Highgrove: An Experiment in Organic Gardening and Farming
The British have been known to consider strongly "opinionated" views unseemly, and yet the Prince of Wales is well known for issuing firm-minded positions on all sorts of subjects. This large, handsome book provides an interesting, relatively mellow venue for one of them: horticulture and agriculture that are safe for the land, the plant(s) and the grower. Collaborating with Daily Telegraph environment editor Clover, who wrote most of the book, the Prince explains his work ("a purely private passion") at Highgrove, a property in the Cotswolds, over the past decade. Aspects of the Prince's creed, fulfilled with his own two hands and with the help of gardeners including Rosemary Verey: avoiding chemicals; experimenting with an "alternative" sewage treatment system; seeking organic controls in farming; practicing crop rotation; and trying out new or rare varieties of fruits and vegetables. The sweet and sweeping views of the results suggest that all is green and well; the Prince's prose, too, thrives. "I have put my heart and soul into Highgrove--and I will continue to do so while I can," he declares. "I have also put my back into Highgrove and, as a result, have probably rendered myself prematurely decrepit." Photos. Garden Book Club alternate.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.