Yesterday was National Gardening Day, so I couldn’t miss that wonderful opportunity to share another wonderful gardening book review and giveaway with you today. You know I love growing flowers and herbs, but for the last few years, I’ve been wanting to grow more edibles and have Googled How to grow ornamental and edible plants together many times over the last year or so, so imagine my delight when I received the opportunity to review garden designer Linda Vater’s newest book that teaches us how to pull this gardening style off. Read on to learn more about the book and enter the giveaway.
Grow ornamental and edible plants together
My Thanks to
Quarto Knows Publishing for the complimentary book highlighted in today's post
and for hosting our giveaway. No other compensation given. All opinions and
love of books are my own.
About The Elegant and Edible Garden: Design a Dream Kitchen Garden to Fit Your Personality, Desires, and Lifestyle, by Linda Vater Published: April 12, 2022- Cool Springs Press
“Stylish and
celebratory, The Elegant and Edible Garden takes food growing to a higher plane,
presenting a vision for creating a garden space where food and flowers grow
side by side. You’ll flatten the learning curve for designing a beautiful,
edible garden by sharing common-sense tips and inspiration and ideas from
Linda’s own personal experience of starting a garden from scratch, while still
allowing your style and personality to shine.”
The Elegant
and Edible Garden is a vision of the absolute best things
a garden can offer:
- Food
- Beauty
- Connection
- Relaxing Space
Linda wants
to show us how to create a garden that rejoices in seasonality while still
allowing our style and personality to shine.
What is your Garden Style?
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Courtesy: The Elegant and Edible Garden Book |
I’d love to walk
out of my front door and see this lush garden look! I’m an informal gardener,
loving a laid- cottage vibe where plants are lush and allowed to grow to their
fullest potential before I do anything to stop them. That doesn’t bode well for
a traditional vegetable garden.
Since picking up this book, I’ve learned that I’ll have to let go of some of my laid-back tendencies, so that I can add a more formal framework to my garden if I want food and flowers to peacefully co-exist in what is known as a Potager garden.
What is a Potager Garden?
A Potager
garden is both lovely to look at and productive. A garden space where flowers
and food grow side by side in harmony. A Potager garden can also double your
outdoor living area, it’s also perfect for entertaining family and friends.
That sounds ideal to me and since the author of this book also hosts The Potager Blog (@potagerblog), I’m confident Linda Vater is just the teacher I need for this garden project and how to pick the right spot for my garden and even better, how to make it work with my home's overall look. Let’s take a closer look at what you’ll learn in The Elegant and Edible Garden Book.
Topics Covered:
- How to grow flowers, fruit, veggies, and herbs together en masse
- The function of symmetry in a potager garden
- Ways to create visual harmony and match the style of garden to its surroundings
- Tips for blending your family’s needs and lifestyle into the garden
- Advice on how to utilize focal points and garden ornaments in your garden’s layout
- The importance of rhythm, repetition, and harmony in potager design
- How to position garden structures with practicality and purpose in mind
- Where to put your potager for not just convenience but also to create a destination
- Best practices for growing your beautiful new garden organically
I love that The Elegant and Edible Garden takes us through the steps to understand gardening fundementals, so that no matter where you garden, you'll have the knowledge needed to succeed. The books are set up in Parts with chapters diving deeper into each subject in that part.
Part 1: Aspiration
Chapter One: Beauty and Sensual Appeal (decide what we want)
Chapter Two: Garden Style and Setting ( make it your own)
Then, the author moves us to Part two with four chapters (I'll spend alot of time in this section), Part three has three chapters that include chapters on garden stewardship, lifetstlye and wellness, community and seasonal celebration.
Throughout all of this, you'll find gorgeous photographs and designs that showcase how lush and wonderful ornamental and edible plants can look together.
Tips on How to Set up and edible garden:
- Basil and Tomatoes
- Nasturtiums and Cabbage or Broccoli
- Sunflowers and Pole Beans or Cucumbers
- Petunias and Asparagus
- Carrots and Sage
My Thoughts:
This book is
a thing of beauty. From the lovely feel of the cover with elegant, embossed
title, to the gorgeous images within the pages, The Elegant and Edible Garden
Book by Linda Vater is a coffee table book, one you’ll want your guests to pick
up and flip through.
This book
has a charming, almost storybook appeal, inviting you to dream of gardening in
these lush gardens and then, once you’ve got your fill of ideas and inspiration,
there’s step by step instructions on what to do and how to do it.
