Tuesday, July 31, 2007
The Kitchen Garden of Boschhoeve/ Forest Farm
During my holiday last June I went to Wolfheeze in the province of Gelderland, the Netherlands, to visit the Boschhoeve = Forest Farm, a plant nursery that boasts several large show gardens plus an ornamental kitchen garden aka potager. As I have my own ornamental kitchen garden it's not surprising that I am always interested to see what other kitchen gardens, ornamental or not, look like. This one was very pleasing to the eye. Come with me and I'll show you what this potager looks like!
The gates are open, always a good sign! Nice touch those old bins used as plant containers, very much in keeping with the ornamental kitchen garden theme.
There, the first thing you see as you enter the kitchen garden. Now let's have a good look round.
The ornamental part of this potager is pretty obvious here, but what about the kitchen thingy?
Ah yes, pretty and edible, a winner in my book!
Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Lots of contraptions, aren't there? What are they all used for and how are they made? Let's have a closer look.
Well, they are certainly creative here with old branches they've cut of trees and shrubs. Who knew there were so many fun things you could do with just some old wood and a bit of string?
This is a closer look at that box shaped contraption. It seems that they are growing pumpkins in it or should that be on it? Perhaps both?
There's a lot of box around, isn't there? Cut in all kinds of shapes; so far I've seen squares, balls, baskets, pyramids, cylinders with balls on top, etc. The box will look good all year round, especially during winter time.
What's that on the right side? Let's have a closer look.
Click on the pic to see it even better. Those are red cabbages enclosed by cylinders of chicken wire, very nifty! That way the cabbages don't take up all that much space. Must try that next year in my potager too. The cylinders of chicken wire are also echoing the cylinders of box.
It is nice to be in here, isn't it? It really is a very pleasant kitchen garden, I could easily spend hours and hours in there. How about you?
The feminine gardener sees the garden as an extension of domesticity. Femininity tackles the skills of indoor homemaking and carries it outside too. There is a stronger level of maintaining domestic order - cleaning and tidying - not as an attempt to order the landscape at large but to keep on top of the household.
Monty Don, The Observer, 3 December 2000
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38 comments:
I agree I could spend hours here! Very inspirational, hopefully it will motivate me as I'm not happy with what my plot has managed not to produce!!
Very clever! If you and other garden bloggers keep tempting me like this, (by posting neat entries and images of your own and other kitchen garden/potagers), I'm apt to try doing one for myself one of these days....:-)
I love all of those different twig and branch designs. I plan on bookmarking this page so I can study it for future use. Thanks for showing it to us.
Oh Yolanda, that was a wonderful tour accross this very creative kitchen garden! It's difficult to decide what I liked most: all the boxwood in different shaped? The interesting construction the put at their pumpking patch or the inviting blue bench at the end of the lavender path? Well, everything, not to forget the garden gate!
By the way, I posted the latest pictures of my kitchen garden this morning, but! But of course, it's not as all as pretty and huge as this one! But you really inspired me to add some more boxwood over there this fall... ;-))
Veel plaizir verder in je tuin!
Groetjes van Anita uit Duitsland!
The Boschhoeve kitchen garden is pretty cool with some very interesting topiary. Thanks Yolanda, for taking us on the tour of this lovely kitchen garden.
I am sure that I could while away many a long hour there Yolanda getting inspiration for my allotment. I have just enjoyed a peek at the De Boschhoeve website even though sadly my understanding of Dutch is very limited. It looks as if they have a clematis day coming up in August. If only I were nearer! Any plans to go to that event yourself ?
That's one of the coolest gardens I've ever seen. LOTS of ideas here, for every part of the garden! Thanks for sharing!
Danke für diesen wunderschönen Spaziergang. Es ist ein wirklich faszinierender Garten, und ich freue mich immer wieder wie detailiert Du solche Gartenbesuche darstellst.
Liebe Grüße Silke
Bedankt voor de wandeling door de ornamental kitchen garden. Ziet er echt allemaal heel mooi en goed verzorgd uit. Heb je weer wat ideetjes op gedaan voor je eigen potager????
This garden is amazing. I bet you could have walked around for a while and still not see everything.
What a treat for all the senses. I very much enjoyed this tour... I love the paths and the topiaries. I can imagine spending many an hour wandering through and stopping to breathe in some wonderful scents.
The quotes at the end of your posts are always good to read. Thank you for them!
Wow, was für ein wunderschöner und gepflegter Garten, da kann man ja richtig neidisch werden.
