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With the temps rising and the sun shining, I have just been itching to do a garden. Strolling through the garden center and looking longingly at plants has become a new form of torture. Because we technically-okay we just straight up don’t- own a home, I just accepted the fact that we couldn’t garden this year.
(We sold our home a few months ago and we’re what feels like “floating” while we build-to give you a recap.)
But then I thought, why can’t we have a garden? Sure, we don’t have a house, but we do have land! And last I checked, land was kind of the deciding factor in whether or not you can have a garden.
I got Titus on board to create a garden before the house and then I got to planning. And if you’re wondering why we haven’t started building yet, just know that I am wondering the same thing. (They say waiting is a virtue. I may be the most virtuous woman alive right now.)
So though creating a garden now has its complications, it has its excitement too! And let me just say, this has been so much fun getting this garden started.
(Probably more fun for me than Titus since I’m not doing the literal heavy lifting, but at least one of us is having fun, right?)
Creating is as essential to me as the blood in my veins and being outside is the best form of therapy. And boy, DO I NEED THAT!
It wasn’t too hard deciding on how I wanted our garden to be because I’ve been dreaming about having this type of garden for years, complete with pea gravel and an iron fence, but we were just never in a permanent enough spot to make it worth it.
But now, I’m not holding back on our potager garden!
Potager is the French word for a traditional kitchen and vegetable garden. This is the garden you’d choose if you want edible plants and sturdy vegetables that will produce a plentiful harvest. And in the true French way, gardening is an art and it’s meant to not just taste amazing but look amazing too, with the right mix of foliage and flowers.
I’m taking the fancy French word and running with it (because that’s just what I do). A traditional potager garden is meant to be near the kitchen for easy access while cooking.
After careful consideration, mine won’t be for a few reasons. One, we will have limited flat land in our backyard and I wanted to reserve that for the boys to play. And two, I loved the idea (and views) of having a garden lost in the woods.
But a potager garden has a lot of leeways. It can be traditional or formal, with raised beds or ornate patterns. The best part is that it’s open to interpretation. As long as you have edible food (kind of a key in a garden), I think you can call it a potager garden if you want. 😉
I’m still working on plant placement, but the graphic below gives you a good idea of the layout.
You can probably already tell that I’m not a gardening expert. I have a lot to learn about how to pair plants together, what to grow when, and even how, let’s be honest, but I’m eager to learn!
After several weeks of work (off and on), here’s a quick cellphone pic of where we’re at now:
It will still take several more weeks to complete this, so in the meantime, I’ll leave you with some recent photos we took on the land!
Do you love the idea of a French garden? Then you’ll probably love the idea of a Parisian courtyard too. Here’s How to Create a Parisian Courtyard (Using Ideas Straight From Paris!)
