Potager Garden Design, LLC

Putting some ink to paper for the coming season. Mostly DIY packages coming along, but this is for a larger project concept plan which probably won't be built in my lifetime. Great practice working with line drawings and markers nonetheless.
If you'd like a DIY design/install plan, set up a consultation. I'll be posting some package examples in the coming weeks.
Link in bio.

The USDA changed our hardiness zones again - twice in 12 years vs the last time was something like 50 years ago. That means on average our weather is warmer, our last frost dates for planting veg could be a little sooner, our growing season could be a little longer.
BUT!
The current weather we are having should have no bearing on the regular gardening timeline. It's Michigan. We've had snow in June.
Keep to the standard path - no planting until after the last frost, no cleanups until well into spring (closer the the last frost than to the first day of spring).
Nothing is predictable so don't assume because it's warmer now we aren't going to have a hard frost or deep freeze throughout spring and into early summer.

Catching up on some "after" photos on our last project of 2023. Designs are underway for 2024. If you'd like a DIY plans or a full design + build for your dream of an ecological landscape, schedule a consultation via the link in our bio.

This site was a full front-to back design + build and includes - in addition to the mostly native plantings pictured - 2 rain gardens, a crushed oyster shell patio with stone fire pit, and a fully custom built vegetable garden with water catchment system. It's no rake and no mow to boot.

Water catchment system with flair almost done. There's a very special person holding up the fort finishing this little project while the Wizard is back in grad school the last couple of weeks. Sometimes it's a great thing when you have talented children to step in when you can't.

These evenings captures are the best.

Project sneak peek. This is our final project of the season because we're off to grad school! Final pics to come soon! If you are thinking about revamping or starting new for next year, schedule a consultation now as we're already booking into next spring. Link in bio to our website.

1500 sf of sustainable patio and pathways going in shortly. Crushed oyster shells, here we come.

Patios and patios and patios this year. It's still patio season and this little cutie is almost ready for the weekend.

We created this beauty for a client with BELCREST 530 line of clay pavers. Not easy due to their irregularity but they give an antique look when reclaimed.oavers aren't an option, and they even have permeable options now,.too.

This was a crazy big project to start off the season with but what a beauty! We'll be back in a few weeks to plant natives along the path but the 300 foot winding Bluffton blue flagstone path and boulder placement is complete! This was a passion project with extraordinary help from volunteers for a great client in our neighborhood.

Finally laying the flagstone. Training some new hands and enjoying the creative side now that the grunt work is done!

I have had so many experiences lately that have taken hours of time explaining and giving advice regarding vegetable gardening and ecological landscaping that I am thinking some type of live chat with pre-submitted questions/topics with live chat follow-up would be beneficial. If I hosted something like that, would you be willing to pay $5 to participate? Eco-region would need to be limited to the Midwest for speed, but not necessarily required if the topic is not really eco-region specific.

A favorite ground cover. Puts up precious little fuzzy white beans for flowers and grows in a tight, sage-green carpet along the ground.

I haven't spent much time posting on things unrelated to the work I do, but even with the leak, Friday's news hit me so hard I spent the better part of the morning crying. If the rationale for striking down Roe V. Wade stands, then life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for the LGBTQ+ community, and those of us seeking reproductive freedom, are at risk and once again under attack. This country was founded by oppressive religious people seeking freedom elsewhere, and that puritanical bent still mars the lives of each of us for the last 400 years. Freedom is unraveling before our eyes.

Potager Garden Design, LLC We're not a typical landscaping business. We prefer to remove lawns rather than maintain them. We grow and integrate native plants into our landscapes to improve wildlife habitats and fight climate change. We help people grow their own food and don't rake leaves to save the bugs.

Certainly well deserved, and if you've never had manoomin, you are missing out. Buy some from a native grower and give it a try. You will not regret it. We serve it at home regularly.

Michigan’s native wild rice would become the state’s official grain under bill Manoomin, also known as Michigan wild rice, is important to many wetlands and culturally significant to the state’s Indigenous tribes.

If you think it is still spring, the delusion is over. No more is transplanting in June possible. Planting at all is questionable. Root growth after planting is critical and needs cool soils at night. That means anything 70° or above isn't ideal for establishing new plants. Watering only does so much. Fall planting season starts now.

Round 1 of wildflower meadow project complete on this ~9,000 sf utility easement. Debris removal, layout, cordon and treat. Back in 3 wks to assess and till.

Nature has a way.
Take your wins where you can find them. Growing your own food takes patience and practice.
Reposted from Sh*tty Harvests on FB.

Good to keep in mind!

Tree Planting Is Booming. Here’s How That Could Help, or Harm, the Planet. Reforestation can fight climate change, uplift communities and restore biodiversity. When done badly, though, it can speed extinctions and make nature less resilient.

If anyone here is into native plants for your landscaping/gardening needs, I'd like to draw your attention to The Ferry Street Nursery Project owned by us. We've created a pre-order catalog to help folks get in on the spring rush before local suppliers run out, which seems to be happening more frequently as native plants become more popular. You can download the catalog for free, here:

Spring Pre-Order Catalog As the popularity of native plants increases, we are finding that nurseries are selling out quickly in the region. We hope to help you get ahead of the game and are offering spring pre-orders now at our nursery, The Ferry Street Nursery Project. Add this item to your cart for your downloadable FREE....

There's a beautiful spotted insect flying across the U.S. — and officials want you to kill it

There's a beautiful spotted insect flying across the U.S. — and officials want you to kill it Some think it's pretty, but the spotted lanternfly is an invasive species known for sucking the life out of trees and other plants,

Using these a lot lately. Definitely a helpful way to convey how the landscape will change throughout the year.

Inspiration everywhere.

These floating yellow blooms sway in the breeze on tall thin stalks. I don't know what camera setting this is, but I like the little flying cones!
We have just one, 1 gal. Ratibida pinnata left for purchase and it's currently about to bloom. Snag it before it's gone at ferrystreetnursery.com - link in bio.

After a year of blood sweat and tears, both on the land and in my desk chair, I have finally launched the native plant nursery I've been working so hard on. While it's not at full production capacity, I do have plants to sell online and would love for you guys to have first dibs since it just opened this week. All orders are online with pickups scheduled for Fridays and Saturdays only. The nursery isn't ready for public sale dates quite yet. Every Sunday I'll be updating the website with the latest nursery stock and other products, so signing up for the newsletter or following the IG account is the best way to get updates. Check out the store online here: https://potagerdetroit.com/collections/all
Peace!!

Products We're not your typical landscaping business. We prefer to remove lawns rather than maintain them. We integrate native plants into our landscape designs to improve wildlife habitats and fight climate change. We help people grow their own food and manage rainwater runoff. We don't rake leaves because....

Plains coreopsis are popping at the ! We have about 11 quarts left. Link in bio.

It's been a seriously intense task but our new web site is live! 🌿🌱
Best part is we're selling native plants from . New plants will be listed each Sunday as they become available. Link in bio.
www.potagerdetroit.com

Had to run down to check and thankfully everything is OK. Lots of cars floated away and abandoned but minimal street flooding in the vicinity as of this morning. Let's pray then next 10 days are a drizzle instead of a deluge. AND: DON'T DRIVE INTO THE WATER(!!)

Pasque flower. Definitely a new fav.