Reliable kitchen production continued behind increasingly refined ornamental landscapes.
1714–1837
Georgian gardens
Refinement and fashion entered the garden. Traditional pot herbs sat alongside elegant ingredients destined for increasingly sophisticated kitchens.
Well-managed kitchen gardens, often screened from view, alongside estates, orangeries and early glass structures.
Plant collecting and agricultural improvement widened the range of crops that could be cultivated.
Curiosity, control and efficient production combined to push British kitchen gardening into a more ambitious age.
A closer look
What georgian gardens were like
Georgian gardens (18th–early 19th century) struck a careful balance between refinement and practicality. While grand estates displayed sweeping lawns, sculpted hedges, and classical influences inspired by antiquity, productive growing never disappeared. Alongside ornamental landscapes, households still relied on well-managed plots of herbs, fruits, and vegetables to support daily life. This era’s growing enthusiasm for plant collecting and agricultural improvement introduced a wider range of cultivated crops into British gardens. Orangeries and early glass structures became fashionable among the wealthy, allowing tender plants to be grown beyond their natural limits. Behind the scenes, neatly ordered kitchen gardens (often hidden from view) provided reliable harvests, reflecting a period where gardening combined curiosity, control, and quiet efficiency.
Hidden productive kitchen gardensOrangeries and early glassPlant collecting and improvement
Plants from this era
Explore the crops, herbs and useful plants
These are the plants in the Forgotten Garden collection associated with this era. Click any one to follow its story into the modern garden.
Awaiting restock
Angelica
Angelica archangelica
BiennialArchitecturalAromatic stems
A towering aromatic biennial once prized for candied stems, preserves and liqueurs.
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Awaiting restock
Cinnamon Basil
Ocimum basilicum ‘Cinnamon’
AnnualCinnamon scentContainer friendly
Basil with a warm cinnamon-like fragrance — familiar enough to use immediately, unusual enough to be interesting.
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Awaiting restock
Scorzonera
Scorzonera hispanica
Root cropSweet nutty rootCold hardy
Black-skinned on the outside, creamy white within: an old root vegetable with a mild, sweet, nutty flavour.
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Awaiting restock
Sea Kale
Crambe maritima
PerennialCoastal hardyEdible shoots
A native coastal perennial once forced under pots for tender spring shoots and served as a fashionable delicacy.
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