French Potager Garden

This weekend, I plan on FINALLY getting started with planting my veggie garden after a long, rainy few weeks. Last year, I planted my first small veggie garden, and I loved harvesting fresh tomatoes, green peppers, yellow squash, jalapeno peppers, and herbs through the summer season. This year, I want to design and plant a French potager (poh – ta - zhay) garden. Nothing huge and fancy, but just a small one since this is my first time trying this method.

Basically, a French potager garden is a decorative veggie/kitchen garden. Traditionally, it’s an informal, garden filled with veggies, edible and non-edible flowers, and herbs. Everything is arranged in rows or geometric shapes, and plants are chosen for their ornamental aspects as well as their use in the kitchen. Plants are planted closer together than the traditional garden, and usually, the garden has a focal point, such as a trellis or cone-shaped stand with a vine, a bird bath, or an arch.

The French potager garden is also planted by season. When one season of veggies has completed, another season of veggies is planted in their place. I’m not sure if I am going to get into this aspect or not this year, but edible pumpkins and decorative gourds sound good to me for the fall season. We’ll see.

Here are some pictures of various styles and sizes of the French potager garden. Some are the traditional, informal, cottage style garden, and others are more formal. 

I love the cone-shaped stands in this garden.

 www.518design.com

The simplicity of Michael Devine's garden is so cute! 

Michael Devine's Potager Garden in Country Living

I can imagine myself here in this larger version but still somewhat simple potager.

Found on Google Search- Lisa Hubbard

 

The piece de resistance...

The Potager Garden at Chateau de Villandry - Villandry, France

What I plant really depends on what I find at my local garden store, but ideally this is what I would like to have in my potager:

Heirloom Tomatoes- I’ve read that these taste wonderful and look beautiful. 

Green Bell Peppers and Jalapeno Peppers – They don’t look fancy, but fresh peppers taste so much better than store bought! 

Squash – Yellow squash or zucchini

Flowers – I’d like to plant flowers around the outside of the garden as well as a couple alternating rows in between the veggie plants. These will include flowers for cutting as well as ground cover.

Herbs – Dill, Basil, Oregano, Chives

Focal Point - A Vine on a Trellis - some sort of pretty flowering vine, such as clematis or morning glory.

Later, I will show you some before and after pictures of my newly planted, French potager garden. Hopefully, it will turn out like I envision, and I’ll be reaping a beautiful bounty of fresh veggies and herbs and cutting some beautiful flowers through the year. 

Until then.... Au Revoir! 

Happy Birthday to my Super Man! - May 12, 2011

Since he was a little boy, my hubby has always loved Superman. His Dad told me that he took Mike to the theater to watch the Superman movie, and Mike was on the edge of his seat the whole time, wide-eyed, and glued to the screen. Can you imagine his cute little face? 

From that time until now, Superman has always been his favorite superhero, and he has loved everything about him. He loves all of the movies, tv shows, t-shirts, memorabilia, and trivia, and everyone knows about it. Friends of ours even bought him a Superman Snuggie. I know… scary.

Mike may not have X-ray vision, be more powerful than a locomotive, or have the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but he has some superhero qualities of his own. He deeply loves me, his family, and friends unconditionally and will do anything in his power for us. He is always available when someone is in need. He runs faster than the speed of light every morning to keep his well chiseled physique. Okay, maybe that last one is a bit of an exaggeration, but he is a superhero in my book!

 Me and My Super Man

Happy Birthday to my Sweetie, my Babycakes, my Super Man!!!! 

I Love You!!! 

Dear Mom,

I have many fond memories of watching and spending time with you. As a little girl, I remember you cooking kielbasa for supper (still one of my favorites!), and I remember you letting me sit on the crazy, vibrating washer as you did laundry. I remember watching you put makeup on and allowing me to put on a little lipstick, and I remember our expeditions to the thrift stores to find some “new” clothes.

 Mom and Me

You have always been my inspiration and example. You have strived to be a Godly woman. You took me to church, and you showed me through your everyday example how to read the Bible, pray, and live. Growing up, I remember seeing you sit in your chair and read your Bible early in the morning.  I didn’t know it then, but you were sparking my curiosity about spiritual things. As you fought and lived through breast cancer, I learned about keeping faith in God and never giving up. Through your perseverance and faith, and of course God's faithfulness, you, Dad, and I grew closer as a family.

 Me and Mom - College Years

Now you are still teaching me how to live, and you are always there for me even though we are in two different states. We still e-mail and talk on the phone about our daily lives, and you give me advice about life, faith, cooking, gardening, and whatever life throws at us.

Me, Mom, and Dad on their recent visit to PA

Thank you for always being there for me and for all you have done and will do. I love you and hope you have a wonderful Mothers Day!

 Mom's beautiful smile

 

Grandma's Motto

Hello Everyone and Welcome!

I don’t know about you, but it took me months to come up with the right title for my blog. I had so many ideas flooding through my mind that it was hard to pin down one that I was happy with. I knew that I did not want a mundane title like “My Blog,” or a long title like “Ponderings of a 30 year old Married Woman.” I wanted something simple and meaningful. As you will come to find out, I love all things French. So a French title was definitely on my list of ideas. Finally, I came up with C’est La Vie. For me, this phrase carries a lot of substance, and it is a perfect title that encompasses all the things I want to blog about.

C’est La Vie is a French phrase meaning “That is Life” or “Such is Life.” Usually, it is used when a difficulty arises, or when something happens that is out of our control. We might say, “That is Life,” that’s what happens in life, and we move on. As I was growing up, I remember hearing my French Canadian grandmother use this phrase every so often when she was talking about a difficult situation that she or someone else was going through. She’d smile and say, “C’est La Vie!” I didn’t know until I grew older exactly what this phrase meant or what Grandma meant by it. The phrase stuck with me, and I began to realize that it is an admirable viewpoint.

 Grandma and Me

I have gone through lots of difficulties and stressful situations in my life, and I have to say it’s hard to just smile and say, “C’est La Vie!” I’m a person who tends to worry and get emotionally charged about a difficult situation. However, sometimes just letting things go to work out on their own is the best thing to do. Why make things worse by constantly worrying, not getting sleep at night, and not eating, when there is Someone I know who is the Blessed Controller of all things, the Giver of Life, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?

He is “the Life.” He is the One who gives me love and strength to make it through the difficulties I face, and He is the one who cares about and works out every detail of my life with my best interests in mind.  So whenever I am going through a hard time, I can not only think of Grandma saying “C’est La Vie,”  but I can also think of my Savior who went through the greatest difficulty of all by giving His life for me so that I can have abundant, spiritual life. Maybe instead of saying, “C’est La Vie,” I can instead say, “Jesus est la Vie,” meaning “Jesus is Life.” 

My hope is that you can come to a place in your life where you can smile and say “C’est La Vie,” and my prayer is that you can also come to a place where you can say “Jesus est la Vie,” “Jesus Is Life.”