KITCHENS TO COVET ALFRESCO COOKING

Nick Selby and Ian James, custodians of Water Lane walled garden and restaurant in Kent, show us round their glorious outdoor kitchen

We are Nick Selby and lan James, custodians of Water Lane, a Victorian walled garden that we're restoring in Hawkhurst, an area of outstanding beauty in the High Weald.

We found Water Lane during lockdown while looking for a new adventure. Ian had been volunteering at Wolves Lane Flower Company, and we had an idea to grow and sell British seasonal flowers. We never imagined we'd take on a near-derelict three-acre walled garden with glasshouses, a vinery and growing space that hadn't been touched for years.

Lockdown madness took over: we left our flat in London and previous business Melrose and Morgan - a fine food store - and arrived on site in January 2021. We painted the garden gates a cheery pea green and opened for business that July. We have 72 no-dig vegetable and cut flower beds, a shop selling Sussex and Kent artisan products and our own Water Lane Pantry jams and preserves, a full calendar of workshops and events in the Pelargonium House, and a restaurant serving simple, seasonal dishes cooked in a huge wood oven, with many of the vegetables coming from the garden. We live on site in the cottage bothy within the walled garden, both of which are Grade-II listed - we are in early planning stages with English Heritage and Rye-based firm RX Architects to renovate key parts of the site.

Our kitchen in the living quarters is basic while planning goes through, so most of our cooking takes place outside, overlooking the sweet pea tunnel, dahlias, veg and new fruit trees we've planted along the wall. It's wonderful to harvest produce we've grown ourselves, the moment it's needed. Our Portuguese wood oven grills fish, meat, veg, flatbreads and even puddings. We also have tables and chairs in terracotta red from Very Good & Proper, made with a bio-composite of hemp and 100% recycled plastic.