Cooperative Living March/April 2018 - 14

GardenMuse | Story and Images by Paula Steers Brown, Contributing Columnist
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F
ood gardening
has been on
the rise in
America for the last decade for obvious
reasons: homegrown food is better tasting,
is the freshest possible, saves money and is
safe from undue chemicals.
First Lady Michelle Obama's Get Moving
Initiative, which started in 2009 with the
White House Kitchen Garden, has taken
root. Health-conscious millennials
especially seem to be concerned with where
their food comes from and its quality.
Planting and nurturing a garden is educational
for children, gratified to see the miracle of
growth and the results of their labor.
Kitchen gardens, of course, are not new.
Victory gardens during WWII showed
American resourcefulness, frugality and
independence. The French term potager
means " providing vegetables for the pot. "
The French raised this gardening practice
to an art form, taking practical edible plants
and dressing them up in such decorative
landscape designs that they became stylish.
Blending that same beauty with practicality
today makes these handsome gardens focal
points in the landscape.
Vegetable gardens need never be tucked
back into a faraway utilitarian space again.
In the same way that we are seeing outdoor
kitchens proliferate, why not grow the raw
materials for your backyard entertaining right
there in pluck-able range? Play up their color
and form. Mix them with edible flowers and
herbs. Plant them in raised beds that are
interesting design shapes in their own right.
Many annual vegetables that fill the
kitchen garden are only growing from
May-October. Their plots will become bare
spots after the harvest, so care must be taken
in choosing the permanent, fixed elements
- fences, walls, trellises, arbors, raised beds,
paths and decorative objects - so that
pleasing design is visible even when the
garden is at rest. Add vertical structure to
12 | Cooperative Living | March-April 2018
The French term potager means
'providing vegetables for the pot.'
increase planting space and
year-round visual interest.
Rustic teepees support beans
and produce uniform cukes with no flat
side. A sturdy arbor could
showcase grapes. If you are a
dedicated pruner, try your hand
at espalier, training fruit trees
such as apple or pear against a
wall or fence for easy picking.
You can have so much fun
playing with geometric shapes,
figuring out how to blend form
and function in hardscape and
plantings. Design possibilities
are endless. Work a checkerboard
of pavers into the edge of your
patio with herbs in the alternating
soil squares. The pavers form the
stepping stones through your
herb garden for easy access.
Close proximity is important
for many reasons. Besides the
ease of harvest, seeing changes
daily is entertaining and helps
you keep an eye on the plants'
needs. Objects like ladders or
wheels can be placed flat and
then planted with various herbs.
A simple four-square garden
bisected with pathways creates
small, organized spaces for the
plants as well as convenient work
space around them. Plant a circle
of chives and place a bee skep
on a pedestal as a focal point in
the center to channel Colonial
Williamsburg, or repurpose a
fun found object from a thrift
store as a sculptural attraction.
A long, rectangular bed like
the one at right is easy to fit
near any patio or deck. Poll your
family and prioritize their favorites.
Staples of my family's kitchen
garden include tomatoes and
squash. My grandchildren want
at least one of our tomato plants
to be cherry tomatoes. We keep
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plastic bowls at the ready and eat most of
our pickings on the spot like popcorn.
Children love root crops, so do try to
include carrots or beets or potatoes. It
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Cooperative Living March/April 2018

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