?Victoria and Albert ? back in the same bed (By Cogges Museum Gardener, Chris Munday)

Re-united after 150 years apart!
VISITORS to Cogges Manor Farm will not be shocked to find the couple, not in the farm house bedrooms as one might initially suppose, but down in the walled kitchen garden, where Gardener Chris Munday has introduced a crown of ?Prince Albert? rhubarb to the extensive and regal bed of the variety known as ?Victoria?.
Rhubarb?s popularity may even be on the rise due to its discovery by GI dieters and trendy TV chefs, but in the kitchen garden, as on the allotment, rhubarb has always been firmly appreciated. Rumour has it that it was once more popular than strawberries! ?Sometimes I feel we have to look back in order to move forward? said Chris, who is predicting that the next BIG THING will be the popularity of the gooseberry. ?It?s about time that gooseberries become more valued again, and not just green ones used for cooking. There are also soft, juicy dessert gooseberries that can be red, white, yellow or green. At Cogges we?ve brought in five more varieties this year selected partly due to their eating qualities but also? (Chris admitted) due to the curious and charming names that the Victorians gave them: Early Sulphur, Whitesmith, Langley Rage and Broom Girl. Who could resist!?

Chris Munday strongly believes that we need to relearn the art of enjoying the humble, neglected foods that can be grown in our back gardens as well as foods such as avocado?s and mango?s that burn fossil fuels to get to our tables. ?Beetroot is something else we are growing a lot this year at Cogges, including white, and pink and white varieties as well as the red variety aptly named ?Bulls Blood? ? another great name!?

A new event for this season at Cogges is ?A taste of the Garden??, a free session (admission charges apply) to be held in the delightful setting of the Manor House lawn. On offer will be samples of the aforementioned beetroot, other seasonal produce and freshly prepared soups. Chris will be there to talk about heritage vegetables and offer his theories on how Prince Albert rhubarb and white beetroot could help save the planet! It is all starting to sound reminiscent of the eccentricity normally associated with Lewis Carrol, another popular export from Victorian Oxfordshire.

Garden Weekend: Saturday* 5th & Sunday 6th August 2006
Cogges Manor Farm Museum, tel: 01993 772602 for details.
* (tasting event on Saturday only)