Garden Dreams
Regardless of what ground hog, Phil Punxsutawney, thinks we are moving toward spring and today could easily pass for a spring day. And yes, Phil did see his shadow today but weathermen and women don't put a whole lot of stock in Phil's forecasting from what I hear. One weather guy celebrated Ground Hog Day by posting a recipe for woodchuck stew.
Photo credit: Lisa Hubbard
Well, sweet dreams to the dear little rodent for another six weeks, but I'm dreaming of gardens and the cool things I'd like to plant this spring. I think my dream garden may be something like this potager garden.
And what, might you ask, is a potager garden? I shall tell you.
Potager Garden : (pronounced: puh ta zhay) a garden that combines both edible and ornamental plants; a vegetable garden that is utilitarian in nature but designed with beauty in mind; much like an English kitchen garden, but often formal and symmetrically designed in the French fashion.
A well-designed potager can provide food, cut flowers and herbs for the home.
Some potagers are a bit too fancy and formal for me. I'd probably like the one just outside the cottage more than the one outside the palace. I just love the one above. I think the rustic fencing and borders give it a relaxed country look, yet it's still neat and beautiful. And why not make your kitchen garden lovely to visit by planting some flowers there? Some edible flowers do double duty: beauty in the garden and flavor on the table such as nasturtium, pansy, sage and rosemary, verbena and gardenia.
A flowering vine such as a tiny rose could be planted about the fence providing a graceful backdrop. Flowers with a high nectar content draw bees which will assist with pollination. Some flowers like nasturtiums and marigolds repel undesirable buggies. Here is a list of others. Some flowers attract helpful bugs.
I know a garden like this would take a bunch of work and certainly couldn't happen over night. But, it could be a goal. As they say, if you aim at nothing, you'll probably hit it.
