THE Royal Horticultural Society garden at Rosemoor had a royal visitor last week to open a new outdoor teaching facility.

Princess Alexandra officially opened the Peter Buckley Learning Centre Teaching Gardens at the gardens at Great Torrington last Wednesday week.

The Princess Alexandra said the invitation to open the facility was a great privilege: 'These gardens will be great for teaching children and people in the future.'

RHS president Elizabeth Banks said: 'It has been quite wonderful, and it is a wonderful day for the garden. Everyone here is thrilled to have Princess Alexandra visit the gardens.

'These teaching gardens are not only a dream come true, but a dream that has gone on so much further and beyond what we hoped. It is wonderful.'

The Peter Buckley Learning Centre building was opened last year by Alan Titchmarsh. Designed by Devon architects Gale and Snowden, the building is used by primary and secondary schools, adult learners, trainees and for family events, attracting an estimated 7,000 schoolchildren a year.

The land surrounding the new building has been cultivated over recent months to provide additional opportunities for thousands more schoolchildren in the region.

The two acres boasts the RHS's first forest garden, with plants chosen as the best of their type for fruit, berry and nut cropping. As these plants establish, the garden will become a self-sustainable planting with an understory of herbs and perennial vegetables. Allotments have also been developed to aid community involvement with vegetable growing.

On her arrival the princess was greeted by schoolchildren from Great Torrington Junior School, who presented her with a bouquet. She later spoke with dignitaries, including former government minister Lord Michael Heseltine.

Curator Jon Webster has overseen the development of the project, which started in late 2008.

He said: 'It is great to have it complete, with the building now having been open for a year.

'Obviously, we don't have royalty every day. We had Alan Titchmarsh open the building last year, who I suppose you could call gardening royalty, but it is great to get the real thing. It has added prestige to the project.

'It has been a huge journey to get to this point, it is very rewarding to be here and it is great to have Princess Alexandra here to open it.'