Two years ago, a “freak” summer storm rumbled through our neighborhood. The winds were blowing hard, lightning was fast and furious and rain was pelting down. Then one of our incense cedars came crashing down. I was standing on our deck at the time and almost in slow motion I watched in horror as the tree toppled over. This massive 30 foot tree fell into our neighbor’s yard with an unbelievable thud as it landed, taking out our fence, their garden and several of their trees along the way. The tree just missed their house by inches.
With the damage came months and years of cleanup. It took several weeks to get the tree removed. Ours was not the only downed tree that day. Many trees became victim to this summer storm giving the tree companies months of work. It took most of the summer to replace the fence and repair the underground sprinklers.
Next, it was time to decide what to do with the area. Should we replant the tree or leave it open? After the tree fell it opened up the sun to our neighbor’s garden. As a result, they are now able to grow a better garden. And my husband and I had been debating on how to “share” the vegetable garden with my herbs and flowers. This was the perfect opportunity to create a new garden area specifically for me. And the idea for a kitchen garden began.
What is a Kitchen Garden…
Basically, a kitchen garden is an area set up to grow vegetables, fruits and herbs. Flowers can be mixed in for beauty as well. Since we already had a large area for our vegetable garden, I decided to fill the kitchen garden with flowers for cutting and herbs for cooking. So it’s really a combination herb garden and cutting garden.
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A kitchen garden can be large or small. It can be planted in raised beds, directly into the ground and even in cute little pots on your patio. And it doesn’t just have to provide food for your table. The flowers can provide beauty, both in the garden and in bouquets for your home. But one of the things I love best about the Kitchen garden is the smell. Strolling past the herbs covered in morning dew provides an amazing smell. Brushing past the oregano or rosemary in the afternoon heat releases a marvelous fragrance.
How we created the Kitchen Garden…
Getting this area cleaned up to use as a garden space was a long and difficult process. Six inches of river rock covered the ground. This rock had been in place for over 25 years and so had dirt mixed in. In addition to that, the tree company had ground the tree roots and mixed it all into the rocks and soil. We had quite a mess on our hands.
My husband created a sifting tool and began the process of sifting out the rocks and large chunks of wood. It took over 2 years but we eventually got the majority of of the mess cleaned out. Once that job was finished, I began to add in my brick pathway and borders. To create the brick pathway, I dug a 4 inch trench and then added a layer of pea gravel. On top of that I added a layer of sand. Finally, the bricks came last. I have been holding onto these vintage bricks for years waiting for the perfect project. And this was it!
Time to plant…
I planted the front half of the garden with the shorter herbs and the back half with the taller flowers. Rather than dig up all the herbs in my old bed, I started with new herbs from a local nursery. A few plants I moved, such as some mint, oregano and lemon verbena. But many of my older plants are so large that it’s impossible to transplant them.
For the flowers, I have a mix of old and new. Also a number of flowers I started from seed and so it will be awhile before I see any flowers. One of the new flowers that I have added are foxgloves. I purchased several plants that are already in bloom. But I also added some seeds that will grow this year and produce flowers next year.
Here is a list of the plants that I’ve incorporated into the Kitchen Garden:
Herbs:
- Basil
- Chives
- Cilantro
- Sage
- Oregano
- Mint
- Lavender
- Feverfew
- Borage
- Bee Balm
- Lemon Verbena
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Dill
Flowers:
- Cosmos
- Foxglove
- Zinnia
- Sweet William
- Black-eyed Susans
- Snap Dragons
- Sunflowers
- Marigolds
- Oriental Poppy
- Speedwell
- Coneflower
- Frilly Daisy
There are a few plants that I chose not to plant in the new garden. I love lemon balm but it spreads so prolifically that I did not want to worry about it in the new garden. I don’t know if we will ever be able to completely eliminate it from the old herb bed. Another plant I am choosing to avoid is Hollyhock. Again, once it gets going, it’s difficult to eradicate and it just takes up a lot of space. In the right setting, it would be beautiful to have, but not in a 12 X 30 foot garden.
Some other possible problems to be aware of…mint spreads like wildfire and so I chose to plant it in a very large container in the garden. Hopefully this will keep it contained. Oregano also reseeds easily, however, the bees like the flowers so much and I tend to use the flower stalks as filler in my bouquets, so spreading has never been an issue for me.
Lessons from the new Kitchen Garden…
Be Patient
It takes a lot of work to create a new garden area from scratch. You want to make sure that you do the basics first such as clearing the weeds and creating the beds. Setting the stage for your garden will give you more success than if you just started planting. So amend your soil, build your raised bed, remove all obstacles to creating a new garden area.
Start with a Plan
Once your beds are ready to go, plan them out before planting. If you just put things in without a plan you could end up with a mess. Plan your beds for height, bloom time and ease of maintenance. No one wants a jumbled mess that you will just give up on.
Start by drawing your design out on paper. Draw the plants based on their full size. You will be tempted to plant too close together if you don’t account for their full size. As you can see in my photos, I left plenty of growing room for the flowers and herbs to fill in and spread. Although it looks a little bare for now, eventually the plants will fill in and the open space will be minimal.
Give it Time
When you start from scratch, your plants will be small or non-existent if using seeds. My old herb bed was years in the making. The pleasure that it brings me now, did not happen at first. Your new garden area will take time to grow and fill in. You might have to move things around over time. You might decide to change things out or remove some plants all-together. Just be patient with the process.
Work in Stages
You might not be able to create the whole garden from start to finish at one time. It’s okay to start small and expand over time. Or do one major project at a time. We started first by removing all the debris, then creating the beds and finally adding in the plants.
So now that I have my new Kitchen Garden what am I doing with the old one? Eventually, it will be turned into another vegetable bed. The operative word is eventually. My husband doesn’t know it yet but I’m not letting go until my new herb bed has filled in and the plants are providing me with the flowers, leaves and fragrance that I love about my herb bed. The herbs and flowers have a ways to go before they are full and lush. As for the flowers, I plan to continue growing some sunflowers in the old vegetable garden. I want to make sure that I have enough for cutting, for the birds and to share with my chickens.
The Kitchen Garden started because of a disaster. As I stood on my deck that day and watched the cedar tumble, I had no idea that it would become something so wonderful. Creating something beautiful from the remains took a lot of hard work. But it was so worth it. It is still a work in progress. Eventually, I want to add a little white picket fence around the garden and maybe even an archway at the entrance. But for now I’m just enjoying actually having the plants in the ground.
What about you? Do you have a place to include a Kitchen Garden in your yard? Even a few pots on your patio can add fragrance, beauty and great tasting produce.