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[Strata R Chalup <strata AT virtual.net>]

> 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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