The kitchen Garden

For the rich and poor alike, a kitchen garden was a necessity in Shakespeare’s time. How many vegetables can you recognize before you? The tall, stately garlic whose pincushion blossoms smell nearly as strong as their famed bulb. The showy leaves of carrots, radishes, turnips, and potatoes whose edible roots are maturing just out of sight. The lettuces, chives, cabbages and beans that can be harvested before summer’s out. Or the bay tree, parsley, marjoram, and savory to enhance any dish created in your kitchens.

Gardening was such an everyday task that Shakespeare’s audiences knew well the tastes and associations of these plants, and his plays reference them liberally.

Special thanks to longtime CSF supporter and thespian Chuck Wilcox for voicing the part of The Bard in our video series. Full production credits available here. All photos copyright Colorado Shakespeare Group except those in the public domain, published under Creative Commons (CC) licensing. For more information on (CC) artwork in this video, click here.

enjoy this slideshow of the plants we have in our kitchen garden: