Denver Potager: Edible and Ornamental Garden Blend

Judy and Ken Robins’ potager (from French potage, soup) mingles edibles and ornamentals. Nasturtiums with peppery flowers back zucchini and cabbage. They also grow arugula, broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, peppers, turnips. Tall flowering perennials—pink/red bee balm, Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum ‘Gateway’)—rise behind. Center island beds with yellow snapdragons and summer phlox are accented by trellises of sweet peas and purple hyacinth bean. Black steel edging contains pea gravel. Designer Laurie Jekel enriched soil with specialty compost (sterilized cow manure, wood chips, granular iron) and cultivates weekly.