Shall We Take a Turn?
A tour of Highgrove Gardens is just as pleasing as you might imagine.
Highgrove House itself dates back to the 1790s, and is filled with wonderful watercolours by His Majesty the King. Walk out into the series of breath-taking interconnected gardens and discover his creative vision in full bloom, along with the help of some Britain’s best-known gardeners, Sir Roy Strong, Isabel and Julian Bannerman, Lady Salisbury and Rosemary Verey.
Since purchasing the estate in 1980, King Charles has transformed what was simply lawn into a place of imagination – but crucially one that operates in harmony with nature, with sustainability at its heart.
If you’re fortunate enough to take a turn around Highgrove Gardens – and tours are bookable, HERE .
you know then here are five lovely things to look out for.
Terrific Topiary
Thyme Walk is an avenue lined with intriguingly shaped yew hedges that turn a burnished gold as the summer months go on – catching the sunlight as one looks down towards the house – and are sprinkled with snow when winter sets in. The topiary is re-cut every year during autumn.
It’s All About the Vistas
The gardens have been deliberately designed to allow the eye to travel as far as possible, past stone sundials and wrought-iron gates, up to the house and back again – so while each individual garden is its own universe, it is unified with a wonderful sense of expanse.
Magnificently Fragrant
Summer at Highgrove is magnificently fragrant, where odours of the blossoming weeping silver lime fills the air – the very scent that has inspired the blooming, uplifting floral notes of our Highgrove Bouquet. The trees’ highly scented flowers are a known narcotic for bees, who visit from Highgrove’s nearby hives and can often be seen in the evening lying in scores beneath the tree. We all have our vices…
Personality, and Then Some
It is at once a traditional country garden that bursts with quirks and idiosyncrasies. Take the bohemian, souk-style ambience of The Carpet Garden was originally built for the Chelsea Flower Show in 2001, for example, or The Stumpery is a garden of gnarled upturned tree roots that hark back to a Victorian tradition.
Green Fingers
Sustainability is at the heart of Highgrove, and no chemicals or artificial fertilisers are used throughout its cultivation. The Kitchen Garden grows organic fruit and vegetables, whose ingredients are used in the restaurant and a selection of delicious products – including 3,000 asparagus spears picked annually.
A particular highlight is the four-and-a-half-acre wildflower meadow, which is hand-cut by scythes and grazed by sheep to keep it under control.
Further Reading
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