The Prince of Wales spent five years turning his Highgrove Estate in the Cotswolds into a model of environmentally-benign farming and gardening. This book records the successes and failures, and the lessons to be shared not only by gardeners, horticulturalists and farmers, but by everyone interested in land, in their environment. In an introductory section Prince Charles shares his vision of Highgrove as a blueprint for the future. Charles Clover depicts the backcloth: the history of the estate, the making of the garden, the wildflower garden, the encouragement of wildlife, the seasons at Highgrove, the experiments in organic farming, and the market for the products.