Another image from the Potager du Roi, located just outside the gates of the Palace of Versailles. It is a separate admission. If you don’t know about this garden, look it up. There is lots online, and be sure to visit the next time you are in Paris. Winter, of course, is the least interesting…
Category: Kitchen Gardens
Radish Creatures
Lithuania! 1989! Aren’t they so cute! Radish creatures. This inspired market seller livened up her produce stand with carved radishes. Nobody else did it, so it seemed it was a Lithuanian market tradition.
Dandelions from Seed!
Dandelions from seed! Yes, just pick one of those puff balls, and plant them, seed by seed in a seed bed, or in whatever seed starter system you use. I like these coconut pots because it makes it possible to plant the seedling in the pot, eliminating stress. But, that is a detail. The important…
Espalier Fence
At its height, the 25-acre walled kitchen garden associated with the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France was one of the world’s largest kitchen gardens. The garden footprint is still intact, with a significant portion of it still being worked. Note the brilliant idea of planting espalier fruit trees to mark the edges of areas…
The Potager du Roi
The Potager du Roi, the kitchen garden dating to the 1660s that sits just outside the formal garden at Versailles, France, includes many fabulous espalier fruit trees. I like the form of the oblique cordons. A form one sees in books, but not in real life. I love the sense of energy that is projected…
A Website with 7,000+ Watercolors of Fruit!
It is blackberry season and I just came across this amazing USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) website containing images in high resolution scans of of 7,300 fruits (mostly apples). Enjoy! Here is an article, The collection of pomological watercolors at the United States Department of Agriculture, published in 1982 in the Journal of Botanical…
The History of the Garden Dandelion
Firstly, I love dandelion. It is one of the most delicious vegetables. Why dandelion is not a standard on the grocery shelf along with other tiller weeds, like lettuce, chicory, and cabbage is difficult for me to understand. But, there it is. A delicious wild green that remains largely wild. The history of the dandelion…
Early Modern Kitchen Garden References
This post provides references to three works mentioned in my talk to the Farm to Table New Orleans International Symposium, August 204, 2013. If you attended my talk I do encourage you to write to me with questions and comments. The French Gardiner by Nicolas de Bonnefons, translated by John Evelyn, 1654. This is the…
Planting Wild Dandelions
I have been growing dandelions in my garden for many years. Where I live in Northern California they are green all year. When they are watered and cared for the plants produce big luscious leaves. I rarely include them in salads. My most common use is as a cooked green. Yes, the wild dandelion can…
William Rubel 