Heute werde ich meinen Endiviensalat pflanzen und hoffe dass ihn die Schnecken nicht gleich finden werden.
Bei uns ist es im Moment nachts sehr kalt, aber heute ist wieder mal ein wunderschöner Tag und ich werde ihn jetzt auch im Garten verbringen
So nice, I love beautiful kitchen gardens.
hi Yolanda, this is really beautiful. Thanks for taking us along.
About your question - the Eden Rose is barely scented. Since I have other roses near which are scented (Compassion on the patio) - I figured it is ok that it does not smell.
Andrea
Wow, Yolanda
What a truly inspirational place! Thanks for posting your photos and allowing us all to share in your visit.
I too, will bookmark this post.
What a place! I got many ideas allready at first sight. Luckily I can´t visit in all beautiful gardens. I would lost it with all lovely inspirations and couldn´t get any sleep for plannig my garden :) Thank you for this lovely virtual trip!
Ein wunderschöner Garten. Viel Liebe zum Detail. So nimmt man von vielen Orten Eindrücke mit und es kommen neue Ideen für den eigenenen Garten. Deiner muss sich ja schließlich auch nicht verstecken.
LG Birgit
So beautiful! I can't even begin to imagine what it takes to keep that garden looking that way.
Hallo Yolanda,
It's a very nice Kitchen garden, but at such a large scale, that only the privalaged can ejoy such a big vegetable garden. It needs quite a bit of staff to maintain this garden. BUt still very nice to visit and to pick up ideas for your own small scale kitchen garden.
Bye,
Bert
Een mooie reportage Yolanda! Het zijn kunstenaars in opbinden en met takken oogt het zo natuurlijk....Dat zwevende rek (bij de pompoenen)ziet er heel degelijk uit....Ik neem het mij ook vaak 's winters voor, maar in de voorjaarsdrukte kom ik niet verder dan hier en daar wat rijshout...:-(
Beautiful potager with all the flowers growing in and alongside the veggies...great! I think yours is also wonderful, Yolanda :)
Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed the comprehensive tour. It's wonderful to share places we might never visit, much as we'd like to...it's why I do my 'wildlifegardenervisits' blog, so that all my blogpals can see what's growing in the places I visit...often the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, to see how the experts garden.
Fantastic! I would never get to see anything like this... so thank you Yolanda!
Wow, what a beautiful kitchen garden! It must be real joy growing vegetables and flowers there. Thank you for sharing! :)
Very nice indeed, look at those wonderful buxus! So thick and well trimmed. I bet you got a lot of inspiration.
Very nice!! Yes I could spend hours and hours there. The pictures have given me some ideals about stick trellises to build and now I want to plant some boxwood. Thank you!!!!!!
I love the blue accent pieces. What a great tour! Thanks for sharing.
Yolanda, enjoyed this tour and your kitchen garden too! So many ideas to dream about. Thanks for sharing - Paula
There's something about the solid, wide path that lets you know right away this is not your ordinary kitchen garden...also that your cute shoes, Yolanda, won't be ruined by mud when you visit!
I like the thrifty, intelligent use of sticks and twigs for plant supports but am glad it's not me working so hard to keep the box so perfectly groomed.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I could just look at pictures of gardens for hours and hours.
Nice blog!
Wow, this garden takes my breath away. Thank you for the tour.
This is really a lovely kitchen garden!
Through your posts I learnt that there are so much interesting and nice gardens in the Netherlands worth visiting. I was so often in Holland, but never visited any garden, I have to change this soon!
Have a nice weekend,
Groetjes, Monika
I am thrilled to have discovered you and your garden! I also have enjoyed reading your travelogue.
Looking forward to more! (FWIW, I'm adding you to my daily read list on my own blog.)
--Robin (Bumblebee)
Einfach traumhaft! Ich geh so gern durch fremde Gärten, besonders, wenn ich die Formschnitte nicht selber pflegen muss!
Sigrun
That's inspiring! I love the box to grow pumpkins and squash. I will try to make one next year! Great blog! I enjoyed reading it.
Wauw, wat een prachtige tuin!
Mijn laatste log gaat ook over een moestuin die ik zag in een open tuin die me erg aansprak, geinspireerd op een idee van Geoff Hamilton.
Een moestuin kan ook erg oogstrelend zijn!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful garden with us! What an inspiration...
Nice tour, but honestly I like your garden as well if not moreso! I'm sure there are lots of folks working on that place, but your one-woman/several cats show has one busy caretaker...much more impressive!
That looks like my mothers garden. I feel homesick, thanks :)
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