Nicole Johnsey Burke - Kitchen Garden Revival: A modern guide to creating a stylish, small-scale, low-maintenance, edible garden

A Modern Guide to Creating a Stylish Small-Scale, Low-Maintenance Edible Garden

Nicole Johnsey Burke

A few things will happen before you finish reading this book.

First, if you dont already, youll start calling yourself a gardener. It might seem awkward at first (Ive been there) but, go ahead, take a moment, look in the mirror, and say these words out loud: I am a gardener. From now on, when you introduce yourself to others, type out your bio or profile, youll include gardener in your list of attributes. Deal?

Though this may not yet be the case, gardening is soon to become part of you, part of your identity, and definitely part of your whole and happy lifestyle. It will be a skill youre proud of, a hobby you enjoy, a gift you share with neighbors, friends, and family.

Beyond calling yourself a gardener, youll soon refer to a specific spot on your property as the kitchen garden. Youve got the patio, the front porch, maybe the lawn and the driveway. So, now, lets put kitchen garden on the map, too. Youre about to have a new special place, a getaway, an escape from reality. But good news: its right outside your back door.

Youre not just going to have a new bio and a new happy place, youll also gain a bigger appreciation for the place you call home. The unique aspects of your community, your seasons, and your weather will give you a greater appreciation for what your little plot of Earth can do. Youll discover the foods that grow perfectly where you liveand those that just wont. Youll see how your seasons are distinct and different. And all these things will make your town, your city, your community not just a place where you live, but a spot on Earth you belong to. As someone whos moved a lot, I know this as fact: It feels really good to belong somewhere.

And beyond appreciating your particular plot, youll soon start thinking of food as a wonder: nothing short of supernatural. Not something to avoid, not a calorie to count. After you watch a tiny seed become a huge basket full of delicious salad or a little plant become a giant bowl of soup, you wont be able to un-see it. And you wont want to. A carrot is about to become a unicorn to you, and its the very best feeling.

Lastly, this book will help you see that youre a change-maker, part of something bigger, someone doing real good in the world. From now on, when you hear talk of global warming or icecaps melting or food miles, when the news talks about local economic challenges or lack of natural resources, youll know youre doing your part to help and learning to do more. Youve got a tangible, doable plan right in front of you to start making change today.

How can I promise so much from one little gardening book?

Im just recounting my story, the stories of the hundreds of clients Ive served through Rooted Garden, and the thousands of people Ive taught online through Gardenary.

It was just a few years ago when I felt like a total fake calling myself a gardener (Id killed my fair share of plants). As a woman whos struggled with an eating disorder, Ive seen food as something to avoid or use in an unhealthy way. Married to a smart scientist obtaining degrees and experience, Ive moved more than five times in the last fifteen years and wondered how in the world each new place could ever feel like home. And, even though its important to me, I, too, still wonder if Im making any real, good difference in this world. But, its not an exaggeration for me to say, having my kitchen garden has been part of the answer to almost all of it.

And I know it will be for you, too.

So, now that you know how this story will end, lets begin.

A DEFINITION

Whats a Kitchen Garden and Why Its Time for a Revival

So, what exactly is a kitchen garden? Is it a garden inside the kitchen? (I get this question a lot).

Called kailyards in Scotland and known as potagers in France (sounds fancy, right?), a kitchen garden is a place closely connected with your kitchen and everyday life. Its a distinct area of your home and landscape where vegetables, fruits, and herbs are grown for culinary use.

A kitchen garden can be as small as a collection of garden boxes on the patio or deck or it can be as large as a formal stone garden that covers hundreds of square feet. No matter the size, the purpose is the same: a garden thats tended regularly and used frequently in everyday meals.

Its not a vegetable patch or homestead. Its much smaller and doesnt require nearly the amount of work those do. Unlike a farm, which is cleared all at once, planted all at once, and harvested (you guessed it) all at once, a kitchen garden is tended regularly. And different from row cropping or a big vegetable patch, a kitchen garden is a space for growing either a small sample of a wide variety of plants or a large amount of a small variety of plants. In other words, youre not going to avoid the grocery store entirely, but you will skip past certain items (which is a very good feeling, by the way).

Instead of a rambling field or an entire yard planted with vegetables, a kitchen garden is separate from the rest of the landscape and created to be a central feature. Its not something to tuck behind the garage and hide from neighbors. Its set up to be beautifulfront and center. Its a special centerpiece of your home life, a place to entertain and have guests, or just hang out with family.

At the very least, kitchen gardens can provide all the herbs youll need year-round (either cut fresh or dried and stored). Beyond that, kitchen gardens can yield most of the greens you and your family eat. And greater still, kitchen gardens can provide large amounts of beans, peppers, squash, cucumbers, and other fresh vegetables in the height of their season as well as opportunity for preserved foods for even the coldest winters.

The dictionary has its own definition of kitchen garden but after years of working in my garden and with hundreds of clients and students, heres mine: a kitchen garden is the missing piece in the pursuit of a whole and happy life.