Jacki Kellum Kitchen Garden 2021

I have read that as people began planting their food, as opposed to hunting and gathering it, the first kitchen gardens began.  The earliest cottage gardens were usually kitchen gardens–what the French would call a potager.In my mind, a kitchen garden is not the same as a place where only vegetables are grown.

What Is A Kitchen Garden?

A  kitchen garden is a spot where edibles, herbs, and flowers are intermingled. All of my gardens are kitchen gardens, I always mix everything that I want to grow in one spot.

Jacki Kellum Garden 2021
Scarlet Runner Beans are growing on the right, and a Quickfire Hydrangea is in the middle. Toward the left, I had tomatoes growing.

Jacki Kellum Garden 2021

If you look carefully, my herbs were growing amidst a collection of perennials and other flowering plants. You will also notice that I have planted the shorter plants in the front, and the taller plants in the back.

How to Create a Sense of Depth and Height in Your Garden – Also a Word about Raised Beds

At the very back of that area, I made bean teepees, and I grew Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans there.

Later, I added some okra plants in front of the teepees.

But everywhere you look in my gardens, you will see flowering plants that I grow simply because of their flowers. I grow roses in the mix, too.

For years, I have created a hodge-podge assortment of plants all squished together in a Cottage Garden Style, and I’m sure I will always do that, but this year, I plan to begin creating a more structured, formal garden in one area that I have set apart for that. I’m considering employing some of the following plants in essentially the plan that you will see below.

The following is like the old medieval or colonial gardens that have dotted themselves throughout history. This is one of the Free Garden Plans created by Better Homes and Gardens.

The above plan is for what I would call a stroll-through garden. Paths around and through the garden allow the plants to be tended from all sides.

Keep in mind that each area will have shorter plants nearer the viewer, and the plants will ascend in height toward one area. In the above plan, bean teepees or obelisks create the high point of each part of the plan. I make bean teepees out of cane.

Bean Teepees in Jacki Kellum’s 2021 Garden

The following plan was created by Better Homes and Gardens:

Image Credit Better Homes and Gardens
This garden has a symmetrical design. Four separate raised beds work around a central area. One corner is lopped off of each raised bed. Following is my estimation of how one of the raised beds was constructed.

The above drawing represents the following part of the garden:

I’ll change some of the suggested plants to those I prefer.’

1. Yellow Petite Marigolds – 3 Plants
2. Green Pepper – 2 Plants
3. Woodland  Blue Phlox
4. King Richar Look
5. Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans
6. Baxter’s Early Bush Cherry Tomatoes
7. Genovese Basil
8. Garlic
9. Baxter’s Early Bush Cherry Tomatoes
10. Gomphrena
11. Okra
12. Calendula
13. Thyme
14. Yarrow
15. Zinnias

Baxter’s Early Bush Cherry Tomatoes
Image Credit: Isla’s Seeds
Heirloom Plant
Height: 4′
Determinate
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Phlox Woodland ‘Blue Moon’ (Phlox divaricata)
Image Credit: American Meadows
Height: 7-12″ tall

 

The tradition of the kitchen garden was not unique to France. Most of the colonists who settled in what would become the USA  brought with them the tradition of the kitchen garden which was typical of those in England.  In France, a kitchen garden was called a potager. The colonists began their move to the USA in 1607, with the founding of Jamestown. Better Homes and Gardens says that the French were gardening in their potagers during the Middle Ages, which was long before the colonists moved to Jamestown:

 

“During the Middle Ages, monks in France typically created kitchen gardens with geometrically shaped beds, separated by paths and enclosed by a wall or hedge. This French-style kitchen garden plan reflects this aesthetic with a central diamond-shape bed with four larger raised beds around it and wide brick pathways running between them. A row of ornamental perennials or shrubs of your choice can serve as a hedge around the perimeter, set off by a white picket fence. The raised beds are filled with a variety of vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers, as a nod to the efficient yet beautiful gardens of Medieval monasteries.”

“During the Middle Ages, monks in France typically created kitchen gardens with geometrically shaped beds separated by paths and enclosed within a wall or hedge. Our French-style kitchen garden plan reflects this aesthetic with a central diamond-shaped bed and four larger raised beds, with wide brick pathways running between them. A row of ornamental perennials or shrubs can serve as a hedge around the perimeter, set off by a white picket fence. The raised beds are filled with a variety of vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers, as a nod to the efficient yet beautiful gardens of Medieval monasteries.”

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I’m making several alterations as follows:

• 1 Yellow Petite Marigolds –
• 2 Thai basil
• 3 Anaheim pepper
• 4 ‘King Richard’ leek
• 5 ‘Emerite’ pole bean
• 6 ‘Tomatoberry Garden’ tomato
• 7 Genovese basil
• 8 Garlic
• 9 ‘Plato’ zucchini
• 10 Nasturtium
• 11 Okra
• 12 Loose-leaf lettuce
• 13 Cutting celery
• 14 Jalafuego pepper
• 15 ‘Double Zahara Strawberry’ zinnia
• 16 ‘Orange Banana’ tomato
• 17 Dinosaur kale
• 18 ‘Valencia’ tomato
• 19 ‘Long Green Improved’ cucumber
• 20 Sweet alyssum
• 21 Scarlet runner bean
• 22 Sweet basil
• 23 ‘Rainbow’ kale
• 24 Purple bush bean
• 25 Tall zinnia
• 26 Mixed butterhead lettuce
• 27 ‘Granny’s Bouquet’ zinnia
• 28 Flat leaf Italian parsley
• 29 Spanish lavender
• 30 ‘Chocolate Cherry’ tomato
• 31 Romaine lettuce
• 32 Red oakleaf lettuce
• 33 ‘Fairy Tale’ eggplant
• 34 Lemon basil
• 35 ‘Kentucky Colonel’ mint

If you aren’t able to find these exact cultivars, use substitutes in similar colors, shapes, and sizes. And, since in certain climates, some plants can become overly aggressive and spread out of control, before planting, always check which species are considered invasive in your area.