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Highgrove

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Highgrove has grown and is gardened beyond any anticipation we could have imagined when we first went in 1992. There were but three gardeners, and it was a very private passion and retreat from the very harsh glare of the press and also, lest we forget, the Irish situation was still trembling on the edge of reason and every time we went to work our car had to be meticulously searched with mirrors like selfie-sticks to look under her skirts. The POW once helped to push our car to get it started when it broke down. Life was simple and the gardening was not extravagant although it was ahead of its time in being entirely organic. We had to design the stumpery on a truly tiny budget but the timing and the whole endeavour was just what we wanted to do. And it has proved of enduring interest to people and bred imitators the world over. Which is very gratifying.