My new kitchen garden

Diana Yates is planning self-sufficiency into her plot with a new kitchen garden that will provide produce all year round – and serve up sustenance for the soul, too

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I may still have a bathroom suite that peaked in popularity during the 1970s but the kitchen garden has just undergone its second transformation in seven years.

When I first began gardening, I was fortunate to have a designated spot to create a kitchen garden, or kailyard as it's so known in parts of Scotland. It's a south-facing plot and perfectly protected by an established beech hedge. In the early days, I had six raised beds, added an old cattle trough, and tucked in a small potting shed, later swapped for a greenhouse.

I'll always feel a deep sense of nostalgia towards the original garden. It was where I truly found out how to grow – sowing seeds for the first time since that watercress experiment in primary school, nurturing vegetables and flowers, and teaching my children to do the same. It's where I learnt to slow down and find peace after burnout.

The nine metre by nine metre haven became my refuge, quietly holding space forme through the hardest of times. It offered a cocoon in which to heal, and I’ll always carry a deep sense of gratitude for what that first garden gave me.