Traditional varieties of fruit and vegetables will be grown, picked and eaten once more from the historic walled garden of Doddington Hall, Lincoln, thanks to a £49,900 award from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Unusual old-fashioned varieties such as ‘Edzel Blue’ potatoes and ‘Tydeman’s Late Orange’ apples will be planted and grown as the 18th century grade II listed walled kitchen garden is restored and returned to production. The kitchen garden will also be opened to visitors for the first time; since the 1950s only a small part of it has been used to produce vegetables and fruit for the family, and it has not been on public view.
Local schoolchildren will be among those to have their own dedicated plot within the garden to grow and tend their own vegetables to pick and sell or eat, as part of the wider educational element of the ‘Veg for All’ project.
Estate owner Claire Birch is helping to turn the family home and land into an example of modern-day sustainable farming.
"We are really delighted to have been given the HLF grant towards this major project," said Claire. "Not only will we be resurrecting an important walled kitchen garden but we will be helping to conserve many threatened traditional varieties of fruit and vegetables by producing and selling them.’
She added: "Our Head Kitchen Gardener, Jeremy Pedersen, will be working with volunteers of all ages and horticultural experience to bring this wonderful garden back to life and since he previously worked in the kitchen garden at the Lost Gardens of Heligan he brings a wealth of experience to this project.
"This will be a living demonstration of environmental horticulture in a very practical and hands-on way. As well as traditional and organic techniques such as seed-saving, composting, using green manures and rotating crops; the latest biological control and environmentally friendly methods will be used. It will be fascinating for those taking part and for our visitors who will discover what it’s all about through hands-on pick-your-own and 'taste-it' opportunities and new interpretation."
The restoration of the kitchen garden will be based on a variety of historic material including a Kipp print of 1707, an 1886 plan showing the original layouts of the Doddington site, a 1940s photograph and a copy of the 1838 plant order. Heritage seeds will come from specialist suppliers such as Thomas Etty and Garden Organic.
Doddington Hall gardens are open every Sunday from mid-February onwards. For more information visit www.doddingtonhall.com or call: 01522 694308
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