New potager progress here, too! So excited!

14 years ago

I am so excited that I am finally making some substantive progress on my potager. I just had to post here because I think everyone else in my life just thinks I'm a little nuts. No one seems to even know what a potager is!

I posted this picture on another thread. It's sorta the 'before' picture (although it's after I cultivated and marked out my plans in the dirt). I plan to paint the building you see a cottage-y green. I have shutters and I think I'm going to paint that window box black (and actually fasten it under the window! It's just propped up there at the moment).

Here's the space from early this afternoon as I was working on the back right bed and retaining wall. The paths are very dirty so it's hard to see, but I used fieldstone steppers. I plan to plant in the cracks. I wintersowed creeping thyme, but due to a mishap, don't have much. Any suggestions for what to plant there? I just love the "Potting Shed" sign that I found at an antique store. I plan to put that up above the window. I also have two old wooden ladders that will serve as trellises on either side of the building. That's an Altisimmo climbing rose to the right.

And here is a different angle, a little later in the day as I started the second of four beds. As you can see, I put cardboard in the bottom. You can ignore the random extra stone I have laying around (like the small rocks in the center of the circle I made of brick). It's a work in progress, to say the least!

Anyway, I am so excited! I just had to share with someone. I can't wait to get the beds finished, filled and planted! I won't bore you with anymore details.

Thanks for reading and looking!

Lisa

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Comments (12)

nycynthias
14 years ago
Lisa, it looks so lovely! I really, really like the stacked stone. Gonna be perfect for drainage, in addition to looking awesome.
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lavender_lass
14 years ago
Lisa- That is just going to be an incredible garden! It looks like the kind of New England garden you would expect to see on This Old House...just beautiful. I can't wait to see what it looks like when you get it planted!

In between the stones, I think thyme would look nice. My mom's favorite is lemon thyme since it smells so nice, but I'm not sure how tall it gets. Keep posting pictures :)
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Thanks for all the help so far! Here's the progress!
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Kevin, If I have to be honest, I'm not too educated on the soil matters. I've learned a lot in the past few years and it is really about the time to tackle the soil part. I have a feeling that it'll be a huge improvement. I'd show you the whole plant, but I'd a tad embarrassed. This and one of the bell peppers got butchered by a flock of some sort of tiny green caterpillars. Their leaves look like strainers. But surprisingly enough the plants don't seem to care that much. I took care of the bug issue and they're fine. What I find very interesting about peppers in general is that my plants differ in sizes quite a bit. As in, I have two bell pepper plants that ave received the same care, but one is twice as tall as the other. And the little one for some reason is putting out better looking pods. Go figure what's up with that!
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I have had septic tanks for the last 16 years. I have always planted things all around but not on top of them. Still need to get in there now and then. Have trees right next to the field with no problem. HOWEVER I am sure there are lots of people who will say that you should absolutely not do that. I still don't think that I would plant any food crops right around that area, only non-invasive ornamentals such as bulbs, annuals and such. They are not likely to send roots so deep down as to interfere with the function of the tank or field.
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Red - I haven't gotten anywhere on the baskets scenario yet! In fact - I'm embarassed to admit it but I actually forgot about them. I should probably order my Tea Stain swatch this wk. I think that it will look really nice w/ all of the new colors. I'm also embarassed to admit that I am repainting the LR in BM Strathmore Manor tom. - already have my gallon and supplies! It's very close to the current BT but more on the brown side. I'm moving the green curtains to the kitchen (which I am painting black - crazy - I know - but you'll see eventually). I finished painting the office BM Jonesboro Cream yesterday and the center hall BM Porcelain Ivory and the ceiling SW Caviar (black) 2 wknds ago. Saturday when someone bought the green velvet RH pillow covers out from under me on E-bay, I went to RH and ended up getting a bunch of pillow covers in the Sand and Lava colorways. Looks really, really nice. I just wish I were able to afford some of the silk curtains in the cream/ sand line because they look so good w/ all of the colors. All of the colors together almost looks like a warm sepia toned picture. Pics to follow in a few days or so!
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Comments (46)
1. Your house has great bones. It would look beautiful in any color. I'm advocating preserving the brick, though, because using that brick color was integral to the design of the house, is more appropriate for the era, and also because you can't get that brick anymore. It's historic & perhaps even rare. It's a golden color with a lot of depth & character, looks good no matter what the season, has a natural earthiness to it, and makes the house fit in with the land. And when the sun shines on it, it exudes a warm glow that's just so homey and lovely. 2. The Great Painted Brick Debate: caroleoh brings up a controversial post from last year about a house with gorgeous brick that the owner wanted to paint. The issues with that house were different though. The brick was only on the front, with vinyl siding on the rest of the house. The house looked nice...from one angle. The house looked disjointed from all other views. Also, the windows on that house were awful: unattractive vinyl windows, placed badly too (a lot of tiny windows on a massive facade). The owner especially didn't like how the windows were so prominent. The dark brick, though lovely, just made the bad windows jump out at you. She wanted to paint the entire house a soft, light color to unify the sides and downplay the ugly windows. She did, and it worked. There was a lot of heated argument about painting that brick, though. It was beautiful brick, but it's like the builder tried to cut costs elsewhere by using lots of vinyl, and the house ended up looking awkward for it. That pretty brick juxtaposed with all that vinyl didn't work. 3. Your example, snagd, is gorgeous. Your house could probably wear those colors & accessories very well, and I really can understand why you'd want to "update" the look of the house. In lots of cases, that works for the better. But I feel strongly that pretty old houses like yours are a dying breed. People "update" them or tear them down merely because of fashion. Here you have this exquisite historical home with authentic colors and design, all of which are still fabulous & beautiful. But you want something else, and want to make superficial changes that will destroy the historic character of the home, and perhaps the neighborhood too. (I'm saying all this without anger, btw, just trying to present a reasonable case for historic preservation.) Besides, if you clean the brick instead of painting it, you'll have more $$$ for the interior & landscaping :)
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t-bird
14 years ago
Looking gorgeous!

