Designing Elegant Edible Gardens

Design a unique kitchen garden that's a feast for the eyes and the palate!

Learn how to create a well-designed edible garden with guidance from renowned food and garden writer Ellen Ecker Ogden. Explore the history of kitchen gardens and gather inspiration for your own unique space. Then, map out your design on paper, create a five-year plan for your space and learn Ellen s steps for successful design! Moving on, discover the essentials of the four-square design model and learn about the many benefits of this crop rotation system before properly grouping and placing your plants for a garden that thrives. Then, translate your design plan from paper to reality and get tips on growing a more productive and low-maintenance garden. Finally, infuse your space with artful touches and learn the 80/20 rule for a professional-looking garden that s full of the vegetables you love.

• 7 HD video lessons with anytime, anywhere access
• Class materials, including design templates, calendars and more
• Hours of close-up instruction
• Answers from Ellen in our virtual classroom

• Watch classes on your own schedule: wherever, whenever you want
• Your access never expires
• 100% money back guarantee

1. Design Theory (8:30)

   Challenge the way you look at gardening and growing food with the help of food and garden author Ellen Ecker Ogden. You ll begin the class with an introduction to design basics and the four-square model, which will help guide you through the rest of the class, including an overview of kitchen gardens and inspirational sources that will help generate creativity.

2. Planning Your Edible Garden (22:45)

   Gain a new perspective on your garden as Ellen shows you how to look at your garden's design from every angle. You'll take a bird's eye approach to observing the land you want to plant as you start to sketch loose designs that will complement your landscape and plants' needs alike. Additionally, you'll consider a five-year plan for your garden, which will help you gracefully adapt your garden over the years.

3. Five Steps to Success (13:19)

   Have you ever stood in a garden and wondered if the pleasing flow among elements was the result of happy design accidents? Ellen discusses five steps to success for planning and placing elements such as paths, benches, arbors and more, which are functional in addition to creating harmony. You'll also learn how small touches can improve the look of plain raised beds or necessary but ordinary-looking fencing.

4. The Four-Square Design (10:41)

   Now that you've got several design ideas mapped out, discover the benefits to trying a four-square garden approach. Ellen shows you how to plan and execute crop rotation in order to give your plants the best health benefits possible, shares ways to provide nutrients that different fruits and vegetables crave, and offers helpful placement and design suggestions.

5. Artful Touches (13:07)

   Focus your attention on some of the more eye-catching pieces in your garden, such as dramatic plants, statues and trellises. Discover how focal points draw viewers' attention and add personal, artistic touches to your edible garden. Ellen shares tips on selecting and placing everything from whimsical figurines to statuesque trees.

6. From Paper to Reality (25:10)

   Bring your imagined designs to life as you begin to translate your hand-drawn plan into a real garden. Ellen demonstrates how garden design can be less intimidating than it seems as she walks you through the best practices for measuring and staking out your garden spaces. Once your space is marked, you'll spend some time there to ensure that the flow and shapes feel right.

7. The 80/20 Rule (11:23)

   Your garden is ready now what? Ellen shares her "80/20 rule" and professional tips for selecting the best seeds, ranging from tried and true favorites that you love to a few mystery seeds that will bring excitement and surprise to your garden. You'll gain insight into ways to track your garden from year to year as you learn from past successes and challenges.

System Requirements:

• Supported OS: Web Browser