I live in the country with enough space in my garden for an area dedicated to the production of food;  about fifteen years ago I enclosed the vegetable patch  with hedges and fences which immediately lifted its status to “Kitchen Garden.”  

I use the raised bed system where each bed is four feet wide so that once the initial deep digging is finished  you do not need to walk on the soil again because you stand on narrow paths between the beds to carry out all the cultivations and harvesting. Now that there are only two of us living here, planting short rows of the different crops about once a fortnight means that, in theory at least, there is always something to pick for about seven months of the year.   Sadly,  theory is just that and the rabbits, deer, moles and all the other creatures who live in my garden regard this place as either their larder, playground or underground highway route;  oh how I long for a walled vegetable and fruit garden which would keep out everything that did not have wings.   Like many other passionate gardeners I visit private gardens that open under the National Gardens Scheme; I  choose places that have walled kitchen gardens where fruit and vegetables are still grown in at least part of the space and I stand in them and dream about having one of my own.   It will never happen of course because I would need to win the Lottery to pay for it and the Local Council would refuse planning permission.

The first rewrite of my novel is underway and I am at the point where the main female character Ellie struggles with her desire for a walled garden when faced with an important decision about her life.  I’m not sure I would make the same choice as her, but then I know what happens next.

If you have never visited any NGS gardens I recommend that you try one in your local area;  you can buy a copy of the “Yellow Book”  which lists all the openings or visit the website and search online for free.