Wow - such a great use of the stones - looks so wonderful, I want to walk those paths!
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lisa33
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks so much for the kind words! It's both complete torture and a blast building this. It's very hard work but very gratifying. Here's today's progress:

{{gwi:684163}}

I'm having compost delivered tomorrow so I can fill the two completed beds before I build the last two. Woo hoo!

I have given very little specific thought as to what I want to plant in the beds. Definitely lots of herbs, tomatoes, beans, maybe peppers. Lettuce and spinach in the cool seasons. I'd love suggestions on what to plant and how to organize it. I think I'd like to put a couple of obelisks in the two beds closest to the building. It has been a very, very long time since I've had a dedicated space for vegetables and herbs, so recommendations would be really appreciated.

Thanks again!

Lisa
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t-bird
14 years ago
Lisa - those are lovely!

are you using any adhesive with the beds, or just stacking them?

Also - I'd like to get some huge quantities of topsoil/manure when I do my beds....any advice on how to source suppliers?

Thanks!
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gwenb
14 years ago
Holy moly,this is nice! No, not boring me at all!

If I wanted to get some of that flat rock, exactly what would I ask for? I really really like it.

Can't wait to see more pics as you go along. And of course, of the finished potager filled with plants!
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lulabellesview
14 years ago
Lisa - your design is lovely and I'm so impressed with your hardscape abilities!! Great job.

Love the potting shed sign too.
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nycynthias
14 years ago
Woweeee, this just keeps getting prettier! Way to go, Lisa!!

t-bird, my local stoneyard is a great source for screened topsoil, though not manure. They even sell compost, not that I buy it from them.

gwenb, I sourced stone by looking up gravel/stone yards in my area--Google was semi-helpful, but I had to sift through a lot of unrelated results. So I used the old-school method: phone book ;) When purchasing flattish stones like this, you would ask for irregular pavers, and you can specify the thickness within a range (2-4" for instance). In my region, most of them are bluestone (which looks to be what Lisa is using as well), but in other areas they might be flagstone, sandstone, etc. Tons of variety out there!
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ali-b
14 years ago
What a fantastic looking plot! It will look good even just sitting there with nothing in it. The flagstone pathway between is a great idea too. When I first looked I assumed you were building on top of an existing patio then I re-looked at the before picture. Nope, great work.
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lisa33
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks so much, everyone! I have now finished three beds and have started on the fourth. I have a male friend coming over this afternoon to help fill two of the beds (I filled one by carrying 5 gallon buckets of wet compost--ouch!).

The stone is dry-stacked. What I got is thin wallstone. The reason I went with thin is that I wanted to be able to easily carry the stone myself. Also, I wanted the overall wall to be as thin as possible because the stone relative to the outside dimension of the beds eats up planting space. I got it from a local quarry this time, but I got it at a stone yard when I did the retaining wall in front of my house. If you have patience and determination, this is totally doable. It's like a big 3D puzzle.

As far as the material to fill the beds, I ended up ordering it from a local garden center run by an agricultural college. However, the head horticulturist at my favorite big commercial garden center also recommended another private supplier. I was really surprised how willing many of the people at the garden centers were to recommend options other than what was available to buy at their business. I'd go to some good garden centers and ask for recommendations.

Thanks again...your nice words are helping to keep me going.

Lisa
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chickadeemelrose
14 years ago
Hi!

Beautiful work. You must be so happy with what you've done, it's gorgeous. It is such hard work, but when you get to sit in your new potager it will be worth it!

About planting between the stones - two other options that are used for that are woolly thyme and mother-of-thyme.

Also - I am in the process of filling some of my beds, and I just finished a little bitty sitting area (5 x 5). I found two used, old fashioned metal garden chairs, which I can paint, and I sat in one today to survey my tiny potager. It was so great to have a seat there to do that.
I highly recommend it!

Enjoy your beautiful space! :)

Donna
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robynscottdesigns
14 years ago
THIS IS AWESOME! The photographs are very inspirational!
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New potager progress here, too! So excited!

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New potager progress here, too! So excited!

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