King Charles' award-winning garden at Highgrove has an unusual inspiration

King Charles, ever the horticultural enthusiast, has spent more than 30 years lovingly curating the gardens at his beautiful Georgian countryside home, Highgrove House, where he spent a lot of time in the period he was grieving his mother.

Over time, the husband of Queen Camilla has been creating a series of individual 'outdoor rooms' that he then opens to the public each summer.

Among these is the Carpet Garden, which has a gorgeous inspiration that certainly stands as unique among the royal gardens.

The garden, which won a silver-gilt medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show back in 2001, was actually based on a sketch that King Charles had drawn, inspired by a Turkish carpet he had inside his home.

When he entered the design into the show, the son of the late Queen Elizabeth II made royal history, as it marked the very first time that a member of the British royal family had ever designed a garden for the prestigious event. 

© Tim Graham Photo Library via Get

With a magnificent mosaic fountain at the centre, the Carpet Garden incorporates various colours and patterns that are featured on the King's carpet. It is filled with colourful flowers such as roses and fuschias, as well as a couple of personal touches that come from his travels over the past twenty years.

In his book, Highgrove: A Garden Celebrated, the father of Prince William and Prince Harry wrote about the inspiration in more detail.

© PA Images via Getty Images

He explained: "After gazing for many years at the patterns and colours of one of the small Turkish carpets in my room at Highgrove, I couldn't help feeling what fun it would be to use those patterns and colours to create a theme for a garden.

"The challenge would be to see if you could almost create the effect of being within the carpet."

Since the garden's entry into the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the King has made various additions, including two chairs that he acquired in India, a small carved galloping horse that has been inserted into the wall, and various lanterns and lime-washed pots.

Highgrove House: The King's Private Home is on Channel 5 on Saturday 12 July at 8pm.