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Highgrove
- Portrait of an Estate
Book Review
Richard Wright
12 Feb 2002
 Over
the past twenty years Prince Charles has put
organic systems into practice in the development
of his Highgrove Estate. Now, along with Charles
Glover of the Daily Telegraph, he has recorded
his progress in Highgrove – a Portrait
of an Estate. His enthusiastic introduction
is an insight into his personal passion for
traditional methods of farming and gardening.
He claims to have put his heart and soul into
the estate, and has obviously taken pleasure
in seeing the growth of the garden over the
years. Neglected areas have given way to woodland
copses, meadows of wild flowers and plants chosen
for smell as well as appearance, such as thyme
planted on the walkway. Hedges introduced for
shelter and privacy provide a habitat for wildlife,
and the kitchen garden was redesigned to produce
a range of organic vegetables.
The
book describes the history of the estate, the
making of the garden, the way wildlife was encouraged
and the reasons behind the decision to make
the farm organic. It also gives Prince Charles
a platform to highlight his ideas about traditional
as opposed to modern methods, querying how our
densely populated technological society can
avoid destroying the natural world. But the
recording of the successes and failures of the
estate reveals lessons for anyone interested
in the environment.
This
is an attractive book for those wanting to share
the vision the Prince has for the future. It
offers an insight into what drove someone to
develop organic gardening techniques, but offers
little in the way of practical advice if you
want to follow the royal lead. We all like to
see how the rich and famous live, and the beautiful
illustrations give a glimpse into Prince CharlesÂ’
private world and the estate he has turned into
a model of organic farming and gardening.
Book:
Highgrove – Portrait of an Estate
Author: HRH Price of Wales and Charles
Clover
Publisher: Cassell Paperbacks
Price: £16.99
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