Prince Charles discusses his nature work in Highgrove
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The gardens at Highgrove Garden have been described as “dreamy” and “stunning” by those who have visited Charles and Camilla’s Gloucestershire residence. Camilla often posts pictures and videos of the lovely gardens on her Instagram page from her Reading Room.
Clarence House posted on its Instagram saying: “Original watercolours featuring the plants of Highgrove Garden are on display at a free exhibition in London.
“The watercolours will be on display at The Garrison Chapel at Chelsea Barracks, Belgravia until 26 September.”
The display is featuring 72 artists from around the world, who have all at some point captured the floral displays at Highgrove.
“The Highgrove Florilegium: Watercolours Depicting Plants Grown in The Garden at Highgrove” will coincide with the Chelsea Flower Show from September 21-26.
The watercolours were painted for the book ‘The Highgrove Florilegium’, which depicts the plants, vegetables, fruit, and trees grown in the garden at Highgrove.
It was published in 2008 and 2009 and has a preface at the beginning by Prince Charles.
It says: “From the start it was my intention to try and create a garden that warmed the heart and soothed the soul; a place, if you like, of beauty and peacefulness; a garden based upon organic principles that would mark the turning of the year and the abundance and fruitfulness of Nature in her many guises.
“I was therefore especially delighted when it was suggested that it might be possible to create a Florilegium of the plants in the garden and that this would not only celebrate the garden itself, but would also provide an archive that could then be used to develop the art of botanical painting at my School of Traditional Arts.”
Prince Charles takes care that Highgrove Gardens are managed sustainably.
The series of gardens cover 15 acres in total, all of which are managed organically.
Wood pellet, biomass boilers are used to heat Highgrove House, the Orchard Room, stables and offices, which ensures they are resourcefully looked after.
Most of the electricity is sourced from a renewable energy supplier and from solar panels on the farm barns.
The electricity generated is used in Highgrove House and in the Orchard Room to be 100 percent sustainable.
Ground source heat pumps are used to heat the staff cottages and the greenhouses too.
A reed bed sewage system is used for all Highgrove’s waste, in line with their sustainability motives.
The gardeners employed at Highgrove Gardens make their own compost and leaf mould.
There are 180 chickens that roam across the estate under a mixed range of fruit trees.
This means around 4,000 eggs are collected every year, and they are used in the Orchard Tea Room and sold in the estate shop.
There are also two fountains in Highgrove Gardens which provide running, open water for birds throughout the year.
Prince Charles, through The Prince’s Foundation, has officially established a public exhibition space at The Garrison Chapel at Chelsea Barracks to showcase the work of the charity, its students, and graduates.
This display is the second of a series of public exhibitions scheduled to be housed at the same venue.
“The Highgrove Florilegium: Watercolours Depicting Plants Grown in The Garden at Highgrove” will be open at The Garrison Chapel, Chelsea Barracks from 11am until 4pm daily until Sunday 26 September, and bookings are not required to attend.
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