- Title: Heligan
- Date: 28th March 1997
- Summary: Programmes 3 & 4 THE PRODUCTIVE GARDENS In its heyday,Heligan employed 22 'inside staff' and 22 'outside workers'. These,along with the Tremayne family and their numerous guests all had to be fed from The Productive Gardens,two large walled gardens at the very heart of the estate. In the days before frozen foods,the test of a good head gardener was his ability to extend the growing season and store the excess produce - which is why at one time Heligan cultivated 127 species of gooseberries alone. Today head gardener Tom Petherick working with horticulture director Philip McMillan Browse has almost as daunting a task: to grow literally tons of flowers,for cutting,fruit and vegetables to feed the 50 or so staff, volunteers and visitors to the tea-rooms. They try out and 'bulk up' many of the old varieties,some so rare now that only a few seeds are available. In some cases they use the traditional methods but not always: the Victorians themselves favoured a lethal cocktail of chemicals to keep pests and diseases at bay,including arsenic and lead,dispersed via an aptly named sprayer,'the widow maker',a tradition Tom and Philip are happy to eschew. In these programmes we follow their year,from planting the Victorians' much-loved blue and red potatoes (for blue and red 'mash') through to the exotic aspirations of pineapples produced several thousand miles north of the Equator. The second programme of the productive gardens ends with a sumptuous 'Victorian feast' laid out in the gardens but this time enjoyed by the Heligan staff.
- Broadcaster:Channel 4
- Collection: Channel 4
- Genre:Entertainment
- Producer:Unspecified
- Programme Episode:Episode 3
- Transmission Date:28/03/1997
- Rights:On Request
- Decade: 1990s