Distinctive features of the French garden, its advantages and disadvantages. Site planning, plant placement rules, sequence of work when creating decorative beds. The French vegetable garden is a large plot of land with well thought out rows of plants in the form of regular geometric shapes. It differs from ordinary beds in an elegant appearance: green spaces are placed taking into account color and floristry. We will talk about the technology of forming a masterpiece of landscape design in our article.
Features of the French garden
The French vegetable garden is distinguished by an attractive composition of a variety of plants, harmony, cleanliness and order reign in it. It is an alternative to an allotment with dull rows of seedlings.
For decorative beds, the following is characteristic:
- The sectors have a regular geometric shape and are often arranged in strict symmetry. There are no standards for the placement of elements, but when designing a garden, you should adhere to one style.
- Externally, the well-groomed area looks more like a garden with flower beds of vegetables and flowers, which alternate in a given sequence.
- Individual sectors are often raised above the soil, which allows them to dominate the rest of the plants.
- The paths are always smooth and well-groomed. So that they do not overgrow, they are covered with tiles, covered with gravel or other loose material. Another option is to fill all the free space between the rows with a lawn.
It is difficult to decorate the territory in this way, but what a wonderful result will be.
Advantages and disadvantages of the French garden
A landscaped garden has a lot of advantages that consumers appreciate. It is often set up by owners who do not seek to profit from the allotment.
The positive qualities of decorative beds include:
- Aesthetic appeal that makes the cottage look chic;
- Neat and tidy look;
- It takes a little time to form a vegetable garden, and sectors with beds last for a very long time;
- Decorative elements can be made of any size and shape, depending on the wishes of the owner and the area of the land plot;
- When forming the beds, not only the practical side is taken into account, but also the rules of floristry.
The French garden also has disadvantages associated with the peculiarities of its constituent elements and the operation of the beds:
- Not all of the area is used for planting, some is spent on long paths or lawns, which reduces the yield.
- Such an allotment consists of separate parts with regular geometric outlines, so not all cultures are suitable for its creation.
- To form the tracks, you will need special materials that require additional financial investments.
Technology for arranging a French garden
French-style gardening work requires precision and attention to detail. Let's consider all the stages in detail.
Garden layout
The development of a site layout begins with an analysis of the surrounding landscape. Pay attention to factors such as:
- It is necessary to take into account the dominant wind direction, the presence of a blank fence, the degree of illumination of the territory. The species factor is also important: the allotment should be clearly visible from a place convenient for you.
- If you plan to plant mainly garden crops, the site should be well lit. Do not place sectors under trees: the shade will prevent the plants from developing well, moreover, the garden will be clogged with falling leaves.
- The size and shape of the beds are also influenced by the methods of land work. If you plan to use a technique for growing, make the paths wide enough. It is clear that you cannot create a full-fledged French vegetable garden on dacha plots of 6-10 acres, but you can do something similar.
- Be sure to consider drainage, stagnant water is always harmful to green spaces, and especially to such a site. To keep the leaves looking fresh, use drip irrigation, in which water flows directly to the roots.
- Examine the soil composition and compare with the soil requirements for each plant. It may turn out that one crop needs black soil, while another needs a mixture of different soils. In most cases, there should be sand (about 30 percent) in it, which makes it loose. A mixture of black soil, sand, organic inclusions, peat is considered optimal.
- If there is not enough quality soil, you can purchase it or prepare it yourself. The amount of soil is determined based on the optimal thickness of 10-20 cm. If you need a loose composition, increase the volume by 25-30 percent due to its caking property.
To place all the elements correctly, draw a diagram of the French vegetable garden on paper at a convenient scale and color in the colors of the plants. This will allow you to determine the required number of seedlings and other consumables.
The simplest ennobled allotment has a rectangular shape, divided by paths into four even parts. The beds can be of various sizes - triangular, trapezoidal, round, etc. Everyone converges to the central part, on which a beautiful element is placed - a sculpture, a lamp, etc.
Also popular are sections in the form of a spiral, checkerboard, circle. Place lanterns, curly flower stands, or other decorations on the walkways. Determine the location for the benches.
Plant selection
It is very important for the French garden to choose the right plants of various varieties, which are planted in large quantities.
All of them must meet the following requirements:
- Combine harmoniously with each other.
- The ability to plant different crops next to each other without reducing yields and causing inconvenience.
- They receive full water, sunlight and heat.
- Flowers that are planted between vegetables should not interfere with the growth of crops.
- It is obligatory to have plants that act as vertical elements: temporary for one season (corn, tomatoes, etc.) and permanent (shrubs, small trees, etc.).
Spicy herbs and herbs, carrots, beets, onions, tomatoes, curly parsley, and garden quinoa are popular in such gardens. To diversify the color palette, use plants that have bright leaves or flowers - salads, ornamental cabbage, asters, calendula, etc. Together with vegetables, lavender, echinacea, etc. are often planted. You should not dwell on the listed types, you can choose any varieties, the main thing is that they stand out in color and attractive shape.
