Why my garden is a Potager

A Potager, by definition, is a kitchen garden which is planted intensely with vegetables and has flowers and other features that make it not only functional, but also aesthetically pleasing. The Potager not only feeds the body but it also feeds the soul.

When I first started vegetable gardening I read in the Square Foot Gardening book that you should plant flowers in your vegetable garden. "That's ridiculous," I thought. "Why waste valuable garden space on something you can't eat?"
I've completely changed my opinion about that.

There's a lot of green in the vegetable garden. Flowers break up the monotone and give the eye something to look at. I have Zinnias, Salvia, Marigolds, roses and petunias planted this year.
And this volunteer morning glory that has taken over the back fence.
I also planted moon flowers but they haven't bloomed yet.

In addition to flowers, I have art in my garden. Whimsical art that makes me smile whenever I see it.
Like this piece I call Heartstrings.
I was sitting with hunky hubby in a dentist office leafing through a magazine and saw something like this. I told him I loved it and he didn't seem interested. But a few weeks later he had made this and gave it to me for my birthday. Heartstrings sits high above the garden watching over everything.

I have always wanted chickens, but we are not zoned for livestock here. So Duke and Daisy from Gardener's Supply Catalog, grace my garden.

This concrete planter belonged to my great-grandfather. It sits in the center of the Potager on a round piece of slate that was once my grandmother's porch table top. I like having pieces of my family history in my Potager.

Coming out of the planter in the center of the garden is this Whirlygig which my son and his wife gave me for my birthday. When the wind blows, the propeller turns and the dog moves up and down as if balancing. It is so much fun and always brings a smile to my face.
My dad is a pilot, so there had to be an airplane somewhere in the garden.

On the back gate of the garden, my husband made a cat. This art form is called Intarsia and it is done with woods of different colors carefully pieced together - no stain. He is an amazing artist.

He also designed and made the gates to my garden and the fence.

 When he was building the Potager, my husband included our old wooden swing. It is a wonderful place to sit and enjoy our creation. This is where you will find us each evening after work, winding down and reconnecting.

 Of course the best part of the Potager is seeing my family enjoy it, both human and feline. 

It is my version of the happiest place on Earth.