Gardening: Plant a potager

PLANT A POTAGER

Have your garden and eat it, too.

BY LINDA BROOKS

Summer is a perfect time to putter in your garden while you enjoy the fruits of your springtime labor and prepare for your fall planting, and Pasadena has the perfect microclimate for a potager.

A potager is a French kitchen garden where you eat and cook with everything you grow—herbs, vegetables, berries, and citrus—all conveniently accessible in one place near your house. Pathways with ornamental and edible flowers enhance the beauty. Not only can this centuries-old garden concept be adapted to the smallest spaces for today’s home gardener, but it also has become a popular alternative to thirsty lawns.

Limited space when designing your potager will bene t from raised beds, containers, vertical planters, or a border of edible plants and owers that will help de ne the space and control the soil. Soaker hoses and “companion planting”—plants that complement each other, including similar fertilization and water needs—control disease and pests while enriching the soil. A trellis, oblique, or DIY garden tower can provide support for beans, peas, berries, and owering vines as well as adding height and interest. You might consider wind chimes on a shepherd’s hook. The key is not to be overwhelmed. Start small with good soil and add as you grow along.

Plant your seasonal favorites. Fall’s crops, like carrots, cauli ower, cabbage, kale, leeks, chard, onions, peas, radishes, shallots, spinach, lettuce, chives, garlic, cilantro, chervil, dill, and parsley, require a cooler temperature soil. Explore a few unusual varieties of these everyday favorites not commonly found in your local grocery store, such as red dragon hybrid Napa cabbage or Romanesco cauli ower. Staggering your planting will ensure that you’ll always have something to enjoy.

Pro tips:

> Consider incorporating a dwarf/miniature fruit or citrus tree in a decorative container. > Remember that many Mediterranean and native plants do well in Southern California and can be drought tolerant, reducing their water needs. > Use your imagination to incorporate a theme, such as a cuisine you enjoy. For instance, fans of Italian cooking could plant thyme, cilantro, and sage, while Francophiles might lean toward lavender, chervil, and chives. > Create a salad garden with your favorite herbs and editable owers, like nasturtiums, which add a peppery avor and have owers that can be lled with a soft cheese; a children’s garden with their favorites; and owers that attract hummingbirds and butter ies.

Potagers around town:

> The Huntington’s experimental Ranch Garden showcases simple but effective ideas using edible plant materials suitable for a kitchen garden. “What’s Blooming” is a monthly pictorial calendar on Huntington.com featuring its owering plants. > Parkway Grill on South Arroyo Parkway offers tours of its organic garden behind the restaurant. > “My Plant Finder” on Monrovia.com offers a searchable database of various categories such as kitchen garden, water needs, Mediterranean plants, and native plants.