In past times, pretty much all of England's significant country estates would have boasted a walled kitchen garden. As there were no supermarkets, growing your own vegetables and fruit would have been a sensible option - especially if you could afford to hire a couple of gardeners to do the work for you.
The walls acted like a windbreak and discouraged thievery. Within, you could develop a micro-climate in which plants might thrive.
Above - I snipped that aerial view of the kitchen garden at Hungerford Park from Google Maps. The derelict house from which I snapped that window photo is in the top left hand corner of the rectangle - also shown at the bottom of this blogpost.
I did take a few pictures inside the walled garden that I am going to share with you now...
Damsons
Giant thistles
Cynara cardunculus
Ian, Zachary and sunflowers
Old water tanks being repurposed to create a water feature
The gardeners house was really beautiful in its day, and fancier than I would expect for hired help.
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ReplyDeleteI always enjoy a nice walled garden, there are two at Mt Vernon,
ReplyDeleteWalled gardens are rare in Canada and when I think of them, I always envision that wonderful book "The Secret Garden." Of all today's wonderful photos, I think my favourite is the one of the damson plums.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great father/son photo with the sunflowers! I see your son's photo on Instagram regularly, but it still amazes me a little to see him here. I knew of BOSH! quite awhile before I "discovered" you.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a very large garden that would produce much produce.
ReplyDeleteSuch a shame for the gardeners house to go to ruins like that. I guess upkeep was just too expensive.
ReplyDeleteThank you for showing us more of the walled garden. The brick walls warmed up well in the sun and gave off heat to plants nearby, often with trained fruit trees directly against the wall. Greenhouses were usually a feature, too.
ReplyDeleteThe gardener‘s house - a magnet for me, as I said in my comment on your previous post. It may look grander than expected, but I suppose one floor was for the head gardener and his family, while the rest of the team (often single men) would share bedrooms in the same building and have their meals there, too.
Good selection of photos. The ruined cottage is so evocative, the damsons cry out to be made into jam and Ian and Zachary perfectly placed against the sunflowers. It is lovely to see all your grandchildren growing up.
ReplyDeleteI like visiting walled gardens. The pear garden at Cannon Hall is great, especially at times when you can taste them.
ReplyDeleteLittle Zach looks a lot like his daddy.
ReplyDeleteI really like how they are reclaiming that garden. What a fine project!
I wonder why the gardener's house is left to go to ruin.
ReplyDeleteZach has lovely hair.
I know those "giant thistles" as cardoons. We have some in our garden, but the ones you saw look healthier!
ReplyDeletei reckon that thistle thing might be a "cardoon"! Shame the old gardener's house has gone to pot!
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