The Victorian Kitchen Garden

The Victorian Kitchen Garden is a 13-part British television series produced in 1987 by Keith Sheather for BBC2, based on an idea by Jennifer Davies who later became Associate Producer. It recreated a kitchen garden of the Victorian era at Leverton, Berkshire (near Chilton Foliat, Wiltshire). The presenter was the horticultural lecturer, Peter Thoday, the master gardener was Harry Dodson and the director was Keith Sheather.The theme music and soundtrack was composed by Paul Reade and performed principally by Emma Johnson playing the clarinet. It won the 1991 Ivor Novello award for best TV theme music.ContentThe series began in the largely derelict walled garden at Chilton Lodge, on a freezing January morning, and followed Harry and his assistant Alison as they recreated the working kitchen garden.The work involved many repairs, from replanting the Box (Buxus) edging and replacing the gravel walks, to reglazing the cold frames and repairing the magnificent Victorian wood-framed, brick-based glass-houses. The team were determined to use plants that the Victorian head gardener would have had available, so there were many hours of scouring old and modern catalogues and many disappointments. However, the required plants were found eventually. The programme displayed the various tools and techniques of Victorian gardening, and this was where Harry came into his own. He had used many of both and therefore could produce many of the tools from various cobwebbed corners of the service buildings and demonstrate how they were used.