Hidden behind high redbrick walls at the Chilton Foliat in Berkshire lies an extraordinary example of a traditional Victorian kitchen garden. This book, which accompanies a BBC television series, traces its recent restoration from a neglected patch of weed-choked ground back to a productive, well-ordered plot, cultivated using Victorian tools and techniques and planted with nineteenth century varieties of flowers, fruit and vegetables. Within it's four walls, the characteristics of the era are clearly reflected: inventiveness and a keen interest in science, the constant quest for improvement, and the certainties of a strict social hierarchy.

Head gardener Harry Dodson, now retired, has been able to employ many time-honored (but now, unfortunately, fast-disappearing) skills learned as a young apprentice on large country estates in the 1930's. Through his work restoring the garden he has solved many horticultural mysteries, including how Victorian gardeners dealt with troublesome pests, how they managed to grow such exotic fruits as pineapple and melons, and how they obtained fruits and vegetables out of season.

Beautifully illustrated with period drawings and engravings as well as full-color photographs showing every aspect of the newly-restored garden at Chilton Foliat, The Victorian Kitchen Garden is a magnificent and lasting celebration of the splendors of the walled kitchen garden in its heyday.