A beautiful garden is always delightful to meander. But when it’s the garden nurtured by a royal, it’s even more enjoyable. Writer Betsa Marsh walks us (virtually) through Highgrove Gardens, in England, where The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall reside. 

Save this article about visiting Highgrove Gardens in England to Pinterest to help you plan your visit. Photos by Betsa Marsh. Graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.

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Lean in and a heritage rose whispers a hint of perfume. Crunch down a gravel path toward the kitchen garden and a rooster crows, either late for today or practicing for tomorrow.

A leisurely wander is just the right pace for the gardens of Highgrove, the country estate of HRH the Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Prince Charles has been nurturing these 15 organic acres since he bought the house in 1980 and welcomes travelers to amble along his velvet-mown paths.

The entire adventure has a secretive feel to it. Highgrove stands tucked behind high hedges outside the tiny Cotswold village of Tetbury, and finding the concealed drive, as the instructions tell you to do, is worth your life. A friend and I drive up and down a tiny country lane, trying not to clog the way for the locals. I finally just turn into a likely driveway, spot the police car and tell them we’re here for the garden tour. After that it’s just follow the driveway, park and enter the Orchard Room.

The Orchard Room, built to accommodate the crowds who want to see, smell, touch and taste Highgrove, is the only place we’re allowed to photograph. The policy seems a bit prickly until we discover that we’re actually walking within a few feet of Prince Charles and Camilla’s front door. We presume security has checked out everyone’s name and bio as we reserve the tours, but they’re not taking any chances with photos.

The Orchard Room at Highgrove glows with hydrangea blossoms. Photo by Betsa Marsh.

Instead, we have to snapshot our own memories, breathing in the roses and thyme, listening for honeybees in flight, and watching for ducks angling for a good-looking puddle. And enjoy the odd rooster crow whenever we catch it.

Guide Steven Barrett leads our little gaggle down the path, around the fountains and through the impasse to The Stumpery, a cluster of tree stumps that all have special meaning to Prince Charles. He dots them with the gifts that arrive from around the world, beautiful bronze statues, exquisite stone carvings. “He puts out everything anyone gives him,” Barrett claims. “They were even given a plastic gnome.”

Beyond the gifts, His Royal Highness, as Barrett unfailingly calls him, collects specimens on his world travels. Shipments arrive regularly, and the prince tells his head gardener what he envisions. The crew has his gardening tools ready on site when the prince lands in his helicopter and hits the garden path. For this is no gentlemen’s garden, with Charles pointing the pruners to direct the staff. He has been hands-on since the first bit of composting, irrigating and planting when he bought the farm estate. The Prince often changes his mind, moves plants and reimagines topiary to suit his whim.

As we wander, each garden holds its own little secrets. Here’s a guide to help unfurl the surprises within the buds and blooms.

A heritage plaque marks Highgrove as the country home of Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in Gloucestershire, England. Photo by Betsa Marsh.

What to expect at Highgrove Gardens

The House

The original High Grove was built between 1796-98 in the Georgian Neo-Classical style. It burned down in 1896, and the current nine-bedroom version stands three stories tall.

Prince Charles bought the house in 1980, before his marriage to Lady Diana Spencer, for about one million pounds. If you like a little dramatization, look to season four of “The Crown.” Prince Charles’s character is busy planting while Diana’s character decorates the rooms.

In his introductory film in the Orchard Room, Prince Charles says Highgrove is his opportunity “to work in harmony with the seasons,” toward a “place of beauty and tranquility.”

The Stumpery

This collection includes oak and chestnut stumps from the Queen’s estate at Sandringham and Broadlands, the family home of the Mountbattens in Hampshire. Two classical temples of wood are carved to look like stone. Take a moment to look inside the stumps—you might catch a ceramic gnome.

The Temple of Worthies honors a bronze relief of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, wearing her gardening hat and two strands of pearls.

As Prince Philip wandered among the stumps, Barrett said, Philip asked his son, “When are we lighting all these bonfires?”

Prince’s Sanctuary

A millennium project, this steep-roofed cottage of pale, yellow brick has a strict by-invitation-only policy.

“Probably less than 20 people have been in, and they were taken inside by [Prince Charles],” speculated guide Patrick Barrett. “There’s no electricity, no phone, no central heating.”

The Bishop of London blessed the little hermitage.

The Tree House

Maybe the cutest part of the garden is the tree house built for Princes William and Harry in 1988, when William was 6 and Harry was 4. The hideaway is set high off the ground on stone pillars, capped with a thatched roof like a mushroom cap.

A Highgrove rocking horse recalls the days of young Princes William and Harry living in Highgrove with their late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, and Prince Charles. Photo by Betsa Marsh.

Walled Kitchen Garden

The heritage fruit and vegetables served at Highgrove and other royal houses come straight from these beds. Prince Charles cuts asparagus for spring dinners, some of the 2,500-3,000 spears harvested each year.

All the cut flowers used in Highgrove House are grown here, and in summer, buttonhole flowers, primarily scented pinks, are cut for the prince to wear for his engagements.

More than 200 chickens peck away freely beneath the fruit trees, their eggs cooked in the Orchard Room and sold in the gift shop.

Stop in at The Highgrove Estate Shop, which explodes with an exclusive wildflower print. Photo by Betsa Marsh.

The Old Cottage Garden

These classic plantings rely on trees, shrubs and bulbs to spark year-round color. Here you can spot a giant clay urn where Harry hid as a toddler.

From ceremonial stumps to cloistered sanctuary, Highgrove is the flowering of its royal gardener’s goal, “To feed the soul, warm the heart and delight the eye.”

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WHEN YOU GO to HIGHGROVE GARDENS

Highgrove Gardens in Gloucestershire, England, is open for tours by reservation. Meals at The Orchard Tea Room are available for purchase after the tours, and no additional reservation is required. To learn more, visit the website, here.

All proceeds from Highgrove tours and its estate shop go to the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund, providing grants for small and medium-sized charities.

-Story and photos by Betsa Marsh

The Orchard Tea Room’s salad brims with Highgrove’s own organic fruits, vegetables and flowers. Photo by Betsa Marsh.

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