New Ideas on Kitchen Gardening
In recent years I’ve noticed a trend, or, more accurately rediscovery of the concept of kitchen gardening. Buckinghamshire has long embraced productive gardening. The great estates in our county once relied on extensive kitchen gardens to supply their households year-round. High brick walls trapped warmth, espaliered fruit trees were trained with precision, and neat beds delivered vegetables and flowers for cutting in orderly succession. A good example is the extensive kitchen gardens at Waddesdon. But it’s not necessary to have an extensive estate to borrow the idea. Even a small courtyard can accommodate raised vegetable and flower beds, a few trained fruit trees, and a group of herbs within arm’s reach of the kitchen door. The revival of the kitchen garden is not about self-sufficiency in its most extreme form. Few of us expect to replace the supermarket entirely. Instead, it speaks to something gentler: the desire to grow some things well, to know where they come from, and to enjoy the process.
What is the meaning of Kitchen Gardening?
Modern kitchen gardening borrows from traditional potager design, a French concept that treats vegetables with the same aesthetic respect as flowers. Structure is key. Raised beds, edged in timber or brick, bring clarity and order. Gravel or mown paths create clean lines and allow access in all weathers. Simple symmetry such as four rectangular beds around a central focal point gives the space a sense of calm. Within that structure, planting can be exuberant. Curly kale catches the light with almost architectural drama. Ruby chard glows against pale gravel. Broad beans rise confidently in early spring, their soft green leaves signalling the season’s turn. Interplanting with calendula, borage, and nasturtiums not only attracts pollinators but softens edges and adds colour. The result is a garden that is productive but never purely practical. Gone is the rigid separation between ornamental and edible. Tulips can rise between lettuce rows. Dahlias can punctuate a bed of courgettes. Sweet peas can scramble up supports intended for beans before the beans themselves take hold. This blending reflects a broader shift in how we view our gardens, not as spaces divided by strict purpose, but as landscapes that support biodiversity, creativity, and well-being simultaneously.
What is a must have in the kitchen garden?
A kitchen garden is more than a place to grow vegetables it’s a space that nourishes body and spirit, combining practicality with beauty. But to thrive, every productive garden needs a few key elements. Firstly a kitchen garden must have structure. Before choosing a single plant, think about the layout. Structure transforms a patch of soil into a garden room. Raised beds, clean paths, a central focal point, or vertical elements like trellises and espaliered fruit give order, make maintenance easier, and create visual rhythm. In March, when most beds are bare, structure is what gives the garden shape and promise.
Nothing beats the thrill of a first harvest. Broad beans are the classic British kitchen garden choice: hardy, easy to grow, suited to Buckinghamshire’s soil and climate, and even soil-enhancing as a nitrogen fixer. They give an early boost to the season and set the tone for the months ahead. Every kitchen garden benefits from at least one perennial that anchors the space. Rhubarb, asparagus, or a fruit tree provides consistency, structure, and a harvest that returns year after year. These plants give your garden character and reassure you that it is more than a seasonal project.
Edibles do best when they share space with flowers and herbs. Calendula, borage, nasturtiums, thyme, and rosemary attract pollinators, repel pests, and add seasonal colour. They make your kitchen garden a place you want to linger, not just a source of food. A successful kitchen garden respects the seasons. Sow hardy crops in March, protect tender seedlings from late frost, mulch soil to conserve moisture, and rotate crops to maintain fertility. Planning ahead ensures continuous productivity and keeps your garden looking polished year-round.
Which plants can be grown in a kitchen garden?
One of the most elegant ways to elevate a productive space is to think vertically.
Espaliered apples along a wall, fan-trained cherries against brick, or cordon pears marking the edge of a path bring both productivity and visual rhythm. In smaller Buckinghamshire town gardens, vertical fruit growing is not only practical but transformative, turning blank boundaries into living structures.
Heritage apple varieties suited to our region — such as ‘Blenheim Orange’ or ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’ root the garden in local character. Underplanting with spring bulbs or low herbs adds seasonal layering. In this way, the kitchen garden becomes less of a patch and more of a designed room.
Pollinator-friendly flowers woven among crops increase yields. Compost bins, once hidden, are acknowledged as part of the cycle. Rainwater harvesting can be integrated thoughtfully, with attractive water butts becoming essential during our increasingly dry summers. The kitchen garden becomes a microcosm of sustainability, practical, yes, but also quietly hopeful. And the beauty is cumulative. In March, beds may still look spare. By June they are lush, by August, abundant. Even in autumn, as leaves fall and crops fade, the structure remains, the proof of thoughtful design and the promise of another year.
How to make a beautiful kitchen garden?
Last year we completely transformed this garden in Amersham…it’s a perfect example of kitchen gardening with vegetables and cut flowers grown cheek by jowl. For more information on this garden and how we created it with before and after photos, read the full article here.
If you would like some help and ideas on how to start kitchen gardening and live in the Buckinghamshire area, we’d love to hear from you! Contact us on 01993 813721. Or use our contact form here.