The Garden at Highgrove

When the marriage of Lady Di and Prince Charles fell apart, rumor had it part of the problem had to do with his gardening obsession. Gossip columns claimed Charles paid more attention to his gardens than his wife. The Garden at Highgrove takes readers on a tour of Charles's favorite creation--a maze-like garden surrounding the estate where he has primarily lived for the past 20 years. Various styles thrive within the boundaries of the property: wildflower meadows, formal hedgerows, outdoor rooms, carefully plotted tapestries of Queen of Night tulips. If Diana complained of neglect, Highgrove's landscape looks like it has been lavishly doted on. In one series of photos, we see the transformation of a large plot, viewed from the house, as it has been completely erased and re-created year to year. Who has time to complete and then entirely redo a garden on a regular basis? A prince, of course. Although the landscape glows with a vibrant, almost artificial green, Charles has long been a committed organic gardener. In the introduction he recalls the period when he came around to the cause of environmentalism. While driving through a declining English countryside in the 1960s and 1970s, "I remember longing to heal the countryside, to bind up its wounds and to reclothe it in its rightful form." The Garden at Highgrove will inspire gardeners, even those who don't live in palaces, who are looking for images of elegance and can't afford a staff to keep the hedges perfect. --Emily White