Last weekend we had perfect weather. Warm, sunny and summery. I spent the entire weekend in the garden - weeding and tidying up on Saturday, chipping more branches on Sunday (pictured). Saturday was the most fun day - Sunday got old very fast! But as I worked, I dreamed. And I thought about what I want to do in my garden. And I think I've got a plan.
I'm going to make a potager - similar in design to this one. I like the concentric circle layout of the paths, which gives a strong structure to the whole thing. It means that when the broccoli is flopping around, and the cabbages have all been harvested leaving a big bare spot, there will still be a strong design element at work.
Especially if you plant diagonally!
Of course I'll still have flowers and flowering herbs scattered throughout...
And something decorative in the central bed.
I also think raised beds are important - building curved ones will be quite the challenge!
I definitely want brick or stone paths.The above images are from "New Zealand Potager - The Ornamental Vegetable Garden" by Diana Anthony. It's a really helpful book if you are planning a potager!
This is my rough sketch. I'll be keeping the existing concrete paths for now (far left and bottom right). The rectangle shape in the lower right corner is my glasshouse, and the circle above and to the left of it is the cherry tree - I've designed the path to veer around it. (Should I leave this in do you think? I don't want its roots making the paths buckle, or sucking up the water from my veges. But I don't want to just chop it either...)
Anyway, that was last weekend. This weekend has been nothing but rain, gales, and the two mixed together. Much better to just curl up on the couch and forget about it all....
I can't wait to see it.
ReplyDeleteYay yay, it will be beautiful. My mum has made herself one in Murchison. She lives by the river, so we carted river stones one day, all day (i was very strong by the end of it!) It now has gravel paths with river stone borders.
ReplyDeleteNo, I would not square off that circle. A better way to deal with it might be to continue the pathway as a circle, using a more forgiving surface, such as gravel or bark mulch in a color to match the rest of the circle. I believe that with such a strong geometric pattern, one must continue the pattern. You could create a Pacman potager as an alternative. Yes, I'm kidding.
ReplyDeleteI really like your garden!!! Have a nice weekend/Gela
ReplyDeleteI live in Cambridge in the Waikato and also took it into my head to create a potager in my back garden. I've just found your blog when I was googling "brick potager". Unlike you I have done mine a bit round the wrong way. I have dug out the shapes and planted them up (although I am still going with that) and am now thinking about how to pave the paths and edges. I love the idea of growing my own food which is just starting to produce. I can send photos if you are interested. I think you have done an awesome job! Rosemary
ReplyDeleteHi Rosemary, thanks for your comment. Sounds like your garden is going well! I'd love to see photos, I'm always interested in seeing what others have done. Good luck deciding on your paths!
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