{"id":9947,"date":"2020-06-05T14:56:14","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T14:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/?p=9947"},"modified":"2020-06-09T15:34:24","modified_gmt":"2020-06-09T15:34:24","slug":"kitchen-gardens-now-is-the-time-to-start-yours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/spring-summer-2020\/kitchen-gardens-now-is-the-time-to-start-yours\/","title":{"rendered":"Kitchen Gardens … Now is The Time to Start Yours"},"content":{"rendered":"

A<\/span>merica\u2019s passion for local produce has gone from fad to fashion to necessity. With the growing season upon us, starting a kitchen garden makes more sense now than ever before. Why not cut your time in the grocery store by picking your own at home? Plus you get the added benefit of the freshest and local vegetables!<\/p>\n

While some may think the buy fresh, buy local trend is something new, kitchen gardens were a necessity for hundreds of years until the emergence of supermarkets and worldwide shipping.<\/p>\n

A look back through history shows the kitchen garden was alive and well long before everyone jumped on the bandwagon. One of the most renowned kitchen gardens is located in France, The Chateau Villandry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Chateau Villandry kitchen garden. Photo: CWIProphoto.com<\/p><\/div>\n

The Chateau Villandry<\/h3>\n

Nestled in the Loire Valley, the 16th-century chateau enjoyed its own Renaissance in 1903 when a young, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania woman, Anne Coleman, fell in love with Spanish-born Joachim Carvallo. They met while they both were studying in France.<\/p>\n

The couple married, bought the chateau, and spent their lives restoring the palace and building the gardens.<\/p>\n

The famous walled, 32-acre garden of Queen Victory at Windsor Castle began to take shape in 1841. Known as Frogmore Gardens, the site provided the royal household with fruits, vegetables and flowers. Surrounded by a 9-foot wall, the worry was not about the deer. It was about the thieves who would steal the produce.<\/p>\n

And, remember World War I and II Victory Gardens? These morale boosters were started in many backyards and local parks to help ease the cost of groceries during the difficult economic times.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to have a castle or lots of land to start your garden. From clay pots of herbs on your windowsill to raised beds of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, you can do it too.<\/p>\n

At a loss where to begin? Of course, there are loads of videos and tips from garden centers, seed companies online.<\/p>\n

Feeling overwhelmed?<\/p>\n

If you need to be further inspired and wish you could have a garden consultant come over to help you, it\u2019s possible to have a virtual garden designer.<\/p>\n

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Kitchen garden designed by Ellen Ogden. Photo: Ellen Ogden<\/p><\/div>\n

Enter Ellen Ogden<\/a>, is the author of six books on kitchen garden design including The Complete Kitchen Garden<\/em><\/a>. She is a lecturer extraordinaire speaking at botanical gardens and garden clubs nationwide.<\/p>\n

Online design courses are offered on the EllenOgden.com website. Or you can contact her<\/a> for a personal design. Her consultation service is helpful is you already have a garden but need or want to change it up. Newbie gardeners will appreciate the guidance on how to get started from scratch.<\/p>\n

Here is first-hand advice from Ellen Ogden:<\/p>\n

Take a Bird\u2019s Eye View<\/em><\/h3>\n

Too often, gardeners plunk a raised bed in the front or side yard, fill it with soil, and call it a garden. I compare this approach to eating fast food: it\u2019s quick, it serves a purpose and it\u2019s relatively effortless. Yet does this type of garden really satisfy? A well-designed garden starts with a plan on paper first, then is transferred to the landscape.<\/em><\/p>\n

If this is your first garden, it may help to visualize your garden, like a bird looking down. Picture yourself in a favorite place in your backyard, for me, this is sitting on a bench under an old apple tree.<\/em><\/p>\n

Close your eyes, and rise above the tree line, as if you had wings. Look down and see the way your land looks from above, the way your house sits, how your property connects to your neighbors, and perhaps the topography of the larger landscape beyond if there are mountains or nearby streams, or sidewalks and streets.<\/em><\/p>\n

The best garden design integrates the whole landscape, taking into account the topography, the natural flow of the path from the driveway to the house, convenient sitting areas to relax, and of course the view.<\/em><\/p>\n

Vegetable gardens require full sun for most of the day, but try to minimize disturbance in your existing landscape, and collaborate with the natural contours, trees, and wild areas that support the whole ecosystem. This benefits everybody and is a reminder that while deer and rabbits may be a nuisance, sometimes these disturbances are temporary, and won\u2019t require a lot of high wire fencing.<\/em><\/p>\n

Start small, and grow it incrementally. Once you have a design on paper, sometimes it helps to consult a professional landscaper to share your ideas and explore other options.<\/em><\/p>\n

Think outside the box and look at a variety of designs before settling on one. Go beyond that raised bed, and create a beautiful kitchen garden that will give you long-lasting pleasure, and when that when you bring a freshly harvested salad to the table, you can proudly say, \u201cI grew this!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

To see more ideas for kitchen gardens, download the Kitchen Garden<\/a><\/p>\n

And what to do with your harvest bounty? Here are some ideas… Fresh, healthy and local!<\/p>\n

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(Clockwise from top left) My Nicoise from Vegan Family Meals<\/em>; Ellen Ogden designed garden from The Complete Kitchen Garden<\/em>; One Pot Vegetables from Vegan Family Meals<\/em> by Ann Gentry<\/p><\/div>\n

Recipes to Try:<\/h3>\n

Nicoise Salad<\/p>\n

Cucumber Dill Salad<\/p>\n

Stuffed Grilled Chicken<\/p>\n

One Pot Vegetables<\/p>\n

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