Ytheard

Family
in

An English
potting shed is the
pice de rsistance
of Nick & Wendy
Browns functional
garden

Homeowners Nick and Wendy Brown

were prepared to have an Englishstyle potting shed custom built when
they found this elfin gem and had it
imported from across the pond.

62 MHMAG.COM April/May 2012

by BONNIE BLODGETT PHOTOS by ANDREA RUGG

ick and Wendy Brown both grew up

in Minnesota, went away to college,
and returned home convinced that
the clich was true: Theres no better
place to raise a family. They knew
they wanted their kids, Oliver, 3, and
Emmett, 6, to run free in their neighborhood, to kick a ball around their
yard, and to eat healthy, delicious
food that they grew themselves.
Having already enlisted the architecture firm Rehkamp
Larson and interior designer Alecia Stevens to remodel their
south Minneapolis home, the Browns were looking for help
with the yard when they met landscape designer Ron Beining
by chance at a fundraiser. The Browns house is situated on a
large lot with plenty of open play space and, as they explained
to Beining, they hoped to add a small kitchen garden. What this
garden lacked in square footage, it would have to make up for in
productivity.
Beining suggested raised beds, widely used for home gardens

64 MHMAG.COM April/May 2012

in his native California. The geometric boxes are well suited

for vegetable growing, as they contain the plants in a neat,
orderly manner, ensure that drainage is excellent, and give the
gardener good control over the soil. But they also wouldnt be
too obtrusive. Since the neighbors yards all flow into each other,
it was important not to disrupt the spaces open, communal feel.
The Browns were drawn to Beinings streamlined, yet functional
approach and added him to their team.
Today, the yards pretty flowering shrubsamong them a
white-flowered clematis, an Arctic willow hedge, an alle of
Ivory Silk Japanese lilacs, yews around the foundation, multistemmed magnolias, rhododendrons, hydrangea, and a rose
called Rosa glaucifolia with long canes that sway in the breeze
earn their keep by screening an eyesore or preventing the boys
from dashing into the driveway at an inopportune moment.
Beinings design also incorporated eco-friendly touches, such as a
grassy strip running down the center of the driveway to prevent
runoff and a state-of-the-art irrigation system that allows the
Browns to precisely control their watering habits.
The kitchen garden sits tucked away on an upper terrace,

ABOVE Raised beds

are perfect for growing
vegetables because they
give the gardener good
control over the soil. The
neat, geometric boxes
contain the plants and
give the kitchen garden an
orderly, structured look.
ABOVE, RIGHT Sapphire
Blue Oat Grass and Ivory
Silk Japanese Tree Lilacs
create a regal alle into
the spacious yard.
RIGHT Oliver, 3, is learning
to grow his own food
by helping his mother
with planting seedlings,
weeding, and gathering
the harvest. Fresh cherry
tomatoes are a favorite.
April/May 2012 MHMAG.COM 65

which is approached by a broad stone stairway set into a

low wall made of Kasota and Bedford limestone. The raised
beds are made of gray timbers notched at the corners with a
wire mesh rabbit fence mounted on topa daunting sight to
any hungry rabbit lurking in the vicinity, but attractive to a
human.
During the growing season, the beds burst with enough
vegetables to keep the Brown kitchen in homegrown
tomatoes, onions, beets, carrots, lettuces, cucumbers, and chard
for months. The plantings, too, have a functional design. Corn
stalks double as a trellis for the beans, while the legumes, in
turn, fix nitrogen, which helps fertilize the soil. Squash travels
horizontally at ground level so its leaves block sunlight to help
retain moisture and prevent weed growth. Any produce that
OPPOSITE PAGE, ABOVE Wendy Brown and her sons
relax on the porch underneath a Star Lantern by Vaughn.
The lights are available locally through Scherping
Westphal at International Market Square in Minneapolis.
OPPOSITE PAGE, BELOW New York bluestone creates a
pretty patio for grilling garden vegetables and outdoor
entertaining.
ABOVE The potting sheds sloped lead roof is as lovely
on the inside as out. The Browns use the shed for storing
garden tools and washing up.

isnt cooked (by Nick, a skilled amateur chef who works in

finance) or eaten raw is canned or stored for used well into the
winter months.
The boys assist Wendy in growing plants from seed and
installing the delicate seedlings in the fluffy brown soil. They
weed and gather in the harvest. And best of all, Wendy says,
they adore the taste of vegetables, even raw beans. Both boys
love to pop fresh cherry tomatoes into their mouths, she says.
The more natures candy her children consume, it seems, the
more the sweet, greasy foods they eat at school and friends
houses lose their appeal.
The gardens decorative pice de rsistance is a potting shed
imported from England. Situated between the two main raised
beds, the winsome structure eliminates the need for ornament
of any other kind. Wed planned to design our own version of
an English-style potting shed and were only looking for ideas
when we came upon this one, Beining explains. Even though
it was expensive, we saw that it would be tough to improve on.
With its diminutive size, neat paned windows, and sloped
lead roof, the shed resembles an elfin cottage that irresistibly
beckons the gardener, especially the very young gardener, to
come fetch his trowel and watering can.
BONNIE BLODGETT IS A WRITER AND GARDENER IN ST. PAUL.
SHE PUBLISHES THE GARDEN NEWSLETTER.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FEATURED PRODUCTS AND SUPPLIERS, SEE PAGE 130.

April/May 2012 MHMAG.COM 67