History of the Victorian Garden
Herbs are undergoing a revival in today’s world! Not only are they easy to grow, they have outstanding culinary, medical and cosmetic uses. The Victorian Garden Organic Skincare Company owes its existence to Lady Frances Jane Glover-Anderson – our business inspiration, Lindsay Salthouse’s great grandmother – who was an aristocratic and lovely Victorian woman. In 1972 Frances Jane’s maternal English grandmother died and Lindsay’s mother inherited two large gold-edged diaries that dated back to the 1800’s that was passed down through generations in her family.
Leather-bound and still in good condition, these meticulously kept diaries in flowing copperplate, record a decade in the lives of the Glover-family and offer a fascinating day-to-day description of life during the Victorian era. Lindsay’s great grandmother Frances Jane, married Stephen, a partner in the British East Indian Shipping Company. Frances Jane would remain in Scotland on the family estate, as her husband’s work meant he had to spend long periods trading in India. With time on her hands and blessed with many servants to help her, Frances Jane cultivated herb gardens for culinary and cosmetic use at her father’s stately home in Scotland during the mid-1800s. Nature has many ancient secrets! Old archives tell us that during Victorian times, herbs and flowers were always planted in the evenings as moonlight has more pull on garden plants than we may imagine, which of course we now know to be a proven fact. Picking herbs for fresh tea and plants to distil oils from, was done under a waxing moon only. Fruit was always picked during the waxing moon for maximum juiciness and sweetness.
Reading of the lives of her ancestors records in the diaries, was of great fascination to Lindsay and it was an amazing personal experience travelling to a time when life was so entirely different to 21st century living.
As an English Beauty Therapist/Phytotherapist/Aromatherapist running her own Organic Skincare Salon in South Africa, Lindsay began to try her hand at making Victorian products using the same old-fashioned methods and pure, unadulterated ingredients, which have evolved over the past 23 years into the stunning collection of products we offer our customers today.
