slhl INSIDER
Function, Flavor and Art Landscape expert Jennifer Schamber of Greenscape Gardens shares her insights on St. Louis gardening and the addition of potager practices. Edited by Moe Godat Portrait photography by Colin Miller/Strauss Peyton
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JUNE/JULY 2022 STLOUISHOMESMAG.COM
Embracing French Style A potager garden is a French style of ornamental food gardening that beautifully blends function, flavor and art into a landscape. It can also be simply called a kitchen garden. Flowers should draw in pollinators, and other companion plants can increase the resiliency and rigor. Veggies, fruits and herbs are intertwined together, working as a plant community to help make each other more productive and useful. Incorporating Practices Consider incorporating some beautiful new pots into the landscape and fill them with a combination of flowers, veggies and herbs. It’s always best to place these pots as close to the kitchen or patio as possible. Start learning about what types of flowers are edible, like pansies and nasturtiums. Also consider what types of fun cocktails you enjoy in the summer and grow the ingredients like mint, basil and lemon verbena. Becoming a Budding Herbalist It’s best to start with growing in pots. Be sure that the pots have good drainage and use a good quality potting mix. Planting doesn’t start and end in the spring, it starts in early spring with cool season crops, continues into late spring with warm season crops, then back to cool season crops again in late summer/early fall. With some planning in place, cool season crops can be protected and the harvest season can continue well into the winter.
