Since we have a blank slate to work with in the backyard, I have been considering a potager garden—the sort of mixed-use vegetable garden that became popular in France four or five hundred years ago.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Potager Garden
Since we have a blank slate to work with in the backyard, I have been considering a potager garden—the sort of mixed-use vegetable garden that became popular in France four or five hundred years ago.
Potager gardens are small gardens that are functional as well as beautiful. They may contain ornamental features such as fountains, birdbaths, decorative paths, and low hedges at their perimeter, but they will also contain herbs, ornamental flowers, edible flowers and of course vegetables--often trained to climb, since this was practical in gardens where space was limited. Growing vegetables vertically also increases yield, and brings vegetables to eye-height where a few handfuls of fruit or vegetables (destined for the next snack or meal) can be trimmed and harvested easily. Working farmers as well as wealthy estate owners in fifteenth and sixteenth century France set up small potager gardens near their kitchens--where they were both functional and enjoyable aesthetically. The potager garden is a place you can enjoy tending—it is meant to be tranquil as well as productive--quite the opposite of how many of our fruits and vegetables are propagated these days!
Friends of ours have a few simple raised beds they have enclosed in rows of large rounded stones. They have pathways, ornamental flowers, and a few herbs scattered between rows of traditional garden vegetables. We will likely plant cilantro (since we use it almost daily when we have it on hand), dill (for the lovely flavour to add to soups and seafood dishes, as well as the pretty flower heads), marigolds, oregano, thyme, and sage. I like the idea of experimenting with a few edible flowers as well. Violets (Johnny-jump-ups) will be included, as will roses (the petals can be candied, or eaten in salads or as a garnish for desserts). Lavender and nasturtium are also on our list, since we are lavender fans, and often use dried lavender for tea, and enjoy lavender soaps and sachets. Nasturtiums have always been a favourite of mine, simply because they are so persistent—they (along with a bunch of day lilies) took over the barren front yard at a house where my sister lived while she was at school, and transformed the place drastically. I have eaten the flowers in salads, and I like the peppery flavour nasturtiums add to fresh greens—as well as the dash of colour they add to the plate.
What I like about the idea of the potager garden is that it is so eclectic. I can train a grape vine or climbing rose up a trellis, and add a fountain or a bird bath to the centre of the little garden; I may very well plant herbs, staked tomatoes, cucumbers, and ornamental but edible leafy greens such as Swiss chard and kale. The real joy for me in planning a potager garden is that it can be a place that I can allow to be a bit jumbled (although others may go for more formal plans). It can be beautiful—visually interesting, and full of enticing smells--as well as functioning as a kitchen garden that will provide fresh vegetables, herbs, and might even eventually feature a small fruit tree or fruit-bearing bush or two. The best thing (and the most difficult) is deciding what to include--and what will have to wait for another year.
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