's entrance) and will remain open and free for the public from now until September as the royal family continues to commemorate the 20th anniversary of her death on August 31.

It's been named The White Garden because 12,000 bulbs of white flowers and foliage—including tulips, daffodils and scented hyacinths—were planted in memory of Diana's life, her style and her image, such as her white "Elvis" Catherine Walker dress.

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Princess Diana's Best Looks
Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images

Kensington Palace's head gardener, Sean Harkin discussed the garden in a press release for its opening, revealing the stories previous gardeners have told him about Diana's green thumb.

"Kensington Palace was the home of Princess Diana for 15 years and there's gardeners who aren't here any more but remember, and told me stories, about when they were working here in the Sunken Garden," he said. "They remember Princess Diana coming by and she would stop and she would admire the changing floral displays in the garden. We change them over in springtime and in summer, so it can look quite different. And she would stop, and she would have a chat with the gardeners and comment on all their hard work."

Harkin recalled one funny story in particular.

"I remember there was another gardener who told me a story about when he was walking along with a wheelbarrow with a fellow gardener. It's really embarrassing, but he tripped. He kind of fell over. It was over-weighted, the wheelbarrow, so everything kind of spilled everywhere. Princess Diana was going by and turned around and said, 'Bad luck, chaps', and kind of gave a smile," he said.  "And they kind of smiled and found it really quite funny, but also it's quite embarrassing when that happens."

We're sure Princess Diana smiled over that story, too.