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Image Source: SbytovaMN/Getty ImagesFor many chefs, the idea of a kitchen garden is truly enchanting, particularly when it's given the chic French name: potager (pronounced po-tuh-jay). Unlike a sprawling vegetable patch or an untamed backyard, the potager garden offers a neat and refined space.
Typically located near the kitchen, a potager garden invites daily care and harvesting. While it may seem like something only fitting for a French estate, you can build one in a suburban yard or even a compact city garden. We consulted two gardeners who constructed potager gardens from the ground up, and they shared their valuable insights for bringing your potager vision to life.
Choose the Ideal Location for Your Potager
Sunlight is essential for growing food, so pick a spot that gets at least six hours of sunlight each day. In the northern hemisphere, place your garden on the south side of buildings or tall structures for the best sun exposure.
“Along with a location that gets ample sunlight, you’ll also want it to be easily accessible and close to the kitchen,” advises Shavonda Gardner, an interior designer who turned her gardening passion into a dedicated Instagram account for her garden @thecottagebungalowpotager.
Plan with Balance and Symmetry
In a potager garden, the design and spatial arrangement are crucial. “A French potager is anything but random. It’s a simple kitchen garden, but created with purpose,” says Gardner. “For mine, I chose symmetrical redwood garden boxes, gravel paths, and a central fountain as a focal point.”
Gardner also suggests browsing through classic potager garden images to inspire a plan that suits your unique style and objectives.
Construct or Purchase Raised Beds
Gardner, along with many gardening experts, recommends planting vegetables in raised beds for better control over growing conditions. Nicole Burke elaborates in her book Kitchen Garden Revival, saying, “While it's possible to garden directly in the ground, it may take years to properly amend a row of soil. Raised beds, however, give you perfect starting conditions that you can easily maintain.”
However, Cathy Poshusta, the author behind the blog The Grit & Polish, whose stunning vegetable garden once graced the cover of Better Homes & Gardens’ Outdoor Living, shares, “I enjoy growing in raised beds for both the organization and beauty they provide, as well as the control over the soil.”
To enhance the functionality of their raised beds, Poshusta and her husband added cedar 2x4s along the top, creating a kneeling bench that makes weeding more comfortable. These additions also serve as extra seating for when they host guests.
Add Elegant Garden Features
Potager gardens often feature charming vertical elements such as trellises and tuteurs. “I swapped out my plain metal tomato cages for willow pyramids, and I love adding trellises for climbing plants like sweet peas and cucumbers,” shares Poshusta. Decorative cloches can also serve a similar function, adding height while protecting your crops from hungry animals. Gardner has a beautiful arbor with climbing roses that marks the entrance to her potager garden.
“A potager is all about beauty as much as it is about producing food,” notes Gardner. “Potager gardens blend vegetables with flowers, herbs, and fruits, growing them harmoniously in a visually stunning way,” Poshusta adds. “Leave it to the French to make a vegetable garden look this beautiful,” she says.
Beyond the plantings themselves, Gardner emphasizes, “A potager also incorporates design principles like symmetry and balance, creating a space that feels thoughtfully designed. You’ll never find haphazard rows or mounded hills like in a traditional production vegetable garden.”
Add a Variety of Herbs
“I especially love incorporating herbs in potager gardens,” says Poshusta, recommending thyme, oregano, sage, and chives for beginners. “They’re not only beautiful but also edible, which captures the essence of these French ‘soup pot’ gardens,” she explains. “And of course, lavender adds that oh-so-so French touch.”
Grow Easy-to-Maintain Crops
If you’re just starting out with gardening, opt for low-maintenance varieties in your first season. Poshusta recommends kale, swiss chard, cosmos, and zinnias, which are fairly hardy and can bloom all summer long.
Gardner recommends choosing low-maintenance or fast-growing vegetables like lettuces, radishes, beets, beans, cabbages, eggplant, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
Think About Installing a Drip Irrigation System
Avoid placing your potager garden too far from a water source, and ensure you have a reliable watering system, suggests Poshusta. “Drip irrigation is the best option, but even a simple sprinkler with a timer attached to your hose will do the job,” she adds.
“I often say that gardening is a lifelong journey,” remarks Poshusta. “Not only does the soil improve each year, but with time and patience, the gardener does as well.”
