“Inspiration for the Home of Your Dreams”
Gardens surround farmhouses, estates and chateaus around the world. They create landscapes for our most renown artists to paint and are a source of nourishment. There is no better time than spring to prepare the garden, the outdoor interiors of our lives. The blooms that will fill our beds to overflowing and the shrubs and trees that create boundaries of endless beauty are as much to be swooned over as our interior rooms and with the troublesome economic conditions and increased interest in organic and sustainable living, many people are turning to vegetable gardening.
One lovely garden I want to share with you is on Fisher Island where my brother in law enlisted the help of a former model and niece of ex-Attorney General Janet Reno, to create a sizable vegetable plot. The Miami garden was begun back in December 2010 and took a lot of preparation as you can see by all the work going on in these photos. Denver would never be so lush.
The results are spectacular and once a week, the island chef Stephane Caporal selects items from the garden to prepare special menus for gourmet night. The residents love the idea of organic and the tomatoes, lettuce and herbs are well served.
The garden is behind a berm of tall grass to protect it from the brisk ocean breezes that can occur on the island. Here is a photo of John and Hunter Reno in the garden. Look at the lush abundance.
John Ehrlich and Hunter Reno (the gardener) – the Miami Herald
In Miami the growing season is slowing down when our growing season in the Rocky Mountains is just beginning (April). Some herbs will remain in the Florida beds until June and then the soil will be allowed to rest until fall. The process is a real testament to mans ability to tame the earth and grow rich abundance and nourishment in a variety of conditions.
Look at these lovely veggies that have come out of the garden. Just think what we could grow for our own families with just a bit of determination and effort.
Basil I think
THE POTAGER
Now, a twist on the typical garden. Plant a potager (pronounced poe tah zhai in French), a traditional kitchen garden in which vegetables, herbs and flowers are grown together to enhance the beauty of your landscape . The goal is to make the function of providing food aesthetically pleasing and its more popular than the traditional rows or blocks. The French are masters at getting the most out of their potagers and virtually every French yard has a spotless vegetable garden. Often, it occupies most of a small yard and is planted tightly. Here is the beautiful Le Potager du Chateau de Bosmelet. Look how the rows of lettuce compliment the swirling yellow flowers.
Photo – Le Potager du Chateau de Bosmelet from LArelier Vert Everything French Gardening
The unique garden below is the rainbow vegetable garden, (le potager “Arc en Ciel”). It has quadrants arranged classically by color: sapphire blue, amber (yellows through orange), garnet red, and ivory white.
A wealth of flowers and vegetables mingle superbly in this potager. Cornflowers, nicotiana, red orach gone to resplendent fuschia as it turns to seed, cleomes, amaranths, cockscombs, and nasturtiums number among the annuals. The mixed borders are filled with shrubs, perennials and colorful foliage. One entire wide row is devoted to a staked riot of dahlias that grow lustily to 5 or 6 feet tall.
GARDEN LOCATION
When choosing the location for your garden, keep in mind that most vegetables and herbs need as much sun as possible to do their best. Good drainage is also a must, so avoid low-lying areas where water collects. Another consideration is the distance from your garden to the kitchen. If you are a spontaneous cook, you may want to have your herbs and veggies right outside the kitchen door within easy picking distance. If proximity isn’t a major concern, decide where you will spend the most time and site it for maximum viewing. Do you spend a lot of time relaxing on your deck or patio or would you rather see your garden framed by the picture window in your favorite room?
When you’ve chosen the best site, prepare the area just as you would for a new perennial bed. You will need some stakes and string to lay out your chosen design. To form a rectangle, position the stakes at the four corners, with the string running between them. Triangles may be marked off on the diagonal, and diamonds created by positioning a center stake midway between each corner stake. To create a circle, measure a length of string equivalent to the radius of the finished bed and attach the string to a stake anchored at the circle’s center. With the end of the string in your hand, walk the circle’s circumference, etching its outside edge as you go.
Once you have the “bones” of the garden–it is time to plant your family’s favorite herbs, fruits and vegetables. For season-long color, add bright edible flowers in groups in the front and around the border as edging plants.
Edible flowers that grow in Colorado include:
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) perennial, Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) annual, Daylily(Hemerocallis spp.) perennial,
English Daisy (Bellis perennis) annual/biennial, Geranium, scented (Pelargonium spp.) annual, Gladiola (Gladious spp.) annual, Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) biennial, Johnny-Jump-Up (Viola tricolor) annual, Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) perennial reliably hardy only to Zone 5, Lemon Marigold (Tagetes tenufolia ‘Lemon Gem’) annual, Nasturtium (Tropaeolum spp.) annual, Pansy (Viola x wittrockiana) hardy annual, Petunia (Petunia x hybrida) annual, Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) hardy annual, Rose (Rosa spp.) perennial, Sunflower (Helianthus annua) annual, Violet (Viola cornuta) perennial
GARDEN INSPIRATION
Here is a beautiful garden of the Chateau du Grand Jardn, Joinville, Haute-Marne that displays not only practical implementation but a love for nature and the land. Its a large space but we lowly beginners can copy the elements and do smaller versions of it. Maybe an evergreen surounded by lavendar and some essential herbs.
Château du Grand Jardin, Joinville, Haute-Marne Photo from Everything French Gardening
Using this inspiration I am starting a VERY small kitchen garden in the bricked planter area on my patio. As you can see by the photo below there are a few succulents, an evergreen tree and some honeysuckle vines already in play. Its a small area I’ve add some lavender, English daisies, basil, peppers, squash and some strawberries in the wall container. Everything might overgrow but I’m willing to take my chances. The Budha is my outdoor accessory. I will train the ivy plants to flow over the edges of the brick walls in splendor. I’ll keep you posted as to how this turns out. DON’T YOU JUST LOVE SPRING.
My Denver Potager
