Found in Avignon, this terracotta branch vase from Toulouse was originally made as a rhubarb forcer for a kitchen garden, the tall bottomless pot placed over a young rhubarb crown to block the light and encourage early, tender growth. The forcing technique came out of an English garden in the 1820s, when a Chelsea Physic Garden gardener discovered that rhubarb grown under a bucket produced sweeter, earlier shoots. The practice spread quickly through European kitchen gardens through the 19th century. The terracotta has the soft chalky finish of clay that has lived outdoors for decades, with mineral deposits and weathered patches. Sylvie places it on the floor by a window with tall branches reaching toward the ceiling and a glass vase tucked inside for water.
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