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maryt_gardener

Is it a potager?

maryt_gardener
17 years ago

Hello I am new to this forum, I have a small garden, about 8 feet by 12 feet in a 1/2 circle-- it is behind the small cement patio behind a rented house we are living in. I moved here to North Dakota last fall, from Wisconsin and may end up moving again soon--to North Carolina--following the ups/downs/twists and turns of my hubby's career.

the last move I left my plants in Wisconsin-the next move I hope to dig them up and take them with--God willing! (Assuming we leave in fair weather)

-I have started a number of gardens over the years, this is the first time I've gardened from a rented house, I don't want to 'push my luck' with the landlord so I am tucking everything into one garden--a smallish one compared to what I"ve had in the past. If we are still here next year, I think the garden may 'creep' around the edges of the patio and house more veggies and herbs.

The 'bones' of my garden are mainly wrought iron garden things I brought from wisconsin--a freestanding arch trellis, small portable iron fencing, several shepherds hooks holding either bird feeders or hanging plants.

I also brought some large pots-- stone or ceramic or clay and a stone bench and some wrought iron furniture. This is a new construction house, so there are no trees or shrubs--and since the house is rented I don't think I'll be adding any.

The garden is pretty enough I think--I got some perenial starts from a couple ladies I work with; lupine, day lilly, iris, columbine, hosta, ferns, yarrow, a few little ground cover plants, coneflower, pincushion flower, a butterfly bush, and several other plants--not all are identified yet. I added in some annuals in hanging baskets and pots and mixed in here and there in the ground. I have a few herbs in the dirt:chives, cilantro, 2 basils, 2 mints, dill. Currently the only veggies are tomatos and peppers and beans.

Annual vines are planted under the trellis and the hooks--though the short season here--I wasn't quite prepared so my vines may not flower I think. I also have my pots filled with annuals on the cement patio in front of the garden.

The ground here is hard clay mainly, and I have added a great deal of compost to break it up and also have mulched between plants with wood chips. Things seem to all be doing well, though smallish due to the climate here and the newness of it all I"m sure.

I have some blooming flowers, and enjoy watching the birds that come to my feeder and wonder if my tomatos will produce much or my peppers--as it is somewhat cooler than I had hoped this summer. I can see the garden from my kitchen table and can also sit outside on the patio and enjoy it too.

The garden is behind the little patio that is off the dinette/kitchen in the house.

In any case, I wonder if my little garden would properly be called a potager because it is mixed with veggies, herbs and flowers--or would it be more properly called a kitchen garden?

When I began it I had planned to put in more veggies, but was given so many flowering plants that I decided to cut down the amount of veggies for now.

There are no 'rows' I just put things where I think they will fit and look nice.

The shape of the bed and the wood chips and the wrought iron short fence make it look 'organized' though maybe it isn't really.

Mary

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