EDITOR'S CHOICE ROUND-UP Picnic staged at hall Sponsored walk in aid of charity Sarah shows support for exhibition ALCESTER NEWS Picnic staged at hall Sponsored walk in aid of charity SCHOOLS Pupils celebrate bear’s birthday Packed performances for school pearls play Young chefs cook up a storm to scoop awards SPORTS ROUND-UP Exhall do their job Driving Golf forward 'Berrow close in WHAT'S ON Elgar celebrated in concert A life turns into chaos Mod revival GET OUR NEWS BY E-MAIL Just register

Most read Comments 1 Woman attacked answering door 2 Time for youngsters to Active8 3 Council contributes £10,000 to RSS study 4 Exhall do their job 5 Handbag stolen from Chinese restaurant 6 Driving Golf forward 7 All change at the top 8 Maria gets China call 9 Public consultation on Foundation Trust 10 Joint council chief plan a step closer Today | 7 Days 1 Stop this castle plan 2 Lost support 3 Seeking spot in workplace

MEMBERS and guests of Inkberrow Horticultural Society enjoyed a right royal treat on St George's Day when David Howard, the Estate Manager at Highgrove, The Prince of Wales' estate in Gloucestershire, gave a talk on The Philosophy of Highgrove.

President of the society,Gareth Edwards, introduced David Howard to a capacity audience at St Peter's Hall, Inkberrow, and the distinguished speaker made it clear from the outset that this was to be an interactive evening and so it proved.

David Howard has been at Highgrove for the past 10 years, Prince Charles having bought the estate 28 years ago and throughout that time the aim has been one of conscientious organic gardening to produce an organic, environmentally friendly,sustainable and beautiful garden.

The audience soon found themselves with their noses deep in buckets of woodchip, leaf mould and compost and questions came thick and fast all ably fielded by David whose talk was both knowledgeable and extremely accessible.

Buckets were followed by a selection of tools and forks, trowels, shears and bill hooks were passed from hand to hand, some of considerable age beautifully crafted and still in full working order.

He went on to explain how the estate makes all its plant supports from wood grown on the estate and demonstrated how to make a support for a pot of lilies with ash and willow, closing the evening with a resume of garden pests which, thanks to the respect shown for the natural environment are all controlled within the garden and without recourse to any chemicals - not even beer for slugs and snails.

Basically he said it was all down to simple science and respect for the natural cycle of nature.

Vice-president Richard Thompson's vote of thanks was met with loud applause and the evening closed with a superb buffet prepared by members.

Print

Email this