A winter painting of the Hopfields by Joyce Austin gives us a good idea why the hop pickers required stilts. The first English hop garden was created near Canterbury in 1520, as Kent was the earliest centre for hop culture due to its suitable soil. Btw...I've been trying for years to eradicate my yard of these temacious (wolf of the woods) the latin name for hops without success. My love/ hate relationship with these annoying plants.













