Ham Houses’ historic Kitchen Garden is currently one of the most productive walled kitchen gardens in London. Elizabeth Maitland, Duchess of Lauderdale, who inherited and transformed the house in the seventeenth century would remarkably have recognised a lot of the plants grown in the Gardens today.

Many heritage crops and vegetables that feature - but are no longer widely cultivated in England as they have been replaced by modern crops- include root vegetables such as skirret, scorzonera, salsify and beautifully unusual leaves such as salad burnet, sea kale, red orach, sorrel and wild sea beet.

The Kitchen Garden at Ham continues to grow a wide variety of herbs, leafy greens, root crops, and fruiting plants, it is tended using organic principles and provides the café with home-grown produce all year round. Get inspired by our recent photoshoot and explore starting a Kitchen Garden in your own backyard for fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs ready for eating – whether your plot is small or spacious.

You can learn more about life at Ham House in our recent interview with the Collections and House Manager who is currently residing at Ham House & Gardens here.