High productivity sat alongside scientific curiosity, collecting and a fascination with new plants.
1837–1901
Victorian gardens
The great age of gardening. Allotments, glasshouses, and plant collectors transformed growing into a national passion, blending exotic introductions with old favourites.
Sophisticated walled kitchen gardens, glasshouses, heated walls and underground flues extended the season.
Exotic flowers and unfamiliar edible crops arrived through plant exploration while formal bedding became increasingly bold.
Gardening became a major national enthusiasm, combining practical food growing with collecting, technology and display.
A closer look
What victorian gardens were like
Victorian gardens (19th century) reflected an intense enthusiasm for plants and progress. Driven by empire-wide exploration and scientific curiosity, exotic flowers and unfamiliar edible crops flowed into British gardens, transforming them into living collections of discovery and status. Walled kitchen gardens reached new levels of sophistication, often incorporating heated walls and underground flues to extend the growing season and increase productivity. At the same time, ornamental planting became increasingly bold and controlled, with vibrant bedding displays arranged in precise patterns that expressed wealth, order, and pride in horticultural achievement.
Glasshouses and season extensionPlant collecting and new cropsHighly productive walled gardens
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
Babington’s Leek
Allium ampeloprasum var. babingtonii
PerennialMild leek-garlicSelf propagating
A perennial leek relative that returns year after year and even produces little bulbils at the top of its flower stem.
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Awaiting restock
Caucasian Spinach
Hablitzia tamnoides
PerennialShade lovingClimbing edible
A rare perennial climbing spinach that actually likes shade and can produce edible shoots and leaves for decades.
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Awaiting restock
Jerusalem Artichokes
Helianthus tuberosus
PerennialHuge yieldsVery hardy
A sunflower relative hiding huge crops of crisp, nutty tubers underground — vigorous enough to need containing.
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Awaiting restock
Mangelwurzel ‘Ursus Poly’
Beta vulgaris
Root cropHuge rootsResilient crop
A giant old fodder beet bred for dependable bulk: part Victorian curiosity, part serious food-security crop.
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Awaiting restock
Oca
Oxalis tuberosa
Tuber cropTangy tubersCool-climate crop
A colourful Andean tuber with a lively tang raw and a softer nutty flavour once cooked.
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Awaiting restock
Victorian Dwarf Pea
Pisum sativum 'Tom Thumb Victorian'
AnnualCompactContainer friendly
A tiny heirloom pea bred for cramped Victorian spaces — genuinely productive in a pot or window-box-sized patch.
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