A Place to Grow

Kitchen gardens have been a staple of English country houses since medieval times. Land on these great estates was richly cultivated; freshly-grown produce would feed the residents and staff, while cut flowers would decorate the house. For the head gardener, this corner would be the most important and productive part of the estate.

As tastes and fashions changed throughout the centuries, kitchen gardens were planted to be ornamental as well as functional. They exhibited the latest growing techniques and often indulged whichever new exotic taste the master of the house may have acquired on his travels. Thankfully, due to the diligence of historians and modern gardeners, many of these kitchen gardens thrive year-round today, just as they did in their historic heyday. In doing so, they provide a beautiful piece of living history to connect us with this important part of England’s past.

Ham House, in Richmond, West London, is a rare example