Plants are planted in a flowerbed in a specific sequence. Place low varieties (parsley, lemon balm, other greens) around the perimeter of the sector. Tall vegetables are placed closer to the center (cabbage, pumpkin, pepper). Plant plants around the outer border that can protect the inner areas from the cold wind. Perennial herbaceous and fruit shrubs cope with this task.
Growing potatoes and cucumbers on the site is considered not the best option, because such a garden is more decorative than practical.
Some plants are aggressive (eg mint, oregano) and can quickly clog the entire sector. They should be separated from the rest of the seedlings.
Do not mix perennials and annuals. Tilling the soil can damage the roots of perennial plantations. It is recommended to plant them in different areas of the garden: the first - in the center, the second - around the perimeter.
Consider a combination of some crops in decorative beds:
- Perennial onions feel good next to carrots, shaggy chives and parsley.
- Chamomile is planted near cornflowers and red monarda.
- Celery, dill, sage and fennel do not conflict on the same territory.
- Pay attention to the combination of sea cineraria, shaggy cineraria, parsley, hyssop and fragrant oregano
- Beets go well with dense curly parsley and basil.
Creating beds
Garden sectors are formed in two ways, each of which has its own advantages and is used in certain situations. They can be raised by 20-30 cm and separated by a low border. Alternatively, the beds do not protrude above the ground and are flush with the surrounding soil.
Raised beds are one of the main elements of the French garden, they allow you to create cells of the correct shape, which are stored for a long time. Their sizes depend on the convenience of plant maintenance. Usually they protrude above the ground to a height of 0.2 to 0.5 m. The width of the sector depends on which side the processing is planned from - from one side or from two. To do this, you need to determine how far from the edge you can reach with your hands or a working tool, and you will have to stay in this position for some time. The length of the cell can be arbitrary and depends on the size of the dacha allotment.
A raised garden bed in a French garden has many advantages:
- It can be installed even in places where plants have never grown, for example, on a stone or concrete surface.
- Thus, the seedlings are protected from trampling.
- Allows you to make high-quality soil drainage.
To create an embankment, the site is first covered with a layer of sand, which should be 3-4 cm higher than the ground level. It will serve as drainage for both the beds and paths. Then fertile soil is poured, for each culture its own.
To create a bed of a given shape, use a fence. It can be done this way:
- If there is slate, cut it into strips of estimated height, taking into account the fact that 100 mm must be dug in.
- Drive the pegs into the ground along the perimeter of the beds, fix the pieces of slate to them with self-tapping screws.
- The fence can be grown or woven from branches. In the latter case, arrange the garden in the force of "country". To extend the life of the rod, cover it with biosensor.
- If a brick is used for the curb, then a foundation is built under it.
- Also in stores you can buy plastic garden boards, specially designed for such purposes.
- You can also fence the beds with simple boards knocked down around the sector.
- Curbs are easy to make with two rows of mesh. In this case, the space between them is filled with stones or other material. To prevent loose material from spilling out, fix geotextiles to the mesh.
A low bed is created as follows:
- Dig a hollow 1 bayonet deep.
- Fill the hole with sand with a layer of 2-3 cm and tamp it.
- Cover the bottom with geotextiles and a drainage layer.
- Install a curb tape around the edges of the pit, leaving 3-5 cm on the surface so that the water does not wash the soil from the bed onto the path. There are two types of curb tape - fine fibrous and flat. The first products are inexpensive, but fail quickly. The second ones are reinforced with fiberglass and will last for many years.
- Fill the hollow with nutrient soil below the level of the curb tape.
- Along the perimeter of low beds, you can plant low bushes up to 20 cm high. This area is also called "bosquet".
Sometimes a French vegetable garden is combined with a swimming pool. For this, the paths are made 20-30 cm below the soil level. Cover the bottom and walls of the hollow with a butyl rubber membrane. Pour pebbles, sand or small stones on top. In the warm season, the paths are flooded with water. It is good to walk on them barefoot on a hot summer day.
Consider the sequence of work when creating a French garden in the country on a small square-shaped plot:
- Prepare the area for work. Remove debris, dig up the ground.
- Mark the site. To do this, pull the cord along the perimeter of the square and fasten it to the pegs hammered in the corners of the allotment. Pull the cords diagonally and define the center from which the garden begins to form. Peg it. Tie a cord to the peg and mark the borders of the round bed.
- Find the midpoints of the sides of the square and connect the opposite points with a cord. Also pull it along the diagonals of the shape. This is how you determine the position of the tracks.
- Lay a non-woven fabric in 2 layers in the passages, and between it - a layer of sawdust. The created "cake" will not break through any weed. A more expensive option is to install rough tiles, stone or paving stones.
- Fence the beds in one of the ways given above.
- Plant plants and install decorative elements.
How to make a French vegetable garden - watch the video:
By making an effort and turning on your fantasy at full power, you can create a French vegetable garden with your own hands, which will give the summer cottage a special charm.
