Kitchen Gardens Give You More Than Vegetables with Nicole Johnsey Burke
In this episode of the Slow Style Home podcast, I chat with Nicole Johnsey Burke, founder of Gardenary and author of Kitchen Garden Revival, about optimizing outdoor spaces —be it a large yard or a small balcony— for growing vegetables. Nicole shares her personal journey from overcoming food addiction to becoming a garden expert and discusses how gardening can foster a deep connection with our homes. She offers step-by-step guidance on planning, planting, and maintaining a kitchen garden, emphasizing seasonal crops, companion planting, and aesthetics. Nicole shares practical tips for beginners and highlights the importance of daily gardening habits. Her insights inspire a newfound appreciation for the benefits of kitchen gardening, rekindling a tangible connection to home and nature.
Watch the entire episode on YouTube HERE
KEY TAKEAWAYS
In this episode of the Slow Style Home podcast, I sit down with Nicole Johnsey Burke, a gardening expert and founder of Gardenary. Nicole is also the author of "Kitchen Garden Revival" and has a third book on the way. Our conversation touched on how gardens profoundly connect us to our homes and the ways they can transform our daily lives.
Unearthing a Love for Gardening
Nicole shared a heartfelt story about her journey into gardening. Surprisingly, she didn't grow up with a passion for it. Yardwork was a chore her father tasked her with, and she once vowed to have a yard full of gravel to avoid the toil. However, life had other plans for her. Nicole developed a challenging relationship with food during her teenage years, leading to a food addiction. It was during her time living in China, immersed in an agrarian culture, that she began to heal. The experience of eating seasonal, local food slowly mended her relationship with her body and food.
Back in the States, Nicole started a modest garden in her backyard in Nashville, although it didn't yield much. However, the mere act of witnessing seeds grow into food was enough to hook her.
Deep Connections to Home
Nicole talked about how gardening gives us a tangible, palpable reason to love our homes and gain a sense of belonging. She shared how moving frequently made her feel like an outsider. Yet, gardening became a constant—a grounding practice that connected her to different places in meaningful ways. By learning the seasonal rhythms and planting accordingly, she found a sense of home in each new location.
Kitchen Gardens: More Than Just Plants
The true essence of our conversation lay in understanding the broader benefits of kitchen gardens. They are more than just spaces to grow food; they are sanctuaries that promote mental well-being. Nicole highlighted scientific studies showing that being around plants can lower cortisol levels and increase dopamine, making gardening a powerful stress relief tool.
Nicole also inspired me to rethink the aesthetics and practicality of kitchen gardens. She emphasized that gardens don't have to be utilitarian eyesores. Instead, they can be beautiful and functional parts of our homes. Raised beds, materials like cedar and steel, and carefully designed pathways can make a vegetable patch a lovely feature in the landscape.
Planting Seasonally and Companion Planting
One of the most enlightening parts of our conversation was about planting seasonally and the concept of companion planting. Nicole corrected my notion of planting everything at once, emphasizing the importance of planting according to seasons for better growth and yield. For example, Swiss chard thrives in cool weather, making it suitable for both spring and fall.
Companion planting, another crucial element, involves mixing different plants to create a symbiotic growing environment. This method enhances aesthetics, optimizes space, and provides natural pest control. For example, planting basil alongside tomatoes can deter pests and reduce the need for watering. Planting different types of crops together mimics nature’s way of creating diverse plant ecosystems. In our chat, Nicole laid out how large, medium, and small plants can be staggered in raised beds to maximize growth and aesthetics. For instance, you could have tall tomato or pepper plants in the center, with medium-sized root crops like beets surrounding them, and shorter herbs like basil or arugula along the edges.
This method not only makes the garden more visually appealing but also creates a healthier growing environment by protecting soil, reducing pests, and making better use of water resources. Nicole’s planting method ensures there’s always something ready to harvest, keeping the garden both productive and interesting.
Gardenary and Making Gardening Accessible
Nicole’s mission with Gardenary is to make gardening "ordinary" and accessible to everyone. Gardenary offers a wealth of resources, from seeds and raised beds to trellises and educational courses. Nicole even shared a nugget about her upcoming book, "The 5 Minute Gardener," which focuses on finding a brief yet impactful daily routine in the garden.
Gardenary also supports training for garden coaches around the globe, helping others start their own gardening businesses. This community-driven approach ensures that anyone, from novice gardeners to seasoned green thumbs, can find the support and resources they need to create their kitchen garden.
Bringing it Home
Listening to Nicole, I couldn’t help but feel inspired. Her stories of overcoming personal struggles through gardening and the tangible, emotional connection to her various homes resonated deeply with me. What I loved most is how kitchen gardens offer so much more than just food—they provide a sense of peace, a connection to nature, and a new dimension of loving your home.
If you’re considering starting a garden, Nicole’s advice is invaluable. Remember, gardening is not about having a green thumb; it’s about picking the right plants for your space and time, and most importantly, enjoying the process.
To all my listeners feeling inspired, I encourage you to explore Nicole’s book “Kitchen Garden Revival,” visit the Gardenary website for more resources, and maybe even start with a small pot of basil. Transform your outdoor spaces and rediscover the joy and peace of growing your own food.
Thank you for joining me on this journey. Until next time, let's continue to make our homes places of beauty, joy, and abundance.
-Zandra
Links Mentioned In Episode:
Nicole’s New Book Kitchen Garden Revival
Nicole’s Website Gardenary
Photos Provided By: Nicole Johnsey Burke
