Maryline Damour is founder of design-build firm Damour Drake as well as the Kingston Design Connection. She's also an avid gardener and chef. In this series, she connects the dots between gardening and interior design.
Maryline Damour in her garden.
The past year, combined with increased awareness about climate change, has led many of us to focus on being more self-sufficient. One of the best ways to do that? Growing our own food. Last year, my own vegetable garden doubled in size when I became less than enthusiastic about shopping in supermarkets. The change amped up my cooking, but it also made me think about how we approach gardens. Growing food is a practical way to create your own resources, but that doesn't mean it can't be high design; in fact, in designing vegetable gardens, I apply the same principles I do when considering interiors. Here's how that shapes my garden—and how you can take the same approach.
Define your exterior spaces
A view into Damour’s garden, which is encircled with a fence for climbing vegetables.
While we may not be putting up drywall outside, that doesn't mean you shouldn't define the spaces—and their materials—like you would indoors. In gardens, we have options for 'flooring', including pea gravel, grass and mulch. Each has its own characteristic (pea gravel gives a good foot massage, while grass blends into the landscape). Exterior walls, meanwhile, can take the form of fencing or plant material. In my garden, I designed a trellis fence structure that is both decorative and functional: I plant zucchini, cucumbers and other climbing vegetables close to this fence so I can use it for support as the vegetables grow (while also adding a textural element to the fence design).
The wall has a protective purpose, too: The bottom half of the fence is wrapped in chicken wire and buried a foot underground to repel rabbits, groundhogs and other burrowing creatures.
Create a layout
While ceilings don't play a role in most garden designs, a well-defined entrance is as important in outdoor spaces as it is in interiors. This effect can be created with a gate, pergola, or even a path that gently guides you to the garden and suggests flow.
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Find the right arrangement
Damour's design for a client’s vegetable garden, featuring an arrangement of beds and a dining table in the center.
Another key aspect of design is placement, ensuring you have what you need where you need it. When it comes to vegetable gardens, the first consideration is where you can find 8-10 hours of sun a day. Then, you'll need pockets of shade for cooler-loving plants like lettuce and radish. On a functional level, you'll want a (working) vegetable garden close to the kitchen: If it’s nearby, you’ll use it more.
Use your garden like a pantry
We love to think of exterior spaces as extensions of the home; in the case of a vegetable garden, it's the pantry where you store fresh produce. Plant accordingly, with staples that can be used in a variety of dishes, year-round. For me, this includes tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers in the summer; in the winter, it's more about cabbage and root vegetables. Planting this way helps to more fully integrate your garden and cooking. And the garden doesn't have to go dormant in the winter, either: Throughout the summer, I create pints of herb slurries (you can freeze them!) made from chopped herbs, capers, garlic and good olive oil. I use this to flavor dishes like ratatouille, as a salad dressing base, or spread on a sandwich.
Decorate it!
Wisteria around the entrance to Damour’s vegetable garden.
Now that you've considered the basics of designing your garden, don't forget about decoration. You may think this is gilding the lily since we're already outdoors growing beautiful things, but a vegetable garden can be made all the more beautiful with the incorporation of a few flowers.
For my vegetable garden, the biggest decorative element is the wisteria at the entrance, which blooms in both spring and fall. Leading up to the garden gate are rows of lavender. When it rains, both the lavender and wisteria perfume the air with a sweet and delicate scent.
Inside the garden, the decoration continues with custom steel brackets for the raised beds that were left out to weather and rust. A sundial on a terra cotta plinth is a classic look while lanterns punctuate the fence at regular intervals. The beds themselves are also an opportunity to be more design-focused: Why not lay out your plants in pleasing patterns?
Being creative is about how you see the world. Taking cues from what you like in your interiors will help you live as creatively outdoors as you do indoors. Happy planting!
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Insights, advice, suggestions, feedback and comments from experts
As an expert in both design and gardening, I can confidently say that Maryline Damour is someone worth paying attention to. Not only is she the founder of the design-build firm Damour Drake, but she also spearheads the Kingston Design Connection. On top of all that, she is an avid gardener and chef. In this series, she draws connections between gardening and interior design, showcasing her firsthand expertise and depth of knowledge.
In the past year, with the growing awareness of climate change, many of us have become more focused on self-sufficiency. And one of the best ways to achieve that is by growing our own food. Maryline Damour herself experienced a significant expansion of her vegetable garden when she grew disenchanted with shopping in supermarkets. This change not only elevated her cooking but also made her contemplate the approach we take to gardens.
According to Damour, growing food can be both practical and high design. In fact, when designing vegetable gardens, she applies the same principles she uses for interior design. Here's how she shapes her garden, and how you can do the same.
First, Damour emphasizes the importance of defining exterior spaces, just as you would define indoor spaces. While you may not be putting up drywall outside, you can still define your garden spaces with different materials, such as pea gravel, grass, or mulch. Each option has its own characteristics, with pea gravel providing a foot massage-like feel, while grass blends seamlessly into the landscape. As for exterior walls, they can take the form of fencing or plant material. Damour designed a trellis fence structure in her garden that serves as both a decorative element and a functional support system for climbing vegetables like zucchini and cucumbers. The bottom half of the fence is wrapped in chicken wire and buried underground to repel burrowing creatures.
Next, Damour stresses the importance of creating a well-defined layout for your garden. While ceilings may not play a role in garden design, a well-defined entrance, such as a gate, pergola, or pathway, can guide you and create a sense of flow in the outdoor space.
The right arrangement is crucial when it comes to vegetable gardens. You need to consider the availability of sunlight, with a minimum of 8-10 hours a day. Additionally, you'll need pockets of shade for cooler-loving plants. It's also essential to have the vegetable garden located close to the kitchen for easy access and frequent use.
Damour encourages using the garden as a pantry, where you store fresh produce. Planting staples that can be used in a variety of dishes throughout the year helps integrate the garden with your cooking. For example, she grows tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers in the summer, and cabbage and root vegetables in the winter. She also creates herb slurries during the summer, made from chopped herbs, capers, garlic, and olive oil, which can be frozen and used to flavor dishes year-round.
Don't forget about decoration! Even though a vegetable garden is already filled with beautiful plants, adding a few flowers can enhance its beauty. In Damour's garden, the entrance is adorned with wisteria, which blooms in spring and fall. Rows of lavender lead up to the garden gate and provide a sweet and delicate scent when it rains. Inside the garden, custom steel brackets, weathered and rusted, adorn the raised beds. A classic sundial on a terra cotta plinth and lanterns punctuating the fence at regular intervals add further decorative elements. The layout of the beds themselves can also be an opportunity for design, with plants arranged in pleasing patterns.
To live creatively outdoors, Damour suggests taking cues from what you like in your interiors. By approaching your garden with the same creativity and attention to detail, you can create a beautiful and functional space. So, get out there and happy planting!
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