On ruralising 'River Cottage' style

I've got it bad. All this work at home by myself has me dipping into other obsessions, namely kitchen gardens. I'm currently planning away when I can next attack the very small yard out the back of the terrace and put in my summer/autumn plantings, a task spurred on by too much watching of River Cottage and The Wild Gourmets, both on the ABC and then streaming some episodes online as er, a reward and much needed study breaks.

I do have a history of kitchen gardens in the family, my mother's father was a keen gardener with a small plot in their inner city backyard as she grew up. His father and mother up near Mudgee in the northern part of the Central West (makes sense oui?) also had kitchen gardens, with orchards on neighbour's property over the hill. What I long for is one of those glorious French or English kitchen gardens, with rolling hills and pastures in the background...(kind of Central West but more green, less bush!). Lush woodlands, forest foraging, otters (yes I'll stop now!)...ahhh yes too much River Cottage for me.