In the books introduction, Linda says she had
imposter syndrome when authoring this book because she’s had no formal garden
training. No degree in landscape architecture, garden design or horticultural schooling
of any sort. She readily admits to not even being a master gardener and that’s
when I knew Linda and I were going to get along just fine!
The Takeaway:
This book is
for all aspiring gardeners with or without a garden design degree. Bring your
love of nature and your desire to grow ornamental and edible plants
together and this book will help guide you to becoming the gardener you’ve
dreamed of being. I invite you to learn more about Linda Vater on her author
page at Quarto Publishing. You can purchase the book there as well. Be sure to
follow Linda on Instagram (@potagerblog) for a daily dose of garden goodness.
While you’re there, I’d love it if you’d follow me too! (@ismilefirst)
Win It:
Thanks to today’s sponsor, Quarto Knows Publishing, one lucky reader
will receive a hardbound copy of The Elegant and Edible Garden by Linda Vater.
Terms:
No
purchase is necessary to enter using the Rafflecopter form below. My WAHM Plan
is not responsible for prize fulfillment, sponsor is. Winners will be notified
by email used on entry form and have 48 hours to respond or
another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is not associated with nor
endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, or any other social channel.
Good luck!
Thanks for
reading my blog and entering my giveaways. I hope you find them helpful. If you’d
like more gardening help, just go to my Garden tab at the top of the
blog or click here.
Thanks!
Please share in comments: Are you interested in starting a Potager Garden this year?
What a lovely review and this type of gardening is so needed for those that want a working garden nestled in with the ornamental traditional plants we normally see in landscape designs in yards. I think this is a wonderful idea and will tell my friends about this book who live in HOA communities. It is a lovely way to have the best of both worlds.
ReplyDeleteHi Grace,
DeleteI agree! It really is a great way to have the best of both worlds, especially in HOA communities. Thanks for sharing!
Yes I am interested in implementing such a garden this year
ReplyDeleteHi Ky,
DeleteWonderful! I wish you great success with your garden this year!
Its a win win when it looks pretty and is edible
ReplyDeleteHi Joe,
DeleteMy thoughts exactly!
A Potager garden sounds lovely!
ReplyDeleteHi Antoinette,
DeleteI agree. The beauty and functionality really speak to me.
With food shortages upon us, this book couldn't be more critical for survival and the extras should go to neighbors or food pantries
ReplyDeleteHi Martha,
DeleteYou make a good point about being more self reliant by growing some of our own food. Plus, it tastes so much better than some store bought produce.
I already have a Potager Garden, but I'd love some tips and tricks. (and of course the pictures!)
ReplyDeleteHi Kathy,
DeleteThat's fantastic! I think you'll enjoy flipping through the designs in the book for additional inspiration.
I would love to! I have no artistic bones in my body, and my thumb is decidedly greyish green, but I always keep trying. Maybe this one will help me be more directed!
ReplyDeleteHi Katie,
DeleteLove your spririt. I keep trying new things in my garden as well and found so many ideas in this book!
I never knew this was called a Potager Garden and I love it! I have a small yard so I've been incorporating edibles into my landscapes for a few years--I'd love more tips on how to keep the curb appeal and make things a bit more tidy, this book looks full of ideas!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah,
DeleteThis book covers gardening for all sizes of yards and even covers container gardening. I have to work on keeping things neater in my front flower beds this year.
I am just getting into gardening and I would love to start a Potager Garden.
ReplyDeleteHi J Renee,
DeleteI think it's a great place to start. You'll be rewarded with a pretty and functional space.
I would love to start a Portager garden, looks wonderful. My first time hearing about them.
ReplyDeleteHi Melissa,
DeleteThis book will get you started on the right foot!
I love gardening. This looks like an interesting garden to start this year.
ReplyDeleteHi Ae,
DeleteI agree. I hope you have a great gardening season.
I love this idea!! It's always great to tend a garden of things that you will use, too! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Jamie,
DeleteI love that I can add edibles right beside my flowers.
I try to implement new gardening techniques and edible veggies, flowers, and fruits every year. This book seems as though it would be very helpful in share suggestive thoughts.
ReplyDeletei started gardening last year . i really like it
ReplyDeleteI only have a patio and am concentrating on pollenator plants and plants I can grow to sell/trade. I would like to do a yard like this one day though.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a terrific book. I very much do not have a green thumb so I am always in awe of those that do!
ReplyDeleteThis has so many awesome ideas! I need to check this out with my boys since they are excited about gardening this year.
ReplyDelete