Blenheim Palace’s historic Walled Garden is in full summer production, with a wide variety of homegrown vegetables and edible plants now being harvested in abundance and supplying the palace’s kitchens directly. The 18th-century garden, which doubled in size last year to keep pace with growing demand from the palace’s catering operations, is on course to make Blenheim entirely self-sufficient in homegrown produce by 2027.

Among the crops currently yielding results are mixed salad leaves — which alone provide around 30kg per week for use in salads, sandwiches and wraps — alongside edible flowers, heritage beetroots, rainbow chard, spring onions, cavolo nero kale, fresh herbs, broad beans, mangetout, and cherry tomatoes. A large section of sunflowers has also been planted and is expected to come into bloom during July and August.

A ‘no dig’ approach at the heart of the harvest

The kitchen garden at Blenheim Palace is run on ‘no dig’ principles, a method championed by a growing number of British kitchen gardeners in which soil is left largely undisturbed and instead fed with compost from above. The approach aims to preserve soil structure, reduce weeding and improve long-term fertility — making it well suited to the kind of high-volume, year-round production the palace kitchens require.

Harrison Fannon, the palace’s Vegetable Gardener, has also introduced a technique known as polyculture — planting multiple varieties of vegetables alongside one another in the same bed. “We’re doing a lot of mixed planting or ‘polycultures’ — planting multiple types of vegetables together; this creates relationships between the plants that makes them more resilient to pests and drought,” he said. “It also makes the garden more visually stimulating: beans climbing up kale stalks, beetroots bustling between lettuces and flowers, carrots cuddling up to onions… flowers growing amongst everything rather than confined to borders. The garden is buzzing with life.”

Fannon added that the kitchen is currently making use of everything being harvested. “We’ve only just got into the harvest season so currently the kitchen is using everything available! We will also be launching staff veg boxes later in the year,” he said.

Community engagement at the heart of the garden’s mission

Beyond food production, the kitchen garden has become a hub for community and educational activity. Fannon has introduced weekly visits from approximately 60 pupils from special educational needs (SEN) schools across Oxfordshire, giving young people direct access to a working horticultural environment. The garden also offers free work experience placements for young adults, as well as opportunities for rehabilitation groups and corporate team-building programmes.

A volunteering scheme is also running every Thursday and Friday, welcoming around 20 local people who contribute two hours a week to help maintain and develop the garden. Such initiatives reflect a wider trend among British heritage estates, many of which have sought to open their working gardens to the public and local communities as part of broader sustainability and engagement strategies.

Wider summer programme at the palace

Visitors to Blenheim this summer can also explore the broader estate, which spans more than 2,000 acres of parkland landscaped by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown in the 18th century. The formal gardens include the Water Terraces, the Secret Garden, a Rose Garden, Cherry Avenue, the Crab Apple avenue and the Temple of Flora. Throughout August, a Victorian Explorer character will be present in the Formal Gardens as part of the seasonal programme.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, Blenheim has been home to the Dukes of Marlborough since 1705. The Walled Garden itself is reached by a short miniature train ride from the main palace and includes family-focused attractions such as the Marlborough Maze, a Butterfly House and the Rowse Honey Hive.

Blenheim is currently offering Summer VAT Savings on admission prices. For visitors purchasing tickets over the value of £80, Klarna split payments are available. Ticket revenue contributes directly to the ongoing conservation of the palace’s buildings, artworks and landscapes. Full details and ticket booking are available at blenheimpalace.com.