Potager Gardening - It's Complicated

Okay. I know what you're thinking. The garden depicted in 'It's Complicated' is too Hollywood...it's an impossible dream. But I think the movie`s portrayal of the `ultimate`kitchen garden has done a wonderful thing. It's brought attention to Potager Gardening. Meryl Streep`s fictional garden layout is beautifully arranged and, although the vegetables are wrong for the season, it can be reproduced (to some extent) with effort.

Beds don’t have to be square or rectangular. Vegetables grow just as happily in round, crescent, triangular or long, thin, snaking plots. Whatever shape you choose, you should be able to reach the centre from the path without treading on soil, as this compacts it, making it difficult for roots to grow. A square bed shouldn’t be more than 4ft across. A rule of thumb is to create a bed where you can stretch to the centre comfortably, regardless of its shape. Group them attractively, in anything from a formal grid to semicircular beds around a garden feature. A design will add character.