A kitchen garden, or what the French call a Potager garden, is an old tradition that dates back to the middle ages .  Potager gardens were planted to provide seasonal fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers and medicinal plants , with an ornamental design.  I have tried to plan, plant and work such a garden.     

I have always admired gardens that were beautiful and useful.  Gardens that could feed the gardner and her family.  Gardens that inspire the  cook to use the freshest ingredients.  Going out for a last bit of parsley, dill, cilantro, marjoram or thyme.  Flowers to decorate the table or add to the salad, or cake.   Herbs for soothing teas and ointments.  

When we decided to move from Berkeley, we had our eyes set on getting a bit of land.  Not a lot of land, we did not want to be far away from basic services and we are both rather squeamish when it comes to wild creatures.  Anyway, I did not want to fight deer and other such pests over my vegetables.  

When we moved to Santa Rosa, the house we bought came with a bit of land. In that land, the previous owner had built ten raised beds and planted a variety of fruit trees.  The perfect opportunity to see how much of our own food we could grow.  

We moved to the house in January and I have been slowly planting and working the garden.  Right now I have to say, the garden is at the peek.  I am a real novice gardner-- often times I don't even know the questions to ask.  But thanks to the soil and the California climate, I get lots of assistance.  

One of the most exciting aspects of gardening is learning how to see.  How you look at a plant.  Where is the main branch.  What to prune or clip. When to declare a plant dead and pull it out.  When is the melon ready? How did the zucshinni or cucumber get so big, it was not there yesterday?

I have a natural comfort with cities.  I lived in cities, my education was about cities and my work life was in the service of cities.  You can drop me in any major or midsize US city and I can quickly figure out the development patterns.  I see the multiple layers of cities without batting an eye.  I thought that my ability to see all the things I see in cities would serve me in the garden.  

To my dismay, looking at nature involves a whole different way of seeing. My skill set is limited.  I miss so much.   I literally can sit in the middle of the garden and stare at a plant, one single plant, and each time learn something different, find something new.  It's as if a whole other side of my brain is being engaged.  A side that was dormant for fifty four years.  

I envy people who started gardening young, who had about twenty or thirty cycles of seasons.  But yet, there is something about the novelty, the new experience, that makes it exciting every day.  A whole new way of what we think is obvious.   

So, for your enjoyment, I put together a little slide show so that you can see what I have been growing.  Next, I will work up a video of what I have cooked with my kitchen garden bounty.