After my visit to Tim Phillips’ walled garden vineyard (see http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=10678), I was very happy that Susan Campbell found time in a busy schedule to meet and she drove me to her and husband Mike Kleyn’s home and garden on the Solent… sadly, Mike was travelling on the other side of the world visiting family… :(
Susan is the co-founder, in 2001, of the Walled Kitchen Garden Network and began researching the history of walled kitchen gardens in 1981 (the same year that I moved to Norway, so I know it’s an awful long time!). She has personally visited and photographed over 600 walled kitchen gardens in the UK and abroad, making her a foremost authority on the subject. I met her as she had come across my book and on the strength of it invited me over from Norway to give a couple of talks at the Walled Kitchen Garden Network Forum at Croome (see http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?page_id=2554). You can read more about this network here: http://www.walledgardens.net
However, the main reason for my visit was to see first hand Susan’s sea kale yard, the only operation I’m aware of that delivers seakale commercially in the UK, despite sea kale being for me the most English of all vegetables and for some the King of vegetables! See also my blog post about visiting the Curtis Museum in Alton, coming soon!
Susan at the entrance gate to her garden, which is flanked by a large fig tree!
Susan is an author and expert on Garden History and Walled Gardens!
Edimental border with cardoons and day lilies!
Fennel
Salt tolerant edible Atriplex halimus hedge next to the sea!
Lavatera arborea, Tree mallow
Sea beet on the sea wall under Tamarix
Atriplex halimus
Flowering windshaped oak in the background
Susan’s Seakale yard! She has unsuccessfully tried to persuade neighbouring farmers to scale (skale?) up the operation, but none have been willing to take the risk…..and continue to grow rape seed…………
A box of blanched Seakale on the way to London! Photo: Susan Campbell
Showing where the seakale had been cut
The cultivar Lily White is the most popular variety… (with the restaurant Susan delivers to)
Allium triquetrum is invasive, but delicious and edimental!!!
Allium triquetrum is invasive, but delicious and edimental!!!
The watercress in Susan’s pond was gigantic!!
Gigantic were the Caltha palustris leaves too (marsh marigold)
Gunnera…we had a taste…not as sweet as the ones I tasted last autumn in Bergen and Edinburgh
Oak in flower
Phormiums…important food and fibre plants for the Maori!
Hosta ready to harvest!
Cardoons
An Allium I gave to Susan at Croome finally got a scientific name!
Allium barstowii :)
Pelargonium spp.
The traditional kitchen garden
Swiss chards
Susan has a large collection of old and new books…I could have spent the whole day there…including Vilmorin’s The Vegetable Garden. I could have stayed here for a week :)
Susan’s hand written notes on Seakale from her extensive card notes!! It’s been suggested that Pliny (1st century ad) was referring to seakale when he wrote of a kind of cabbage called ‘halmyrides’, which grew on the coast!
The Needles on the Isle of Wight from Susan’s garden
The shoreline at Susan’s house
Waiting for the train at Lymington Harbour, I was fooled by this owl sitting waiting for the Isle of Wight ferry…it’s head moved!
The train home via Brockenhurst and the New Forest…
…and as I left Lymington Pier, this Giant fish head cloud appeared….not sure what that was all about? :)