There is a deep connection between a kitchen and a garden. While you cook and eat food in your kitchen, you grow flowers and plants in greens and entertain your guests. Both places are essential to the life of a home, as they stand out for their warmth and nourishing nature. They welcome family and friends with open arms to relax and have a hearty conversation. These are two critical places where people come together to create and enjoy the good things in life. Hence, it pays to take good care of these areas.
For kitchens, you know that a bit of regular care and maintenance can be enough. Giving them a makeover when the time feels right is not a bad idea. For example, daily grind can take this room’s sheen away too soon. If you cannot refurbish the whole space, don’t bother. Minor upgrades can also help. For example, the sink area may look rundown after a while. You can change its low energy by gifting it a new sink. It can be any style or size based on your desire. Do you think a farmhouse bowl for a vintage look will be a great addition? You can get that to transform the whole tired vibe and redefine its ambiance.
In the case of the gardens, you can make them more efficient by adding a mix of ornamental and vegetable plants. When you do this, the space transforms into a vision of beauty by being double time more valuable to your life. How do you achieve this? Kitchen décor ideas are abundant, but the experience of creating a potager or kitchen garden that plays with all your senses can be fun navigating. So, let’s dig into some ideas.
Size of the plot
The first thing that can get you curious in this context can be the garden size required for this specific purpose. While you may already be nervous, the good news is even a tiny portion of your existing garden can be good to start with and explore. If you imagined excavating the whole yard, you could now relax. This process has to be enjoyable and not tiring. Anyway, collect pots, containers, and boxes for planting the vegetables. Place them strategically across the garden beds to add height to the landscape. Also, adjusting them to the sunlight during seasonal changes will be mandatory. Those who don’t have garden space don’t need to worry as this idea may still work if they have a patio or balcony in the house.
Location of the plants
The area near the kitchen door can be the best place to install a potager. Still, you have to account for climate and the overall environment. You cannot plant them in a spot that doesn’t get enough sunlight. Vegetables require direct exposure to the sun every day for more than 6 hours. Due to this, if you have to keep them away from your house, don’t hesitate. After all, you want them to grow and be full of fresh produce. Make sure you can water them easily. Else, peak summertime will be a challenge.
Choice of edibles
Lettuces, Swiss chard, and Tuscan kale – all are unique varieties in themselves. Hence, you don’t have to contemplate much before adding them. If you need some easy options, including cayenne peppers, cherry tomatoes, and tiny eggplants will be good. There are more suitable options if you wish to dig deeper into this idea. Still, it is better to start small and then increase the capacity. Some homeowners enjoy toying with the concept of themed gardens, such as spaghetti gardens, cocktail gardens, etc. While the previous one is about adding tomatoes and basil, the latter may feature varieties like rosemary and mint. Aren’t you already getting the intoxicating smell of these?
A mix of ornamental plants
A kitchen garden can accommodate both perennial and annual flower options. If you decide to feature both, your choices will extend to lavender, roses, salvia, black-eyed Susans, coneflowers, nasturtiums, and pansies. Some perennials can attract pollinators like butterflies, bees, and more. That means you can also have some wildlife experience at your property. Anyway, ornamental plants bring texture, scent, and color. If you are a true fan of all this, you would want to have sunflowers, cosmos, zinnia, asters, larkspur, and dahlias.
Dedicated spaces
Expert gardeners suggest enclosing the potager with raised beds, boxwood hedges, or fencing. It is necessary to ensure this from the point of view of maintenance. At the same time, garden rooms look intimate, protected, and safe. You can invite your guests into those spaces to kick-start friendly conversations. In this context, having a proper path in the garden area can be helpful. It will make your harvesting and weeding tasks easy. Make sure that these paths are adequately wide, allowing you to work with your plants without disturbing other growths or the soil. In essence, you should not struggle while managing your gardening job.
Focal points
As mentioned earlier, kitchen gardens don’t need much space. It also implies that if it doesn’t offer much surface area, you may want to plant herbs, vegetables, and flowers that grow upward. In this area, structures like arbors and trellises can come in handy. You can think of adding items like pattypan squashes, nasturtiums, rambling roses, heirloom scarlet runners, etc. One more thing deserves attention here. You don’t have to grow vegetables and ornamental plants separately. Instead, they look most beautiful while growing together.
Does this whole gardening idea feel like a challenge? While it may appear so at the outset, you don’t have to worry about anything. Any new or seasoned gardener has to learn to experiment to see nature come into its full bloom. Some efforts may fail in this journey, but that’s okay. Imagine the scenario where your garden smiles brightly with all the flowers and buds. You cannot afford to miss experiencing this just because you fear what if things don’t work out. Give yourself a chance, your garden a chance. Ultimately, you will be the happiest person to witness the glory.
