The Victorian Kitchen Garden

by Jennifer Davies

Describes the recent restoration of a Victorian kitchen garden, tells how Victorians handled garden pests, grew exotic fruits, and obtained fruits and vegetables out of season, and discusses the role of these gardens in Victorian society

Genres: Victorian, History, Gardening, Food

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[cellomerl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gardening was hard work in the old days and you needed a whole fleet of well trained men (yes, they were all men) to do it. Significant horticultural advances were made during the Victorian era, probably more than at any other time. So many of the hundreds of varieties of fruits and vegetables that were hugely popular in those times are now extinct (or nearly so).
Written in the eighties and based on what would now be called reality TV, this book is a little dated and does not include nearly enough photos or illustrations. The cute little Victorian-style engravings are nice but not particularly edifying.
It’s a shame that all of the people who knew anything first-hand about running kitchen gardens in the grand old houses are now dead, and every single book referenced in this book’s bibliography is marked as out of print.
This isn’t a how-to book on gardening but it’s certainly inspirational. The authors talk about what they did to revive the old garden at a Hilton, but not how they did it. It’s not clear that they succeeded as by their own admission they were unable to rebuild much of it. Victorian horticulture techniques is a subject matter crying out for a revival.

[Lexie B · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you loved the tv series then this book is a must have. It details the full journey of the project as well as many useful pieces of information for the gardener who wants to know more about methods in times gone by. The biggest shame is that it seems despite the hard work to restore this kitchen garden to its former Victorian glory, it has now once become a derelict wasteland once again.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

As this book was first published in the mid 80s, it now works as a garden history book on two levels, both recounting what the Victorian Kitchen Garden was like in its heyday, and showing how garden restoration was carried out in the 1980s!

I have the television series on DVD (thoroughly recommended if you like gentle, 'slow' television, as it is very peaceful viewing!) and remember reading and enjoying this book when I was at horticultural college, so when I spotted a copy in a charity shop for 50p, I jumped at the chance to reread it.

It's a very enjoyable read. Davies mixes the Victorian history and the restoration project very well, without getting too bogged down in detail, and there are copious illustrations, both from the Victorian era and the 198os. Recommended for anyone who enjoys garden history.

[Marguerite Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent research. Great maps and designs for kitchen gardens.

[Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tv programme was great (now on DVD for lots of gentle re-watching!) and this book allows you to see in more depth what they needed to do in order to try to resurrect a kitchen garden for a country estate - well worth a watch and a read!

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this book was not just a history of the Victorian kitchen garden, but also the narrative of this BBC team's effort to restore a decrepit kitchen garden to its former Victorian glory. The practical information on Victorian gardening methods, gleaned from an impressive bibliography of nineteenth-century horticultural periodicals and gardening guides, is especially interesting.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book, with some great anecdotes about the making of the show and about Harry Dodson's career. What a pity the garden they restored, Chilton Foliat, was left to go to rack and ruin afterwards, after all that expense and hard work, with the local community devastated that they weren't permitted to maintain it.

[A.J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excursion into nostalgia on two levels - firstly for the lives of the Victorian gardeners, and secondly for Harry Dodson and the fascinating programmes of The Victorian Kitchen Garden series, made in the 1980s.

[Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had hoped for more about the rebuilding of the garden itself but this focused in the contents, growth and showing. Interesting, just not what I expected

[Angie Marker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good resource for recipes when trying to find authentic food and a good section about Victorian picnics

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful evocation of a bygone age. One of my favourite TV programmes of all time.