My ironing board entertainment for the last couple of weeks has been to re-watch The Victorian Kitchen Garden.  This was cult viewing in the 1980s when Head Gardner Harry Dobson spent a year bringing a country house kitchen garden back to life.  Aside from the haunting award winning theme music this programme gives a fascinating insight into what it takes to supply the kitchen all year round using Victorian gardening tools, techniques and growing fruits and vegetables that would have been popular at the time.  Even if you’re not that into growing food it’s a brilliant exploration Victorian history.  I so want my own straw insulated vegetable store!

What’s clear from the programme is how labour intensive kitchen gardening was in those days.  The attention to detail, careful planning and dedicated horticultural husbandry was a true work of art and science.  I’ve got to admit it’s kicked my own food production ambitions into a new level of concentration. Right now the greenhouse is almost overflowing with seeds germinating which should be ripe for growing on and planting out in a few weeks.  I reckon we are growing over 50 different fruits and vegetables in our garden and all the time I hanker for expanding that further.   This year I’m growing more companion flowers too so the garden will be a riot of color too.

Last weekend I baked a Spiced Apple Cake and I look forward to the day when I can bake another but using apples from our own trees.  Although I can’t deny cakes in any form are pretty good to me, I’m starting to enjoy those that have a sizable fruit or vegetable component.  A skip back through my schizophrenic food blogging posts certainly demonstrate that bias.  Would love to plant some nut trees – perhaps some hazelnuts and walnuts to get us started (I’ll add that to my list for next year!).

Right now my head is a whirlpool of inspiration spinning out all manner of ideas and projects.  I’m trying to keep a lid on them right now promising myself that the long flights I’ll have on my forthcoming trip will be the right space and time to do some serious thinking and planning.  I’ll be loading up my laptop, iPhone and Kindle with all manner of reference material.  I wonder what the Victorians would have made of that!