The Gentle Pace of Thyme

Settled into a fold of the Cotswolds and laid out beside a water meadow on the River Leach, where cuckoos herald spring and Black Welsh Mountain sheep graze freely, a kitchen garden is tended in all weathers by a small, dedicated staff.

Chefs come down here in the mornings to select the finishing touches for their intensely seasonal menus, and in summer a florist gathers armfuls of flowers from the cutting garden to display in guest bedrooms. Serried ranks of vegetables march in and out through the year: at first broad beans and hardy leaves, then lettuces, peas and new potatoes. By midsummer, beans of all kinds scale wigwams and squash sprawl on the ground in a tangle of prickly stems and swelling fruits. In