Walled kitchen gardens were once a standard feature of grand English country houses. They were used for growing vast quantities of fruit and vegetables and sometimes they also produced cut flowers for the house.

Within the shelter of the high brick walls, they often had cold frames and large glasshouses, sometimes used by the Victorians to grow fruits such as grapes and peaches.

Apples and pear trees were trained in fan shapes against the walls, where the sun-warmed bricks would help to ripen the fruit.

There were heated greenhouses for orchids and exotic flowering plants and cool glasshouses for ferns.

Times have changed - and so have the walled gardens.

Some have fallen into disrepair and some have been transformed into magnificent flower gardens, while others have been lovingly restored to their original form as kitchen gardens.

We have a marvellous array of walled gardens in our own area and they are all looking at their best at this time of year. Why not take a trip to visit one or two of them?

One of the most authentic and painstaking restorations of a walled garden in the South can be found at West Dean Gardens, near Chichester.

All the glasshouses in the walled garden have been patiently refurbished and they are now full of appropriate plants and flowers.

The kitchen garden has been replanted in a classic Victorian design, with near-perfect vegetables and flowers growing side by side. For those who are keen on growing their own "fruit and veg", it provides a breathtaking trip back in time. Also open to the public are the vast gardens and parkland surrounding West Dean House.

Another ambitious restoration programme has taken place at Staunton Park, near Havant, where superb vegetables can be seen growing in a walled garden.

The Victorian glasshouses have also been restored and are now full of all kinds of exotic plants, including ferns, giant waterlilies and tall palm trees.

Houghton Lodge, near Stockbridge, has a large, old-fashioned, walled kitchen garden, full of trained fruit trees, herbs, flowers and vegetables.

This is just one part of the grounds of Houghton Lodge, which has a fine expanse of parkland, with mature trees and lawns sweeping down to the River Test. There is also an immaculate knot garden (called the Peacock Garden) and a modern hydroponicum - a kind of indoor show garden, where all the plants are growing in water, enriched with liquid plant "food".

By contrast, the walled garden of Apple Court, near Lymington, has been imaginatively redesigned as a formal flower garden, with many individual areas, such as the White Garden, the Cottage Garden, the Daylily Garden and this year's new creation, the Water Garden.

There is no trace of the long-abandoned walled kitchen garden, although the adjoining house still retains its old name (Apple Court), as a reminder that it was once used to store apples.

Another stunning transformation has taken place at Mottisfont Abbey, the National Trust property near Romsey, where the former walled kitchen garden was redesigned in 1972 as a rose garden.

It now provides the perfect, sheltered setting for a huge, fragrant collection of old-fashioned roses - fabulous!

AT A GLANCE

Mottisfont Abbey gardens are open Saturdays to Wednesdays, 11am to 6pm until November 4 - but visit as soon as possible to see the roses at their best. The abbey and gardens are four and a half miles north west of Romsey. They are signposted from the A3057. Tel 01794 340757.

Staunton Country Park is just north of Havant and is well signposted from the B2149. It is open dailly from 10am to 5pm. At the time of writing, only the walled garden and glasshouses are open to the public, at a reduced admission fee of £1. The adjoining ornamental farm is closed as a precaution against foot and mouth disease. Tel 023 9245 3405.

Houghton Lodge is just south of Stockbridge and is signposted from the centre of the town.

The gardens and hydroponicum are open daily from March to September on Saturday, Sundays and bank holidays from 10am to 5pm. On weekdays, they are open from 2pm to 5pm, except on Wednesdays, when they are closed. Tel 01264 810912.

Apple Court is at Hordle Lane, which is a turning of the main A337 between Lymington and New Milton. The garden is open daily, except Wednesdays, from March to September. Opening times are 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm. Tel 01590 642130.

West Dean Gardens are six miles north of Chichester on the A286. They are open daily until the end of October. Summer opening times are 10.30am to 5pm. Tel 01243 818210.