On 2015-01-05 19:56:58 +0000, David said:

On 05/01/2015 18:49, sacha wrote:
On 2015-01-03 22:26:41 +0000, Bob Hobden said:

"Sacha" wrote

Bob Hobden said:

I understand the National Trust is to try to bring back a
significant number of it's walled gardens into production. My
problem is that I've heard they intend to remake the old greenhouses
as they were, all manual and in wood, instead of using modern
materials and automation and things like double glazing for the
orchid houses. Personally I think that is crazy as the old Head
Gardeners would never have countenanced such a retrograde step.
What do others think?

The problem with the NT is that they do have a mindset which is that
the house/garden/outbuildings must be kept as they were in their
heyday - whatever part of their history that might be. For myself,
I'd say use modern methods (NOT pvc greenhouses) but have notices
that explain how things would have been whenever.

My point is that the old Head Gardeners wanted the best and latest and
he would not have had a wooden hands on greenhouse made today. They
are labour intensive and prone to rot quickly if not constantly cared
for. There are some at West Dean that were replaced a few years ago
and they are already having problems with paint peeling exposing
timber (although they don't seem to be doing anything about it).
There are so many of these old greenhouses about now it's about time
they changed to a modern way of doing things. Perhaps they will come
up to date in at least one walled garden, I can but hope. It would be
so much more interesting seeing what can be done now.

I'm anti-pvc but if they can't maintain the greenhouses, then it would
be better to be rid of them and not have the expense. That, too,
happened in many old houses when still inhabited by their owners! If
you could bring 18th or 19th century owners into our time and tell them
they could enjoy crops from all over the world for far less than the
cost of maintaining a staff and greenhouse, I am perfectly certain that
I know which they'd choose. It's very interesting to read James
Less-Milne's Diaries on the early days of the NT and the struggles
owners of such properties experienced.

So they'd all go to Tesco?

I'd say so. The main thing was preserving estates and houses to hand
on to the next generation and to provide for those working for the
estate. They were self-contained businesses, in effect. So saving money
where possible, to spend on the estate, was paramount. The reason they
grew their own was because there *were* no supermarkets, unlike now
when people grow their own for preference. I really doubt those old
'uns waxed lyrical about the health benefits of veg or organic growing.
They grew them because they liked eating them. And of course, they also
liked (in the grandest houses) vying with each other to put the
earliest spring veg and fruits on the table!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk