This week Richard takes us out of the kitchen garden and allotment and over to Audley End House in Essex for the Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair — the final show of the year and a perfect chance to gather fresh inspiration as we head into autumn.
Victorian Walled Gardens & Orchard Training
Richard begins his visit in the Victorian kitchen gardens, admiring productive orchard beds, fan‑trained fruit trees and beautifully maintained glasshouses. Apples, pears, asparagus and late‑season veg are thriving despite the challenging summer, and the structure of the garden reinforces that his own move toward a more formal, kitchen‑garden layout at home is the right direction.
Make a Metre Matter: Lucy Chamberlain’s Autumn Garden
Richard then meets up with Lucy Chamberlain to explore the final instalment of her Make a Metre Matter project — nine themed square metres designed to show what can be achieved in small spaces.
Highlights include:
Wildlife habitats for autumn and winter, using windfall apples, moss, bamboo canes and log piles
Woodland ecology, with bracket fungi and chestnut stumps supporting stag beetle larvae
Heat‑loving edibles like tomatoes, aubergines, chillies and basil to extend the harvest
Edible flowers and vertical veg for colour and productivity
A feature wormery, proving composting can be attractive as well as practical
Heat‑tolerant crops such as curly kale and Malabar spinach
Hardy winter salads including chicory, radicchio and mizuna
Leaf mould demonstrations showing the stages of decomposition
A metre dedicated to winter casserole ingredients — beetroot, carrots, kale, potatoes and swede
The garden offers practical, achievable ideas for changing climates and small spaces, and gives Richard plenty of inspiration for his own plot.
Recipe of the Week
Back in the kitchen, Richard shares a warming aubergine and tomato gratin with a crispy potato topping — a perfect way to use up late‑summer veg before autumn fully settles in.
Show Highlights & Heading Home
A wander around the stalls reveals end‑of‑season bargains and familiar exhibitors. Richard picks up a few gifts and a robin‑on‑a‑spade ornament before heading home, feeling motivated to make the most of warm soil now and shift into infrastructure work as winter approaches.
