Where better to celebrate the coronation than in a majestic garden? From the King's own plant paradise to splendid Elizabethan roses, explore Britain's top 10 royal gardens
Highgrove Gardens
Gloucestershire
World famous for its unique gardens, each with their own distinctive style and story, Highgrove is a glorious testament to the gardening passion of Charles III. For the past 40 years, foremost garden designers have worked alongside the-then Prince of Wales to bring his visions to life in this most personal of royal landscapes.
In spring and early summer, Highgrove greets its visitors with the spangled mauves, whites and yellows of orchid, buttercup, alliums and wild parsley in the 1.5-hectare Wild adow. It is a testament to the King's organic principles and his early collaboration with the pioneering naturalist Miriam Rothschild.
The meadow is cut for hay in in autumn and then grazed by sheep, who create a moving tableau, framed by the fastigiate hornbeams that bring formality to this rural scene.
Quirky topiary frames the views of the house itself down the long Thyme Walk, with plump pudding shapes in golden yew. A snail, a spiral and - of course - a crown owe their individuality to each gardener being given a bush to shape. Drawing on traditional English gardening, the Old and New Cottage Gardens also surprise, with inspiration drawn from the colours of Tibet in a planting scheme designed by Charles III and the late Rosemary Verey, doyenne of English horticulture.
A Victorian-inspired stumpery of ferns and upturned roots by award-winning designers Julian and Isabel Bannerman provides a damp green setting for a magnificent Gunnera manicata set atop a two-metre stone tower. Emerging from the deep shade on to oak-dappled lawn, David Wynne's sculpture 'Goddess of the Woods' sits contemplating temples aptly crafted from green oak.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 2023-Ausgabe von BBC Countryfile Magazine.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 2023-Ausgabe von BBC Countryfile Magazine.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Guilt-Free Meat? - Should the world stop eating meat to tackle the climate crisis? Chris Baraniuk meets an experimental farmer who says we don't all have to become vegetarians
Should the world stop eating meat to tackle the climate crisis? Chris Baraniuk meets an experimental farmer who says we don't all have to become vegetarians. Livestock farming around the world is facing scrutiny because of its greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, the sector contributes somewhere between 11.1% and 19.6% of total emissions. Meat production is roughly twice as bad as the production of plant-based food, according to some analyses. And beef is the worst of all. Study after study has suggested that, in order to curtail the devastating effects of climate change, we ought to shift to a diet containing less meat - or even go vegetarian or vegan.
Discover Cider Country - Explore mellow golden countryside, pedalling between medieval villages, historic inns and fruitful orchards, on a delightful Herefordshire Cider Circuit adventure with Julie Brominicks
Explore mellow golden countryside, pedalling between medieval villages, historic inns and fruitful orchards, on a delightful Herefordshire Cider Circuit adventure with Julie Brominicks. I'm cycling Porter's Perfection, one of three cider circuits developed for Visit Herefordshire over the past few years. Each showcases a section of this bucolic county's loveliest villages, pubs, orchards and cidermakers via lanes suited to bicycles - e-bikes for hill-averse cyclists like me. The idea is to allow you to appreciate the sights, sounds and smells of cider country while traversing roads never meant for modern cars. If you have dodgy knees, or are keen to indulge in the local adult apple juice as you go (remember, it's illegal to cycle while under the influence), Visit Herefordshire also promotes cider bus routes.
TOP 10 WILD AUTUMN FOODS
Make the most of seasonal abundance with foraging tips and recipe ideas from wild food expert Liz Knight
The taste of England
Amid pastures farmed by her family for more than four centuries, Mary Quicke is reviving forgotten dairy traditions to produce delicious Devon cheeses
How to eat 30 plants a week
As science proves the many health-boosting benefits of eating at least 30 different plants each week, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall shares recipes to help you meet the magic target
RARE RAFT SPIDER MAKES A COMEBACK
Thanks to dedicated conservation work, this impressive but vulnerable arachnid is resurgent in East Anglia
SPECTACULAR STONEHENGE FINDS
Following the latest astonishing revelation about the Stonehenge Altar Stone's Scottish origins, Dixe Wills looks at recent discoveries that have changed the way we view this impressive and enigmatic Neolithic monument
GALLOWAY NATIONAL PARK DEBATE
Would this protected status bring welcome recognition and attention - or overcrowding and problems for farmers?
Farmers are valued, so why do they feel we don't care?
For farmers out in their fields in all seasons, worried about the future as dramatic levels of rainfall blamed on climate change damage their crops, inflation and uncertainty push up their costs and what they see as unfair imports threaten their livelihoods, here's a spot of unexpectedly good news: the rest of us think you are doing a good job.
Pumpkin patches
Find the perfect jack-o'-lantern for Halloween at a pick-your-own pumpkin patch. Some are simple affairs in tranquil countryside; others offer activities ranging from ghost trains to spooky mazes.