How to Make Your New Garden Look Old
French potager secrets for creating a garden that looks like it’s been there for generations
Bonjour again, mes amies—
Last week, we kicked off this Potager Revival series with five ways to Frenchify your garden, and if you missed it, you can catch up here. This week, I’m taking you a little deeper—into the design choices and habits that make a potager feel established, lived-in, and timeless. Even if you’re working with raw lawn or a gravel lot, there are ways to bring the patina and poetry of age into your garden space.
I’m also linking today’s YouTube episode, where I take you along as I lay down the base layer for our pea gravel paths, build more of the woven wattle fencing, and just generally sweat in the heat while trying to make something beautiful. Watch it here and don’t forget to subscribe if you enjoy the ride.
Now, let’s talk about that old garden charm.
1. Don’t plant in rows. Plant in layers.
A new garden is often flat, sparse, and awkward. Instead of rigid spacing and straight-line rows, plant in drifts and clusters. Mix height, color, texture, and type. Let chives grow beside roses. Let thyme spill between stepping stones. This is how an old potager grows.
2. Age your edges.
No one says “new garden” faster than bright plastic edging or too-tidy beds. Try using salvaged brick, natural stone, or plants like lavender and boxwood to shape your beds. Bonus: herbs and shrubs age with dignity.
3. Incorporate imperfection.
Old gardens have quirks. Let your path meander. Use vintage trellises or make your own with some branches and my favorite tool: zip ties (simply cover them with twine when finished to keep the charm). Place a chair in the garden—even if it’s more symbolic than functional. It tells a story: someone lives here. I’ve got decrepit old moss-covered benches that no one can sit on, but they give the space a “park” type feeling, and I love that.
4. Patina, patina, patina.
Rust. Clay. Moss. Wicker. Old wood. They all whisper history into a space. A new potager shouldn’t gleam—it should murmur. Choose materials and tools that look like they’ve seen a season or two.
5. Let nature blur the lines.
Allow borders to spill. Let alyssum and violas self-seed. Leave a corner wild. French gardens are tidy, yes—but not sterile. Controlled chaos is your friend. It’s not too late to order Alyssum seed and toss them everywhere.
🌿 For Paid Subscribers Only: Bring the Old-World Magic to Life
This week’s subscriber-only section is FULL of quick, useful, and totally doable things to do (or not do) to give your garden an INSTANT old world look:
A simple list of 5 things to remove from your garden today if you want it to look more like a French potager by tomorrow
The two cheapest tricks I use to fake patina on new materials (hint: you probably already have what you need)
My no-fail formula for what to plant together for instant charm—without overthinking design rules
This section won’t take you more than 5 minutes to read, but it will make your garden look like it’s been there for years.
Château Note: If you’re on this garden journey with me and want to bring more French charm into your home, don’t forget to browse my Everyday Château shop. Many of the items I collect in France—baskets, antique tools, paintings, copper—are exactly the sorts of details that make any space feel timeless. Shipping is always free, and every piece has a story. I’m quite excited about pieces like this artist’s palette this week:
Paris With Angela There’s something about walking the potagers of Paris—the Jardin des Plantes, the tucked-away courtyards, the market streets full of edible flowers and overflowing herb stalls. If that sounds like your kind of adventure, come to Paris with me. I host boutique antique-hunting and le slow-living trips every year. Find details here.
Until next week, when we’ll dig into the forgotten art of focal points,
À bientôt,
Angela
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