Highgrove‘s magical ‘Carpet Garden’
Be inspired by the paradisal ‘Carpet Garden’ at Highgrove, a Turkish-themed space with something for everyone…
Deep in the rolling Gloucestershire countryside, Highgrove’s gardens are a masterclass in traditional English design and exquisite planting. However, among these familiar spaces hides an inviting surprise to transport you from middle England into Middle Eastern luxury. HRH The Prince of Wales’s exotic 'Carpet Garden', a boldly colourful, headily fragrant plot behind four walls, is best enjoyed in late summer and early autumn, when you can immerse yourself in its bounty of fruits, flowers and plants at the peak of their performance. Here we take you on a journey of the garden’s design and beautiful planting, and
show you how elements of each can easily be taken home to try.
Notes from the garden
With the help of others to bring the Turkish design to fruition, the resultant garden won an RHS Silver Gilt medal at the 2001 Chelsea Flower Show, and was then recreated back home at Highgrove. The garden has many qualities of a ‘Paradise Garden’, an old Middle Eastern style that represents the Garden of Eden. The garden is filled with scent, provided by shrub, climbing and standard roses. Central beds feature cork oaks (Quercus suber) and pots positioned with citrus and olive trees. The walls are adorned with clematis and vines, nestled between Italian cypresses. It’s home to bold, hot colours, heady perfumes and gently trickling rills and fountains. Personal touches have been added by the Prince as he has travelled, such as two Indian chairs, a carved galloping horse inset into the wall, along with Moorish lanterns and lime-washed pots.