The Prince of Wales, 66, is trying to save the humble apple. The well-known green thumb, who has a huge passion in the environment, will grow a whopping 1000 varieties of rare and historic apple trees at his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire.
Charles’ beloved apple orchard will essentially become a gene bank for apples. Now the fruit on his property won’t be your average Granny Smith, rather varieties that have stood the test of time. One was growing in Isaac Newton’s garden, and another was originally brought to Britain by a Roman General.
The fruits of the prince’s labour will be transformed into a delicious fresh apple juice and sold in the Highgrove’s visitor’s store.
Highgrove has been a labour of love for the Prince, who purchased the gardens in 1980 in the picturesque southern English county.
Prince Charles’ beloved Highgrove estate. Both the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall adore gardening.
“At last at Highgrove I had the opportunity to work with nature, rather than against it,” he said in a video that welcomes visitors to the estate. “They say that a garden is in many ways a reflection of a person’s soul.”
The gardens, which are open to the public on selected days until October 16, “balance a place of beauty with minimum impact on the environment,” the prince added.
Prince Charles’ is a conservation advocate and he is already preserving the diverse British livestock by raising rare breeds of pigs, cattle, and sheep at Highgrove, too.
The father-of-two may be the future ruler of Great Britain, but he also has an avid green thumb.
Last month the proud grandpa rebuilt a playground for young Prince George on the Highgrove grounds. Charles went all out building a new Victorian-style Shepherd’s Hut, and a play area called the ‘Stumpery’.
It is home to a tree house named “Hollyrood House” after the Queen’s home in Scotland, which is where Prince William, used to play in as a boy.
And apple doesn’t fall far from the tree with two-year-old George often planting trees with his grandfather.
The apple of his eye… literally! Not many people would plant 1000 apples to save the humble fruit!
