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  • From: Strata R Chalup <strata AT virtual.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Life in the 1500's
  • Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2007 21:45:21 -0700 (PDT)

> kitchen gardens in the middle ages, ... no information whatever.
> All we have are those anachronistic paintings ... a glimpse
> of a kitchen cabbage garden or such. But nothing conclusive.

I have a lovely book, The Victorian Kitchen Garden (Jennifer Davies), which
details the restoration of a classic Victorian estate's kitchen garden-- a
full walled garden, with hothouses. With the aid of a very elderly
gentleman, Mr Henry Dodson, who had been the Head Gardener, and had started
at the mansion as a boy in the potting sheds, Ms Davies and a crew from the
BBC spent a year bringing the garden back to life. From espaliered fruit
trees to vines in glass-covered tiles, bell cloches to cardoon blanching
wraps, it's truly astonishing what folks used to get up to with enough time
on their hands, a full-time staff, and all the horse manure you could ever
want. A mini-series was produced about the restoration, but it's only
available from the UK and in their video format, wups.

Pineapple in England in winter? Sure, dig a 20 foot pit under a miniature
glasshouse, fill it with layers of sawdust and fresh horse manure, and plant
in the top bring a 2-year old pineapple from the main greenhouses. They
describe the techniques that were used to coax a grapevine to root in a pot
while still attached to the parent vine. The resulting stalk, with live
grapes, was detached from the parent and allowed to mature. With beautiful
flowers and ferns added, it could be brought in for the head table for a
special occasion. Wow.

While researching whether the book is still out there (it's not, it's out of
print, but copies may be available through used bookstores), I discovered
that there is a "Victorian Kitchen Garden Companion", co-authored by Mr
Dodson. I'm really hoping to find a copy of that sometime!! It also turns
out that there is a volume "The Victorian Flower Garden", which sounds
marvelous too.

best,
Strata
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* Artist, Gardener, Engineer, Slacker, Bodhisattva *
* 650-279-1136 | KF6NBZ | strata AT virtual.net *
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