A PR expert says: ‘It makes him appear less like an untouchable global superstar and more an aspirational family man.’
His first passion in life was football, but these days Sir David Beckham is an obsessive gardener who loves nothing more than pottering among the veggie patches and flowerbeds of his Cotswolds home.
To celebrate his affinity with the great outdoors, the former England captain, 51, is collaborating with the King’s Foundation on a showpiece garden at this week’s prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show – and it promises to be a spectacular effort. “I hope we inspire people to get outside into nature and to try something new,” green-fingered David says of the ambitious project.
As an ambassador for the King’s Foundation, David is bringing several personal touches to the design of the so-called Curious Garden, including seven raised beds which are a nod to his iconic shirt number.
READ MORE: Brooklyn Beckham takes new swipe at family as Victoria says she’s ‘tried to be good mum’READ MORE: Victoria Beckham hits back amid Brooklyn feud – ‘I’ve never been pushy with my kids’
Reflecting his love of beekeeping and collecting honey, the garden will also feature a working beehive. But while David says it has been “fun” to roll his sleeves up and get stuck into the planning, there is a more serious side to the partnership.
“Both the King’s Foundation and the RHS do such great work in protecting and promoting green spaces across the UK,” says David. “I want to help encourage a new generation to appreciate the benefits of nature and get involved in gardening.”
The show will also see the unveiling of a rose named in David’s honour, which was inspired by a 50th birthday gift from daughter Harper last year. The special flower – called the Sir David Beckham – has white blooms tinged with a soft blush and a fragrance of banana, musk, nougat, clove and myrrh. It will be available to buy, with £2.50 from each sale going to The King’s Foundation.
Once better known as a goal-scoring machine for both Manchester United and the England team, Becks’ love of gardening became apparent following his retirement from the game. In 2016, he bought a 26-acre farmhouse estate in rural Oxfordshire – amusingly without even telling wife Victoria, 52.
“She didn’t want another project,” he has confessed. “We’d just done up the London house. I sat her down, gave her a vodka and tonic and told her what I’d done.”
The property consisted of two crumbling barns, but renovations were completed just over a year later, and David spends as much time as he can tending to his trees, plants, bees and chickens. “I just love it. I’m never happier than when I’m here,” he says.
And the country gent persona is a natural one for David, according to PR expert Mayah Riaz. “It feels like a very clever evolution of his public image. For years he embodied this ultra-polished football icon, but now we’re starting to see a softer, more grounded version of David which feels far more relatable.
“Gardening, nature and a slower pace of life really speak to people right now. Audiences seem far more drawn to authenticity, wellbeing and home comforts these days than the flashy side of celebrity culture,” she says.
“David has carefully built this image through glimpses of his life in the Cotswolds, beekeeping, growing vegetables and embracing the countryside lifestyle. It makes him appear less like an untouchable global superstar and more an aspirational family man, which I would call PR gold.”
After years of painstaking improvements, the grounds of the £12million Cotswolds estate now boast an array of greenhouses and a large hen house, which has been wittily dubbed Peckingham Palace.
Fortunately, Victoria is just as enthusiastic about the sanctuary David has created, and it has become a regular weekend bolthole for the pair. “She’s in love with it,” he has said. “She sleeps longer here. She reads, we go for long country walks with the children.”
Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast last October, the former Spice Girl revealed how much they enjoy being together in the countryside. “We work so much and travel so much that, you know, our perfect night in is a glass of wine in the vegetable patch,” she revealed.
Victoria told host Alex Cooper, “It is incredible. And if it’s nice weather, we just sit out there, have a glass of wine, and yeah, just laugh.”
The three younger Beckhams – Harper, 14, Romeo, 23, and Cruz, 21 – frequently join their parents too.
“I knew that if I picked the right location and the children could get there in a day from London, they’d come,” David says. Sadly though, he and Victoria remain estranged from their eldest son Brooklyn, 27, and his wife Nicola Peltz Beckham, 31, who have missed several family events including David’s 50th celebrations last year.
“There’s a quiet emotional layer to all of this. During periods of family scrutiny and public speculation surrounding Brooklyn and the wider Beckham family dynamic, retreating into gardening and country life offers an image of stability, calm and normality,” Mayah says.
“Whether this was intentional or not, the visuals of David and Victoria at their farmhouse create a sense of unity and escapism. It’s a reminder that behind the global brand is still a family trying to protect their peace.”
David’s commitment to the natural world has placed him firmly in step with King Charles, and he became an ambassador for the King’s Foundation shortly before receiving his knighthood in November 2025. This followed a visit to Charles’s Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire, and at the time, David said he was “excited” to shine a light on the charity, and help “ensure young people have greater access to nature”.
Last month, David visited Highgrove again to map out the final plans for his Curious Garden. There he was joined by fellow King’s Foundation ambassador Alan Titchmarsh and horticulturist Frances Tophill, who is overseeing the collaboration.
David, who last year created a range of snacks for children called Beeup, says, “I miss everything about my garden when I’m not there. It gives me a great sense of calm and contentment. I built all of it for my family and I’m very proud of what I have created.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
