Kitchen Garden Notes – Ham House

If you make your way down past Ham Common and away from the busy roads of South West London you come to the River Thames. Along the tow path there are people strolling along and bicycles whizzing past. Shouts of instructions rise up from the rowing boats. A cursory glance to the side and you may miss Ham House. Set back from the all the obvious signs of modern life you could almost be transported back to the 17^th century if it wasn't for the frequent roar of the airplanes overhead.

Ham House was originally a Royal property after being built by Sir Thomas Vavasour in 1610. As Knight Marshal he bestowed it to James I who in turn gave to his son, the future Charles I. After Vavasour died in 1620 it was passed on again and has had a series of owners until The National Trust were given the property in 1948.

I've visited Ham House before but this time there was only one part of the estate I was interested in. Summer has ended now and much of the Kitchen Garden has given up its crops but there's still some wonderful produce to see. There's a few autumn raspberries left on the canes in the soft fruit garden.

The yield of French beans has been good this year and there are still plenty that are waiting to be picked.

Radishes that were sown in August have now grown big and are ready for an early autumn salad. You may not think it is the time of year for salads but this kitchen garden is a sun trap and it's no surprise the café is situated at the end of it.

Looking towards winter there is a row of leeks waiting to be turned into something delicious. I can just imagine a big bowl of warming soup being made with these.

In keeping with the age of the property there's produce not just for eating but for using in medicine. The rhubarb is the same variety as I have at home in 'Timperley Early' but obviously the gardeners at Ham House know better than me and have left the leaves on now the season is over. There's a sign by the rhubarb stating that up to the 18^th century rhubarb was only used for medicinal purposes. The first mention of the stalks being used in cooking was in a book from 1806/7.

Of course for medicinal uses a kitchen garden wouldn't be complete without a herb garden. One of the most common and useful herbs has always been sage and there's plenty of it here.

Yet for all of this I have been teasing you. The real stars of the Kitchen Garden at this of year are the many varieties of marrows, squashes and without a doubt the pumpkins.

The pumpkins are everywhere. On the ground...

Climbing up...

Grouped together...

And generally spread across a large section of the garden.

Where's your favourite autumnal garden? Do you know somewhere with a fabulous display of pumpkins?