Walled Kitchen Gardens

by Susan Campbell

The kitchen garden was designed to provide a continual supply not only of fruit, flowers and vegetables, but also of plants that had medicinal and veterinary uses, plants for flavouring food and drink, and those providing dyes, perfumes, narcotics, disinfectants, poisons and pesticides. With the aid of heated glasshouses, there would be out-of-season delicies such as strawberries for Christmas, exotic tropical fruits, and even figs and grapes. Once found in the grounds of most large country houses in Britain and Ireland, many have sadly fallen into disuse and ruin. Their remains can still be seen, some have been converted to other uses, others simply abandoned, while a few have been restored to their former glory and productiveness. This highly illustrated book explores a horticultural history spanning hundreds of years, and provides an extensive gazetteer of kitchen gardens that can still be visited today.

Genres: Gardening, History

56 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 1997

About the author

Susan Campbell was an English illustrator, food writer, garden historian and leading authority on the history of walled kitchen gardens. (Source: en.wikipedia.org)

Reviews

[cellomerl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little book! Full of interesting photos, and diagrams so good that you could use them as a template for structuring your own garden. A book like this makes me wish I had more space so that I could re-create everything that people in previous centuries enjoyed in their wonderful gardens. It also makes me want to slow my life right down.

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short book (46 pages) that is a good starting point for learning about the walled kitchen gardens of the Victorian era, one of the most fascinating subjects in gardening. Lots of good, though small, photos. Links to walled garden web sites in Britain.

[Sian Bradshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little book charting kitchen gardens at the large stately homes. It includes a helpful list of gardens to visit (Holkham and Shugborough being two I have visited and was impressed with both). I also like that it made an effort to describe the life of the workers in these gardens.

[Stevie Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly typical Shire book, distinguished by some rather excellent illustrations and a comprehensive list of examples that can be visited throughout the UK.