The (Unknown) History of the Garden

The vine

The other day, near the strawberry patch, Christophe spotted something a bit peculiar: a vine, as in a grapevine.  We didn’t plant it and grapevines just don’t blow in with the wind.  It was planted there many years ago and most likely, was part of a vineyard.  This is the first vine we’ve seen, so it’s funny that is would finally decide to show itself in a garden that has been cultivated for over 10 years.

We don’t know the history of the all the land we own, but this is a clue to a parcel (or lot) we know little about.  Currently, it is part of vegetable garden, but at one point had a different proprietor than the rest of the garden.  The land is poorer and rockier than the rest, which indicates it was never cultivated previously as a garden.  We’ve seen a fair number of vineyards, some with tremendously rocky terrain, which adds to our speculation.  There is an old stone wall dividing the garden in two, which was once used as a property line.  Parcels of land where divided from generation to generation which explains why part of a garden was from one owner and part was from another.  The garden itself is made up of several parcels; property lines are never rectangular, but run along ridges, water sources, or forest edges.

We have met several old inhabitants of the village who shed light on some of the forgotten history.  Many attest to seeing a garden on the other side of the dividing wall, but none have ever spoken of a vineyard where the vine was found.  We’re going to leave the vine, not necessary for what it will produce, if anything, but for what it represents: history, with hopes that one day we will find someone who can explain it to us.

View of the garden with the stone dividing wall. Old inhabitants of the village recall a garden on the other side.  The vine is growing in front of the water can.  (The bushes are black and red currant bushes.)

The History of the Potato in France

There is a collective memory that almost all the French share – eating in the school cafeteria.  Unlike in the US, kids either eat there or go home for lunch, there is no brown bagging.  And, when the French start talking about nostalgic foods from their childhood, one dish always comes up: Hachis Parmentier.  It’s the French version of a Shepherd’s Pie and named for Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, the man credited for bringing the potato to the French dinner table.

Centuries ago, the potato was thought to be inedible; it was only used for hog feed.  In fact, before Antoine-Augustin Parmentier was taken prisoner by Prussia during France’s Seven Year War (1756- 1763) the French parliament prohibited growing potatoes because they were thought to cause leprosy.  During this imprisonment he ate potatoes and noted no ill side effects.  He used this experience as the foundation for a proposal as using the potato as a source of nourishment for dysenteric patients.  Due to this study, the Paris Faculty of Medicine declared the potato suitable for human consumption in 1772.

Antoine-Augustin Parmentier had a hard time convincing everyone that potatoes were edible, so he went to great lengths to convince the population otherwise.  For example, he hosted elaborate dinners which prominently featured potato dishes, gave the King and Queen bouquets of potato blossoms, and armed his potato patch with guards to suggest valuable goods, but told the guards to allow civilians to “steal” the goods.  That’s cleaver.

Hachis Parmentier: some like it, some love it, but now every young French adult has some story to tell thanks to Antoine-Augustin Parmentier. I mean, who can go wrong with meat covered in mashed potatoes?  I might just make some tonight.