A full-colour profile and guide of the Finest Gardens in Wales

The first in a series of introductions to garden cultures around the world, exploring the essence of a national garden style and featuring an outline of its history -- in this case, Wales. In text and image, the book uncovers an exciting range of gardens, large and small, public and private, historic and contemporary, all over the country. Helena Attlee's lively text combines with Alex Ramsay's evocative photographs to enchant both locals and visitors and to inspire any reader who appreciates nature and cultivated landscapes.

Expanded from: The garden at Highgrove. London : Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000.

A sumptuous exploration of 21 of the world's most celebrated royal gardens, from the formal splendour of Versailles to the organic, sustainable Highgrove. In mainland Europe you can journey from the formal splendour of Het Loo in the Netherlands and Fontainebleau in France to the Baroque World Heritage Site of the Royal Palace of Caserta in Southern Italy. Further afield still lies the Taj Mahal in India and the Peterhof Palace in Russia. Each featured garden will include the history, plantings and evolution of the garden as well as plant portraits of key plants and information about the design and layout of each. Countries included are: England, Scotland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, India, Bali and Japan. This inspiring global selection of royal gardens is a perfect gift for any gardening enthusiast or armchair traveller and takes the reader on a journey of architecturally significant houses and their classic gardens as well as providing planting ideas that range from modest to grand, simple to ornate.

When The Prince of Wales bought Highgrove House in 1981 the surroundings consisted of a brown path which ran around the house, a lawn and a few thorn bushes. Twenty years later, he has transformed the land adjoining the house into several exquisite gardens which embody his gardening ideals and organic principles. With help from some of Britain`s finest designers, including The Marchioness of Salisbury, Rosemary Verey, Miriam Rothschild and Sir Roy Strong, the Prince of Wales has created highly individual gardens which have now, with his own ideas, reached maturity. The Prince of Wales describes the thinking behind each garden, the mistakes and the triumphs, and his plans for the future. Lavishly illustrated with photographs which capture both the scope and detail of each garden, this is a book which will delight and inspire both gardeners and horticulturalists at every level.