The Lost Gardens of Heligan have cut their first pineapple of the season, grown using an authentic Victorian technique, which they calculate would have cost the equivalent of £10,000.
The miniature fruit was grown in the restored pineapple it in the melon ard at the Cornish gardens, using the natural warmth of 30 tonnes of manure to heat the complex Victorian structure.
Heligan, which now boasts the finest productive garden in the UK, restored the derelict pineapple pit after discovering it 20 years ago, covered in ivy and 5ft high brambles.
A team of horticultural and restoration experts worked alongside the Heligan Productive Gardens team, succeeding in using the forgotten 70 year old technique of growing pineapples.
One of the first pineapples ever grown at Heligan, using the rediscovered Victorian technique, was sent to the Queen by Heligan director Tim Smit.
Heligan marketing manager Lorna Tremayne said: “Heligan pineapples are like no pineapple you've ever tasted. It's deliciously sweet, not stringy, and the flavour explodes in your mouth. One taste and shop bought pineapples will not be good enough ever again.”
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