Don’t segregate, integrate!

I’m guilty of it — and bets are you are too. I segregate my plants. Why? I’m not sure, but I have a feeling it’s probably the same reason why my mother did it, her mother did it, and so on. Old habits die hard, and sometimes we do things, only because we’ve never considered an alternative.

Carrots, corn, cauliflower and all the other vegetables you eat belong in the vegetable garden. Why? BECAUSE! Not only do they belong in the vegetable garden, but it is recommended that you put your vegetable garden AS FAR away from the house as possible, in an effort to maximize inconvenience. Now flowers belong *very* close to the house. Why? Because you don’t eat flowers, and that’s just the way it is! Trust me on this, it is best not to ask questions.

Now this whole “don’t vegetables flower too” argument that you always pull — just stop it. YOU KNOW THAT VEGETABLES AND FLOWERS ARE DIFFERENT! They belong segregated!!!

– or do they ? –

Welcome to my brain. The left and right side of my brain have been arguing over flower and vegetable placement for two years now. Why? It’s this whole wild-wacky permaculture thing I’ve been reading about. This “permaculture” thing/idea/concept recommends that one put regularly used herbs and vegetables close to the kitchen. Why? Efficiency…

It isn’t just permaculture that has influenced my opinion on garden aesthetics and layout, but also the French potager. Le potager simply means a vegetable garden. Upon further reading and research, you’ll find that many French potagers integrate their gardens by planting flowers and vegetables in one garden! That’s right, flower and vegetables side by side — integrated — one for all — all for one :-)

Take a moment, and study these pictures:

Example French potager

Another example of a potager

Find anything striking about these photos? Look at the first photo closely, and see if you can identify the swiss chard. See it? Look very very closely. What about dahlias? If you can’t locate the dahlias, you should probably have your eyesight checked :-) The dahlias, marigolds and white cosmos add an aesthetic appeal to this picture, and make the garden extremely inviting.

This is my tangent this year. I’m doing my best to abandon the segregated, “YOU’RE A VEGETABLE AND YOU BELONG IN THE BACK OF THE GARDEN”, and move more towards an aesthetically appealing design that promotes the integration of many different types of plants. Also, I’m doing what I can to move herbs, and frequently used vegetables closer to the house. Lets face it, swiss chards and artichokes are attractive! Why have them stuck all the way in the back of the garden where no one can see them?

My potager

My garden isn’t up and running in full bloom, but this photo will give you a sense of the direction I’m going. In this bed, you’ll find dahlias, marigolds (to be planted), onions, garlic and shallots. Best of all, this bed is relatively close to the house! I’m excited to see the explosion of color in this bed once the plants mature.

There is room for the segregated garden, and for many, ornamentals flowers may seem unnecessary. If that’s you — that okay — but if you’re someone who likes the sight of ornamental plants that you don’t plan on eating — INTEGRATE! Let’s face it, aesthetics are important.

Enjoy ~

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Posted by Boe on April 10th, 2007 under Garden Planning

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