Cook With A Home-grown Advantage: Perfect Kitchens For Kitchen Gardens

Do you dream of growing your own parsley and mint? Or is your kitchen garden already flourishing? Either way, if you’re designing a new or upgraded kitchen, your home-grown herbs and veggies deserve to be prepared and cooked on point.

Whether you have a few herb pots on the windowsill or a raised veggie patch in the backyard, you can complement your garden with a stunning and functional kitchen. We’ve got the kitchen essentials for modern kitchen gardens.

Level up your home cooking experience

Mmmm, the smell of fresh basil… the crispness of fresh leafy greens… There is no doubt that using your very own herbs and vegetables takes your cooking to a whole new level. Not to mention a kitchen garden saves time and money on grocery shopping. And you get to enjoy two wholesome hobbies: flexing your green thumb and cooking up a storm!

But it’s not just the fresh ingredients that will level up your cooking. You also need a hassle-free kitchen to clean, store and prepare your delicious produce.

You need the versatility of multi-function taps

The tap is probably the most used thing in your kitchen. But do you put much thought into it? Most people opt for a mixer – a single lever tap that allows you to control the flow and the hot and cold water with a single spout. But if you take your gardening and cooking seriously, a mixer with pull-out spray, also known as detachable or veggie spray, is going to make your life a whole lot easier. 

Pull-out taps give you extended reach. They make it easier to rinse your salad mixes while they rest in a colander, or to fill large pots and containers. Some even come with independent pot fillers, like the Raymor Dublin Sink Mixer with Veggie Spray. No more struggling to fit large pots under fixed spouts!

Pull-out taps can also come with dual spray options where you can switch from normal flow to veggie spray. Raymor Hudson Sink Mixer with Pull-out Spray is a great option with its spring-loaded pull-out hose and button action veggie spray head – perfect for rinsing your freshly picked fruits and vegetables. 

Extended reach also makes clean up so much easier. Quickly spray down the area without awkwardly splashing water around.

Does having a gardener’s kitchen mean I have to go farm style?

Absolutely not! Just as kitchen gardens have come a long way, so have the kitchen styles that complement them. You can still have a pull-out mixer with a timeless or modern kitchen design. The Raymor Madison Sink Mixer with Pull-out Spray is a perfect, adaptable option. It’s tall, curvy and elegant, and it comes in chrome, black or brushed nickel to give you plenty of design flexibility.

For a striking statement piece, there’s the Raymor Delta Black Gooseneck Sink Mixer with Pull-Out Spray. Style really meets function here with its bold lines and contrast colours that look seamless in contemporary kitchens.

Or there’s the more traditionally styled Raymor Lawson Sink Mixer With Veggie Spray Pull-Out, which comes in classic chrome or contemporary black. Use it in kitchen styles that are a little more warm and homely.

Sinks for the gardener’s kitchen

So, you’ve chosen detachable tapware that you love and can’t wait to see it in your new kitchen. Don’t you need a sink too? Yes! But what sort? Again, just because you’re cooking with your deliciously fresh kitchen garden products doesn’t mean you have to get a farm-style sink. However, you may want to think about how much space you need. Even if you don’t need a large sink inside to rinse your fruit and vegetables, you may be using large pots and pans for your gourmet dishes. In that case, as well as needing a larger sink bowl, think about how much drainage space you need and whether you need a sink protector.

The good news is, the Raymor range includes plenty of options. You can go undermount, left hand bowl, right hand bowl, and with double or single bowls. You can also check out our Tradelink blogs on kitchen sinks for more inspiration.

Any other accessories?

From chopping boards to stainless steel colanders, and from water filters to waste disposers, there are lots of additional accessories that will be useful in your gourmet kitchen. Our showroom team members can help you find accessories to match your needs and your sink and tapware choices.

What should you grow?

We don’t want to stray from our lane here, but we can’t help but proffer some advice. If you’re just starting out with a kitchen garden, go simple and grow something you’re actually going to use. Oregano, rosemary and thyme are hardy herbs that our customers find easy to grow. They add big flavour to dishes from many different cuisines and you can really have some fun with them.

Most kitchens, whether they’re sleek and modern or country style, look stunning with a few small herb pots placed on display. If you’ve got more space outside, chillies are prolific and look really bright and colourful. Baby salad greens like spinach can also be grown quickly, so your efforts pay off with home-grown fresh salads sooner.

We’re here to answer your questions

The truth is, our team isn’t all necessarily green of thumb. You might not find our team members in the garden, but you will find them in the showroom where they know a great deal about our whole range of kitchen tapware, sinks and accessories.

Visit us today to browse the range and ask for a demonstration or advice. Search for a store here.