American Potager

sometimes I write fiction

Here is a photo of one of the watercolors in my new book, The Kitchen Gardener's Handbook. It's a bird's eye view of a front yard edible and seasonal garden- in summer. One of many in the book. The paintings illustrate how the garden shifts through the year and one season is highlighted in each chapter.

When I drew up the plan I carefully selected edible and non-edible flowering shrubs and perennials that will provide bouquets for the table or something to nibble on every day of the year. The planting plans are quite detailed and are in the book- oodles of them, so you can use them to create your own garden.

When I drew up the plan... there was no garden. It was a figment of my imagination coupled with a desire to showcase such gems as Tiki Torch coneflower or Henry Eilers sweet coneflower and to mix them up with rhubarb, espaliered apple trees and peonies. Most of what I do is fiction... until we build the garden.

strolling the high line

It's been on my list for a while and I missed it the last time I was in New York. The wait was worth it for me to see some late May blooms on the High Line over the weekend.  I salute you, Piet Oudolf.

Favorite flower of the day, Trifolium rubens (Red feather clover)

Future planting area.     

hedge apples and pomegranates

 

 

 

 

    We gave a baby shower for my daughter and invited close friends and family to the formal tea. The arrangements for the table and at the front door couldn't have been simpler- nor less expensive. Sure, we bought the pomegranates at the grocery store because they don't grow here in central Ohio. Everything else came from the garden.                                                                                      

    Hedge apples come from Osage-orange trees; small, dense trees planted as hedge rows throughout the Midwest. The trees are not particularly attractive and they do have thorns. To some the wrinkled fruits will be a nuisance. To me they produce simple and elegant decorations for the home. The chartreuse fruit is extremely fragrant and a bowlful is heavenly.

gate details for the potager

    I have been working on an estate project in the south for a while now. I couldn't have imagined two years ago that my reply to an e-mail would blossom into the creation of a significant garden.  "Do you travel to design gardens?" was the simple question that has led to a partnership with the owner in creating a series of outdoor garden rooms with edible and mixed perennial and shrub borders. American Potager, LLC created the master plan for the site, the detailed planting plan and designed the walls, arbors and gates. Local craftsman have built the gates, the custom bronze hardware and the ball-bearing hinges to support the massive weight. A local contractor has been remarkable in implementing the design.

    Last week I was on site as we installed phase one of the planting plan. When the boxwood hedge was planted in the potager I couldn't help smiling. This new garden looked as if it had been there for a long time.

   

american cranberry bush viburnum

    Viburnum trilobum 'Bailey's Compact' is planted right outside my potager picket fence. I am impatiently waiting for these native shrubs to grow into a nice hedge. I am also impatiently waiting for the shrubs to produce berries. I can't quite understand it.... no bright red edible berries.... this season or last. Is the tag wrong? Do I need another American cranberry bush viburnum? Until I get it sorted out I am enjoying the vibrant fall color. My last post was about green walls. This plant creates seasonal red walls for the kitchen garden if you are architecturally or spatially inclined.

green walls

    I have been mulling over a design problem for a while now. We have been designing an estate garden in the south. The client has a brick colonial home and we are incorporating a formal potager with shrub and perennial borders. We are locating the greenhouse and designing the walls, fences, gates, storage buildings and compost bins. It is a tricky site and one of the issues has been how to screen the property while maintaining the formality, attention to detail and aesthetic we have created on the rest of the site.

    In an odd triangle of left over space we have created a green triangle room. These are the conceptual drawings from my sketchbook of this vision. The green room will truly be a secret garden with two entrances. The tall wood gates will need to be wide enough for a wheelbarrow to pass through yet solid like a door to screen views. Inside the green room will be the double compost bin. The green room is adjacent to the kitchen garden and will be a work room to support the edible garden.

    I have decided on two types of evergreens for two different areas. The green triangle room needs a plant that that can be sheared into a dense, formal evergreen hedge maintained at a height of eight to ten feet. Prunus caroliniana 'Monus' or Bright 'n tight Carolina cherry laurel is a cultivar that is narrower than the species and will be ideal. It's also native to the southeast and has small black cherries to attract birds. This green hedge will join another hedge planted along the property line for privacy. I have decided on a very reliable holly, Ilex x 'Nellie R. Stevens'. Nellie R. Stevens holly will provide the height needed for this part of the wall. It eventually will grow twenty feet high to block out the views into the neighbors property. This hedge will also be sheered to create a formal green background. This part of the wall is meant to be a backdrop for the dogwoods, flowering shrubs and perennials that will be planted in front of it.

Plant peas when the daffodils bloom. Harvest peas when the peonies bloom.

    We've been snacking on peas in the garden. Sometimes we just run outside simply to pick a few and eat them raw. They are of course, best this way. The 'Sugar Annes' are very sweet, and meant to be eaten in their entirety- shells and all.  Last night we had some carmelized shallots with pasta and pea shoots. With some raw peas on the side. Peonies and pea shoots for the vase.

 

It's time for May wine.

    I made May wine last year for the first time. It's a lovely spring drink to serve guests. You need to open and use a whole bottle of wine (or more). It just makes sense to share it with friends. Here's how I made it.    
    I picked some sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum) flowers and leaves. (Of course, it goes without saying that I don't use pesticides, so no worries on using the home grown herbs.) I dried a bunch of leaves in the microwave. The flavors intensify when you use dried leaves.
    I poured a bottle of Riesling wine in a container. It just made sense to use a German wine since this recipe is of German origin. Any white wine you love will do. I added the dried sweet woodruff leaves, covered the container and chilled it for a few hours.
    I then strained the wine into glasses. Garnished with strawberries, fresh sweet woodruff leaves with sweet woodruff flowers and bright purple-blue borage flowers.

kitchen garden at the white house

    I must say I am thrilled about the new kitchen garden that we are getting. The one on the South Lawn of the White House. Michelle, I applaud you. I love seeing the images of you digging in the dirt with children from a nearby school. It speaks volumes about what's important. The earth. The health of our children. What we eat. Self sufficiency.
    The ripple effect, I hope it's far and wide. That we all plant a little bit. An organic kitchen garden at the White House. It's a great day.

blue bamboo poles

    I am often asked about the royal blue bamboo poles that I use in my potager. Don't be fooled by the photo; spring has not come to my garden.... yet. This was taken a few years ago, but it's a good reminder to get structures ready now. Here is what I did and maybe it will be helpful for you.
    I ordered 7' x 3/4" natural bamboo poles online. (I don't remember exactly where, but do a search... there are many sources.) At least seven feet is a good height because when you place them in the garden, you will bury them 3-5" in the ground for stability.
    I painted them with latex paint. I do not know the exact color. It was paint I had on hand because my dining room is painted the same color. Yes, this was deliberate. My kitchen garden is planted near my house- the dining room, kitchen and family room windows overlook the garden. So there is a continuation of the indoors with the outdoor garden and the other way around- outdoor garden brought indoors.
    Pick a color that you love and think in terms of contrast. Much of the time, the vines if they are beans or peas will be green. So choose a color that contrasts with green. Red or orange come to mind but royal blue also works.
    I won't mislead you. Bamboo doesn't really take latex paint well. It will take a couple of coats. I have to touch up the poles every spring but for me the effect and result is worth the trouble. Enamel spray paint would probably work better. Let the paint thoroughly dry for a few days.
    Place the painted poles in the garden, pushing each pole into the earth. Lash the tops together with twine in a figure eight motion. You can create a tee pee with about six poles or line them up like I have done in the photo with a pole at the top.
    With a favorite color and a little time you can personalize your garden so that is suits you. That's the point.... gardens should make us smile.