Pineapples from the Lost Gardens of Heligan
We all know that pineapples don’t grow in Europe and that England’s weather is, let’s say, not very pretty. But that’s half true. Pineapples do grow in Europe and England’s weather can be good enough for growing pineapples. With a little bit of human help that is.
The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall, UK, is the last place in all Europe where pineapples do grow. It’s a pineapple pit, the kind that Victorian gardeners used in the 18th century. The technique involves large quantities of fresh manure and urine-soaked hay used to heat up the pit where the pineapples are planted and a lot of hard manual labor.
Normally, these pineapples are not sold, though they’re valued at more than $1,500 each. Despite that, one was auctioned at some point and the buyer paid around $16,000 for one.
