4.23.2009

just your everyday garden romance

My dad got this book the other day, and I've been oogling the romantic photos ever since. It's a great compilation of antique gardening traditions and implements.  Witness these:

This is a fruit loft! What? A special room just for storing fruit for the estate. Doesn't it look like an amazing place to sit and think?

And, this is possibly my favorite thing from the book--this is how they stored grapes! They used these special glass bottles, filled with water and tilted at a certain angle-- each with a small piece of charcoal in the bottom. This way, they could have grapes at Christmas. Genius! I so want to try it.



Ahhhh. I could stare at these pictures for hours, dreaming of living in a different time-- a time when a whole lot of care went into growing and storing food.  I especially love those terra cotta pots. I have a real thing for pots...

5 comments:

  1. Soul Sister! I must own this book immediately! Absolutely gorgeous! And I'm beginning construction on a fruit loft and grape-vase-hanger immediately! Thanks for the post.

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  2. You're very welcome for the seeds -- I don't know if your climate is much different from mine, already humid, but still i would have plenty of time to plant those all. Hopefully, you will have time also; I assume Florida is humid and warm and gets a fair share of spring rain.

    Enjoy!

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  3. wow. that's some pretty awesome stuff there. i love that grape storing method- i've never heard of anything like it before!

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  4. Dear SK,
    What a treat to receive my seed swap package in the mail today - just in time for May Day! I love legumes of all sorts and plan to pop Thomas Laxton in the garden this weekend...the peas, that is, not Mr. Laxton. I need to wait a few more weeks to get the black beans in as our Seattle gardens are still chilly. Are they pole or bush beans? Thanks again for providing a sweet spot in my day.
    Cheers, Lorene

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