The Potager: An ornamental vegetable garden workshop, how to have a beautiful and productive vegetable garden

Transform your vegetable patch into a beautiful garden you’ll love spending time in!

Who says vegetable gardens have to be purely practical? Join us for a delightful classroom session exploring the art of the potager—the traditional French ornamental vegetable garden where beauty and bounty grow side by side.

Settle in with tea and biscuits as we discover how to create a vegetable garden that’s as gorgeous to look at as it is productive. This inspiring session combines history, design principles, and plenty of creative ideas you can use in your own garden, whether you have acres or just a small courtyard!

What you’ll discover

This is a relaxed, inspiring classroom session with a beautiful slideshow showcasing potager gardens from history to today. Bring a notepad and pen—you’ll want to capture all the ideas!

The story of the potager:

• Fascinating history of ornamental vegetable gardens
• Beautiful examples from grand estates to cottage gardens
• How French gardeners pioneered this elegant approach
• Why potagers are enjoying a modern renaissance

Plants and design principles:

• Which ornamental plants complement vegetables beautifully
• Vegetables that are genuinely attractive in their own right
• Color combinations that make vegetable beds stunning
• Texture, form, and foliage for year-round interest
• Companion planting that’s both beautiful and beneficial

Creating your own potager:

• Design principles for potagers large and small
• Layouts that work for different garden sizes and shapes
• Using structures—arches, obelisks, wigwams—to add height and drama
• How to make climbing vegetables part of the visual feast
• Paths, edging, and formal elements that elevate a vegetable patch
• Practical meets beautiful: making it work for you

Hands-on design time: You’ll have time during the session to sketch your own potager design! Use ideas from your actual garden or dream up the ideal ornamental vegetable garden you’d love to create. Share your ideas with the group and get inspired by what others imagine.

What’s included

• 2-hour inspiring classroom session with tea and biscuits ☕🍪
• Beautiful slideshow with historical and contemporary examples
• Expert guidance from an experienced horticulturist
• Design principles and practical planning advice
• Time to create your own potager design
• Opportunity to share ideas with fellow gardeners
• Plant lists and combinations that work beautifully together
• Resources for further reading and inspiration
• Ideas you can implement whatever your space or budget

What you’ll achieve

By the end of this workshop, you’ll:

• Understand the history and principles of potager design
• Know which plants create beautiful vegetable garden combinations
• Have design ideas for your own space (sketched during the session!)
• Understand how to use structures for both beauty and productivity
• See your vegetable patch as a place to enjoy, not just harvest from
• Be inspired by examples from simple to elaborate
• Have resources to continue exploring potager design
• Feel excited about making your vegetable garden more beautiful

Perfect For

Anyone who loves both gardening and beauty, people wanting to make their vegetable patch more attractive, gardeners looking for creative inspiration, those redesigning or starting a vegetable garden, or anyone curious about combining ornamental and edible plants. Whether you’re a keen vegetable grower wanting more visual appeal or an ornamental gardener curious about growing food beautifully, this workshop will inspire you!

What to expect

This is a cozy classroom session—no muddy boots or gardening gloves needed! Settle into a comfortable seat with your cup of tea and let yourself be inspired by beautiful images and creative possibilities.

We’ll explore gorgeous examples together, discuss design principles in a relaxed way, and you’ll have time to sketch and plan your own potager while chatting with fellow gardeners. It’s as much about inspiration and creativity as it is about practical planning—think of it as a lovely couple of hours dreaming about your ideal vegetable garden!

Please bring: Notepad and pen/pencil for notes and sketching your design ideas. We’ll have paper available if you forget!

Workshop details

Grow, Cook, Share, Care is a Hands of Hope programme engaging vulnerable groups, those with complex needs, families, especially those living in food poverty, and older people, in learning, wellness and social activities aligned to growing, cooking, and nature.

Suitable for all. Priority for spaces will be given to people meeting the criteria: aged over 50, young carers and young adults with learning disabilities.

There is no charge for this workshop, donations are always welcome!

Please ensure you arrive ten minutes before the start time to ensure we can get everyone registered. You will need to do one booking per person please so we know who will be attending.