Garden Design
Photo by Ali Kaukas / The Complete Kitchen Garden
Mastering the art of growing food can be simple and satisfying, when you have the right design to fit your landscape. Let me help you design a kitchen garden for you to enjoy fresh from the garden food – all year round!
With over 30 years experience growing and designing classic kitchen gardens, I will help you renovate an old garden or design new.
Tel: 802. 362. 3931 ellen@ellenogden.com
Client list and portfolio available upon request. I can work long distance with photographs and do not require a site visit.
Consultation and Design: 1 hour: $75 / 2 hours: $100.
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A true kitchen garden goes beyond the practical straight rows of a vegetable garden, to include herbs, flowers and vegetables planted with an artful eye.
Here is my six step strategy:
1 THE SITE: Pick a kitchen garden site with good southern exposure, and then consider all the views both inside and outside the house. Picture in your mind how a garden could fit into your landscape and the natural routine of your day. Would you enjoy looking down on the garden from the kitchen window?
2 GARDEN BEDS: Determine if you prefer a raised bed, or one that is flush with the ground. Square and rectangular shapes are easier to plant than round. Garden beds should be no wider than your arm can reach to avoid stepping into the center of the beds, preferably about 3 feet.
3 GARDEN PATHS: Paths hold the design together and establish the character of the kitchen garden. Set the paths between the garden beds in a practical design that allows enough room to turn the wheelbarrow, and easy movement. The main garden paths are ideally 3 to 4 feet wide, while auxiliary paths can, just enough for a stepping-stone to get into the beds for weeding. Plan your paths for easy access to the tool shed and compost pile.
4 BOUNDARIES: A garden wall around the perimeter of the kitchen garden creates a transition between the garden and the lawn. Consider a low stonewall, a boxwood hedge, or rustic split rail fence. Consider the type of fence or border that fits your own garden style, and how essential it is to serve as a barrier to rabbits and other small animals, or for privacy.
5 PLANT MATERIALS: Create a plan that involves rotating crops each year to build the soil and enhance the nutrients that the plants receive. Each spring and fall, build the soil with compost and other amendments. Select plant varieties that you cannot buy at the market, with exceptional flavor and color.
6 ADD PERSONAL TOUCHES: Include benches for relaxing, tables for eating, a trellis for arbors and garden art that makes you smile. Remember to have fun in your garden and enjoy the beauty and the magic that happens when you connect with the food you grow and your edible landscape.
Ellen's Salad Garden
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In my new book you will find 15 kitchen garden designs plus 100 seasonally inspired recipes. Gorgeous full color illustrations and over 300 photographs to help you design and plant the kitchen garden of your dreams. Price: $24.95. Order direct for an autographed copy. Shipped the same day.
