I have been curious about two fig related places in England, Tarring Fig Gardens and the old Royal Horticultural Society’s collection at Chiswick. I thought this might be of interest and would appreciate any other bits of related knowledge related to this topic.
The Tarring Fig Gardens in Worthing, England was a recent discovery for me. A very good article including an old postcard photo and current photos of the space are found at this link “The Ancient Fig Garden” http://tarring.inthepast.org.uk/fig_garden.htm The exact date of the plantings is not really known. Some think it was planted by Thomas Beckett in 1162 but there is doubt. It seems certain that the date is 1745 or a bit earlier.
This June 28,1902 article in The Garden (page 432), http://books.google.com/books?id=WirmAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA432&lpg=PA432&dq=%22tarring+Fig+Gardens%22&source=bl&ots=KKKjkV2hFu&sig=fK3RcQucYoapFS7rzQNyfDE9lqs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4aYpUdeVCsLo2QWPz4CwDg&ved=0CEQQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22tarring%20Fig%20Gardens%22&f=false describes the garden in more detail. It is about an acre of figs, of about 100 to 200 trees. About 2000 figs produced annually from this spot (seems like a relatively low producing environment. I think some of the trees were small although some were grown as standards).
Be sure to go to the beginning of the article in the previous issue of The Garden, June 21, 1902 starting on page 414. The article is titled Fig Culture Out of Doors and Under Glass by O. Thomas. There are details pertinent to growing figs in a cooler climate.
The last article to shed some light on this garden is found in The Fruit Garden by George Bunyard and Owen Thomas (likely the same “Thomas” above). The article’s title is The Fig by Owen Thomas, page 51.
http://books.google.com/books?id=kXHZAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA51-IA2&lpg=PA51-IA2&dq=%22Tarring+Fig+Gardens%22&source=bl&ots=1Y2g6ZeWCm&sig=-H7tEj2r0MFWhskmPRN8_vJYzDI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Yq4pUY26AeaE2wXQ-oEo&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22Tarring%20Fig%20Gardens%22&f=false
He describes this area of England as being suitable for the culture of figs and the center of a small fig industry. Figs are grown in cottage gardens and in groves. Some of the trees actually get quite large and old. He says that the Tarring Fig Garden is about a ½ acre and from his description it must have looked quite beautiful.
Mentioned in this article are some pruning/pinching techniques and manure application. Recommendations for growing in the cool climate include discussions about espalier technique, growing next to a wall, winter covering, growing under glass, etc. There is a short article following this one called The Best Varieties by George Bunyard.
Ingevald