Shavonda Builds A Garden: #thecottagebungalow Potager

Hi Everyone!

I’m so so pumped about today’s post friends.  It’s been 4 years in the making and I’m incredibly happy to FINALLY start building my dream kitchen garden…and to take you all along with me! This post is the beginning of a monthly series dedicated to the progress and process of me documenting the building our kitchen garden over the next year.  I figured January is a fitting place to start.

For those of you who have been with me for a while you’ve heard me talk about my desire to build a big garden back when we still lived in our last house.  In fact, a huge non-negotiable when we were on the hunt for a home after deciding to downsize was that the house be on a large lot so I could dedicate quite a lot of space for a kitchen garden. We were incredibly fortunate to find one and I’ve pretty much been plotting my dream space here at thecottagebungalow from the moment we got keys.  Last spring I shared my plans for the garden, but after a jam packed summer and autumn full of travel, and big indoor projects, I had to put things on hold. With not much on the calendar pulling me away for the next couple of months its an ideal time to get started.

Last year when I spoke of the garden I envisioned creating a bohemian Meditteranean Moroccan inspired space. But after thinking about it and refining things a bit I’ve decided I much prefer a mix of traditional French potager and English cottage kitchen garden. So that means less Meditteranean dessert and more carefree cottage style.

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Over the last month or so I’ve been busy planning (I created a garden binder/journal and everything!) the first phase of the garden build. Since we are in winter and its the rainy season its the perfect time to put pen to paper and focus on how I want and need the space to perform and function. Everyone knows a garden doesn’t really hit its magical prime for several years, but a big part of what makes it a success in the future is proper planning from the beginning.  This year my main focus will be in setting the foundation for the space by getting the essential infrastructure elements in place. There wont be very much “make the garden pretty” happening this year. Instead Ill be tackling things like testing the soil, creating the garden beds, planting the fruit trees, putting in the greenhouse, etc. I’ll get more into the detailed design plan, layout, and specifics of it all in the next post, but for now let’s dive into the meat and potatoes of the different elements I want for/in the garden:

FOOD– The primary goal is to produce lots of food for our family and neighbors so I’ll be building four large central L shaped garden beds meant for growing the majority of our seasonal produce, and then also including some fruits and veggies growing within the flower borders  as well.  When I took stock of the space we have this worked out to be the best use of how I can get everything in that I want, but still keep it manageable since I’ll be the only one tending to it.

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FLOWERS -This is where the English Cottage vibes come in.  Not only to do I want the garden to provide lots of food, I also want it to provide lots of pretty! Fresh flowers are my weakness and they are certainly one of my current weekly indulgences.  I love to go to Trader Joes and our local farmers markets every week to stock up on fresh blooms for our home, and I would love to be able to replace those market runs with a quick walk through the garden to pick stems.  With that said, I’ll be prioritizing a cut flower element into the space by planting a good variety of annuals and perinneals to enjoy in a border along the fence and garage. I also plan to plant some flowers within the vegetable beds,  as well as climbing and vining flowers up trellises and an entry arbor. I love a good traditional English herbaceous border, too,  so I’m hoping to pull some scaled down inspiration from them.

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A GREENHOUSE-Every garden needs a greenhouse, right!? I mean, not really, but I want one.  Nothing too big or fancy.  Just a simple basic hobby greenhouse where I can start seedlings, maybe grow a tropical plant or two, keep a planting station, and store the garden bits. In my forever home I plan to build a beautiful traditional glass and brick conservatory style greenhouse, but for now something a lot more modest will do just fine.

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CHICKENS-Admittedly, this makes me a little nervous but we’ll be getting a small flock of hens for the garden.  We’ve decided that 4 is a number that’s maneagable in terms of maintenance, and that should also provide us with plenty enough eggs.  My son is especially looking forward to the hens and has started plotting how he’s going to care for them. We’ve even already come up with names for them!

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COMPOST AREA-I plan to include both a regular and worm composting

ENTRY ARBOR-I want this space to be more than just vegetables plopped in the middle of the yard.  Just like my approach with interiors I want this space to be very intentional and I want it to feel like a room outside. What better way to do that than with a pretty arbor leading into it.  I can just see it know with climbing flowers growing up it.

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A FOCAL POINT-Traditional french potager’s include some type of focal at the center of the garden. This can be anything from a tree, a fountain, a bench, etc. and I plan to include one in our garden as well.  I went back and forth over what to do and I loved the idea of it being something artistic and beautiful, but also productive so Ill be creating an herb garden in a fountain. Im envisioning the top portion of the fountain with water for the bees and birds and the lower level planted with seasonal herbs like sage, oregano, thyme, basil, mint, etc. Ive seen fountains upcycled and used to plant succulents as well.  I love that idea, but the center of the garden will be a little to hot for the succulents to thrive so herbs it is!

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RECYCLED MATERIALS-One of my favorite things about English cottage gardens are how they are riddled with recycled materials.  From old brick pathways, to upcycled furniture turned containers, I just think it adds so much whimsy and personality to the mix.  I’ve been collecting bricks, wine glasses, and other found materials over the years and will be finding ways to incorporate them into the garden.

VERTICAL & HORIZONTAL GARDENING-Though we have a decent enough space on the ground I also plan to use our fence and garage to squeeze in even more gardening opportunities with things like espalier fruit trees and planting in gutters or shallow boxes up the fence.

 

 

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CONTAINERS-A layered garden is a lovely garden in my book so Ill be incorporating some large pots and half wine barrels sprinkled in as well.

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Alrighty so there we have it.  This is going to take A LOT of work and time to develop but im in it for the long haul.  Im excited to share with you all not only the physical, but also the emotional and psychological experience of creating the space.  Ever since my son started taking an interest in the environment and gardening I realized my own relationship with food and the Earth is a direct result of growing up seeing my grandmother garden and feed us the most amazing meals from the things she grew with her own hands.  Its a very powerful thing and I think somewhere along the way we’ve lost a lot of that.  So many of our parents’ parents gardened and as culture has shifted so much of that connection has been replaced with convenience.  I know it certainly has for us!  Both of my parents worked and were in the military so throwing in cultivating a garden on top of that was NOT about to happen.  Then with me its been the same thing.  But once we downsized and opened up our lives to more than just the rat race I’ve been eager to get back to some of the things that imprinted on me as a little girl…not only for myself, but also for my son.

I hope you’ll join me and be inspired to do some gardening of your own. Even it its just a small planter box of herbs!

Until next time friends…

Posted By: Shavonda Gardner · In: gardening, thecottagebungalow