History of the Jardin Potager For centuries, the traditional design of the jardin potager, or "kitchen garden," has served as the basis for some of the most stunning gardens in the world. Both practical and beautiful, this type of garden can be traced back to ancient Egypt and later became so popular in France that it's now commonly known by its French name. Typically located right outside a home's kitchen door, a kitchen garden includes herbs, vegetables and fruits, as well as ornamentals. (In medieval times, Benedictine monks planted medicinal berbs, known as simples, in their potagers.) In applying this design to the featured property, the garden will be placed in its traditional position: right outside the home's back door, which leads to the kitchen. Since the space is initially just a square of grass, the striking design will dramatically impact the appearance of the area (figure A) and will also reduce water consumption, since grass requires so much water to thrive. Note: While projects in previous episodes have focused on the front of the featured property, the kitchen garden is the first upgrade to its currently un-landscaped backyard.
A Quadrant Design
- To begin the planning process, host Mayita Dinos uses landscape design software and a digital image of the current space to experiment with layouts and preview the final results. Since the garden's designated area is rectangular, its shape will be well-suited to the formal, geometric patterns of traditional jardin potagers. Intersecting paths will define four main quadrants that comprise the garden.
- To give this layout its own unique look, Dinos decides to include some accent paving in her plan. In selecting surface material for the paths, she previews both plain grass (figure B) and pea gravel before deciding the pea gravel will give the garden a more polished appearance.
Note: Since pea gravel is a common choice for French driveways and paths, it also enhances the garden's French look. For those on a budget, however, using pathways of plain grass works fine, too. - Freestanding trellises will be centered in each of the four quadrants to help define the spaces and provide climbing areas for vines and tomatoes. Fruit trees and ornamental trees are a key part of the plant design; the fruit varieties will serve as "anchoring" visual elements.
Note: Though plant material won't be added until the second phase of this project (featured in next week's episode), Dinos gets a head start on planning while she designs the hardscape to see where various plants will look best (figure C ). Once the trees are in place, Dinos will fill in the quadrants with a variety of herbs, vegetables, edible flowers and an array of beautiful ornamental varieties. Dark, dramatic square planters (figure D) will be placed at each end of the pathways, providing a "reward" for the journey. - Since the planting phase of this project can't be implemented until the hardscape is complete, this project is divided into two parts, requiring about 32 hours over the course of two weekends to complete. For most intermediate do-it-yourselfers, the project will rate a 4 on a difficulty scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest.
Setting Boundaries
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