How to Design a Potager Garden

What is a potager garden?

A potager is an ornamental kitchen garden, where vegetables and herbs are grown. Potager gardening originates from France and has evolved over many centuries – the name ‘potager’ arose from having a kitchen garden to gather the ingredients for soup, or ‘potage’.

In mediaeval times the gardens of monasteries became more varied and decorative, combining many herbs used for medicinal as well as culinary purposes, along with vegetables and fruit, often in a formal layout inspired by religious symbols. During the Renaissance, the period of cultural and artistic development from the 15th to early 17th centuries, French gardens became immensely elaborate and with intricate, symmetrical designs. A marvellous example of a Renaissance potager still exists and is open to visitors at the Chateau Villandry in the Loire Valley.

English-style gardens of the same period had formal designs known as ‘knot’ gardens, with low hedges edging a symmetrical layout of beds, though often growing ornamental rather than edible plants. By contrast, a traditional English cottage garden mixed flowers and edibles, but in a cheerful informal medley.

A potager or ornamental kitchen garden is an attractive and low-maintenance great way to grow vegetables and other edible plants. Potagers are perfect for small gardens as they look beautiful all year round, but they also work in larger gardens, where they make a cosy and sheltered space to enjoy.

Accessibility is a useful benefit of potager gardens as beds are divided by paths which can be made to a suitable width and surface for wheelchair users. Making raised beds is an option, too, as these are easier to use for those with limited mobility.
Potager