Heaven at Highgrove – latest gardening newsletter from Jane Folis

I AM not sure where June has gone? It has been a month of variable weather, but really good for gardens. The vegetable patch continues to be an absolute treat and I am now picking produce on a daily basis, not to mention at least one bunch of Sweet Peas a day.

I wonder if the success is due to that amazing product ?Organic Extra? from www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk that I scattered on the ground back in April. The polyculture approach is also proving a success ? I don?t seem to have had a glut of anything thus far.

One of the highlights of this month was an invitation to visit Highgrove in Gloucestershire. In my naivety I hadn?t appreciated how difficult it is to get tickets, so a big ?thank you? Jane for organising this amazing trip. I had seen the articles and read the books, but it doesn?t prepare you for the beauty of the place. The art of design is simplicity and this garden has it.

I loved the bold use of hedging ? a dominant feature ? mixed with ?controlled? wildness and a minimalist use of colour. There was humour and tranquillity with the garden – separated into rooms, each with its own identity and feel. The stumpery did not disappoint. It had texture in the stumps and a clever use of beautiful ferns and hostas, interspersed with Alliums. The sound of water cascading into a pool with a central sculpture topped with a giant Gunnera giving the humour aspect. The only colour was white.

In between the ?rooms? there are swathes of meadow planted simply with bulbs, including Alliums, irises, daisies and yellow rattle to name just a few. The paths are wide and generous and against the backdrop of large mature Yew hedging it was beautiful.

It didn?t matter where you were in the garden, HRH has made the very best use of vistas. The eye is constantly being taken into the distance and attracted on occasion by something as simple as a seat and at other times a stunning sculpture or bespoke building.

We were not allowed to take photographs, but I have half a note book filled with sketches and plant combinations and some very clever and inspiring ideas. I now need a few gardens big enough to incorporate some of these!!

The walled vegetable garden was a beautiful mix of herbaceous and vegetables with a central water feature and four quadrants.

Although open to the public, this garden maintains the feel of a very private person who is passionate about the environment. I do feel privileged to have had the experience and would go back again.

Our day was crowned ? again a surprise to me ? with a champagne reception with quite delicious canap