Brookville has what could be  the first ever “potager.”  

A potager is a French term for an ornamental vegetable or kitchen garden. Often flowers (edible and non-edible) and herbs are planted with the vegetables to enhance the garden's beauty. A fancy garden if you will.  
So, who is this potager with plans of a beautiful yet functional garden?  Our very own Randy Teufel, staff writer and soon to be blogger at Whitewater Pub.  

Teufel, who is self-diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder, can't wait to get his garden up and going.  The growing plants are a sure sign spring is right around the corner, and as an overly optimistic novice gardener, this is the time of year Teufel looks forward to. 

This garden season, Teufel plans to bring readers along and share in the trials and tribulations of gardening through blogging. While learning what works and doesn't work for Teufel, readers can expect to experience a different writing style from Teufel.

“It will be less formal and much more personal than my articles in the paper,” Teufel said. “With a lot of things in life, not sure why, but I have always been curious.  I like to be as self-reliant as possible; and if something goes poorly, well, I can just blame myself.”

However, Teufel has big plans to make sure his garden doesn't go poorly. Well, that isn't exactly true.  It could still go poorly, but his plans will make it interesting at the very least. 

“Gardening has always been a normal thing in my family,” Teufel said. “I want to push the boundaries and also grow things you can't purchase.”

A preview of the things Teufel will grow: Black carrots, gooseberries and other unusual things that pique his (and hopefully our readers’) interest.  

“I like to juice stuff,” Teufel said. “Leafy greens are good to juice, so there will be those, and I am also trying to find sweeter fruits that could be grown in a garden around here.”

Don't worry, for those who aren't interested in black carrots, Teufel plans to grow traditional items too, and he will be attempting companion planting. 

“Native Americans did a thing called three sisters,” Teufel explained. “They planted corn, beans and squash. The beans could grow up the corn and then the squash doubled as a green mulch around the base.”

Teufel also has some herbs in his window and for the first year will be utilizing flowers too–  Morning glories for decoration and Marigolds to keep unwanted pests out.

Beyond the garden itself, Teufel wants to share more than the experience with readers but hopes to get readers involved too.  

“I hope people will post questions,” Teufel said. “If I don't have the answer, hopefully, someone else will.  At some point I want to get more involved in the community and possibly have interviews with other gardeners.”     

Teufel's first gardening blog is in the paper this week, and moving forward, can be found at whitewaterpub.com. 

Teufel couldn't promise there wouldn't be weeds by July, but he can promise a real view of a real garden and all that entails.

“It is nice to see a (DIY) video on YouTube that doesn't go exactly right,” Teufel said. “It is nice when it is more personal and encouraging to see someone else not get it perfect on the first try.  I hope readers get that same feel when they read my blog.  I am not an expert, but hope to inform and encourage.”

Teufel's blog, Brookville Potager will be posted weekly on this website.