5 Ways to "Frenchify" 🇫🇷 Your Garden

Potager Revival: How My French Garden Journey Began (and Why It Still Matters)

“A potager is where form meets function.
Where nutrition meets the aesthetic.”
— Parisienne Farmgirl

Bonjour, friends—

Twenty years ago, I stood in my kitchen clutching a sketch of garden beds that only existed in my imagination. I was dreaming in French, longing for a potager—a garden that wasn’t just practical, but beautiful. One that fed my new baby and filled my soul.

Back then, I launched a series called Potager 101 on my blog, Parisienne Farmgirl, to share what I was learning as I built that dream garden from scratch. It was gritty. Imperfect. Joyful. Messy. And it changed everything for me as a homemaker.

My first potager 20 years ago.

Today I’m bringing those lessons back—refined by time, mud under the nails, and a deeper understanding of what it means to live le slow living and beautifully. This will be a new series here on Substack: Potager Revival. Whether you have a full garden or a few pots on the porch, these ideas are for anyone who wants a more romantic, intentional relationship with their growing space.

So let’s begin, again.

And just so we’re all speaking the same garden language-

It’s POE-TAH-ZHAY, not PA-TAGE-ER

Je t’en prie:)

(🇫🇷That’s French for “you’re welcome,” and if you’d like to hear more of that lovely language being spoken, be sure to reserve your spot for next April!🇫🇷)

A French potager isn’t just a vegetable garden. It’s a living painting. It’s symmetry, asymmetry, scent, utility, and beauty all stitched together like an embroidered French linen towel.

You grow tomatoes, yes. But you also tuck in nasturtiums. You flank the edge of the bed with zinnia. You grow carrots, but you flank them with concrete lions. It's order and overflow. Harvest and happiness. It’s where your morning glories can intertwine with your pole beans, where your lettuce can grow in fanciful shapes and patterns… It’s where you can pick a handful of snapdragons to throw atop a fresh salad… just enough color to WOW a girlfriend over lunch.

Yes, darling, some of us have been using edible flowers since the Duchess was 10 years old :)

Here are a few principles I still follow:

— A potager is not hidden. It’s part of the home’s heart, and it can blend beautifully with your other garden styles.
— Every practical plant is balanced by beauty; that beauty can come with co-planting, garden structure, and more.
— Focal points matter
— And even in the mess, you aim for elegance.

🌱 Subscriber-Only Section (Paid):
In today’s paid subscriber section below, I’m sharing simple ways to “Frenchify” any garden space (even if all you have is a patch of grass).

Plus, a printable quote to tuck into your garden journal.