An Urban Eden
Today I’ve got a special sneak peak of Laura Niemi and Pat LaGrego’s gorgeous Seattle garden. This is a garden defined by details–artwork hangs on the fence, vegetables mingle with flowers and plants are placed in spots that capture the afternoon light. I walked out of it inspired and encouraged, because in creating their garden, Laura and Pat completely dismissed the notion that vegetable gardens must be boring (or unattractive) and instead created a beautiful space that celebrates all things edible.
Big, bold vegetables create an architectural presence in the garden. Here ‘Lacinato’ kale (also called Dino Kale) marks the edge of a path. ‘Trombetta’ summer squash scramble up a trellis made from a panel of concrete reinforcing wire.
Pat stung thick rope between fence posts in the sidyard and then trained boysenberries to grow along the rope. It looks amazing and creates a living screen between the pathway and their neighbor’s windows.
The potting bench provides a convenient place to start plants and it serves as a gallery for an eclectic collection of toys and vintage kitchenware. Check out the stack of colanders. Pat and Laura use them to collect veggies, which are then ready to wash in their outdoor sink.
Instead of using plastic cell packs, these gardeners recycle newsprint into biodegradable seedling pots. When I visited the garden they had trays of fall peas lining the potting bench.
On summer evenings Pat and Laura like to serve home brews (made with homegrown hops) to friends on their patio. Little lanterns like this one help light up the night.
I love the idea of attaching a shelf to the fence to store tools and other garden odds and ends. And note the basket. It’s filled with little vases so Laura always has one handy when she wants to make a bouquet. I’m on the hunt for a cool wire basket so I can use this idea in my garden next summer.
The cutest accessory in the garden just might be Slink the Cat, who spends most days sunning himself on the pathways. Lucky guy!
I could learn a lot from this couple. How many acres was this property on in Seattle – looks really large. Next house, hope to have a veggie garden just like this.
October 8th, 2008 at 8:17 amActually their garden is quite small. Between the gate and the sidewalk is a rockery planted with perennials. The gardens pictured in the photos comprise what used to be the house’s front lawn. I’d venture to guess that the area is about 700 square feet, tops. Glad you got lots of ideas. I did, too!
October 8th, 2008 at 10:49 amWow, that’s truly inspiring! Love the dino kale with the backlit vertical squash. So artistic, and you can eat it too!
October 8th, 2008 at 2:08 pmnice work Laura and Pat, everything looks amazing! We need some inspiring gardens like that over here in the east. These two are some smart cookies!
October 10th, 2008 at 9:02 amWhat a great peak into Laura and Pat’s garden! So many great ideas, thanks for sharing!
October 13th, 2008 at 4:32 pmI love Laura and Pat’s garden and each yet there is more refinement and creativity combined with functionality. Their garden is truly inspiring and a great example of how to maximize the space in your small city yard.
October 16th, 2008 at 9:47 amI also make seedling pots out of old newspaper but I’m interested in the fact that their’s seem to be rolled. How did they secure the bases? Did they leave the base open?
January 11th, 2010 at 2:45 pmMine are made from two sheets of newsprint torn into 7.5″ squares.
Fold into thirds, rotate 90 degrees and fold into thirds. Flip the sheets over and fold from corner to corner into a triangle. Open triangle and fold the other two corners together. Flip sheets back over and using the diagonal folds, fold the paper on the diagonal fold and lay it over one of the “third” squares. You will see the box form starting to take shape. Pleat and fold each corner on the diagonal fold and the box will form. Then staple at the top of each edge of the box and you’re done. One 2.5″ square, biodegradeable seed pot. Array them in a seed tray with no holes, fill with your fave potting mix (mine is Johnnys 512 Mix), plant seeds and then water from the bottom up by pouring water into the tray. The newspaper is also an excellent indicator of when the seedlings need more water.