It’s sunrise in Gorze, France, and Pascal Garbe is moving about his garden as he tends and prunes his plants, engaging in silent conversation with each flower.
Pascal Garbe says, “It’s a peaceful moment,” while harvesting tomatoes, marigold blossoms, and herbs, all of which will make their way into a salad he’ll prepare later in the day.
Pascal Garbe’s professional life as a well-known expert in culinary horticulture and garden tourism is a far cry from this serene scene, as he travels the world to serve as head judge for events such as the Philadelphia Flower Show, as well as to sit on panels for the International Garden Festival in Chaumont-sur-Loire, the Singapore Garden Festival, and the Johannesburg International Flower Show.
Pascal Garbe’s horticultural acumen seems almost predestined, boosted by serendipity, as he happily toiled alongside his grandparents in their garden, peppering them with questions and delighting in the fruits of his labor.
He created his own space to grow and experiment, and when the time came to choose his educational path, he says, “I simply wanted to become a cook-gardener, a profession I invented—a cook because I loved good food and a gardener for the pleasure of designing beautiful spaces.”
An assignment for a French garden magazine confirmed his calling, as chefs were starting to incorporate foraged plant materials, heirloom vegetable varietals, and edible flowers into the dishes they were creating in their restaurants, according to Pascal Garbe.
He spoke with chefs all over France, including Michel Bras and Olivier Roellinger, whose Michelin-starred restaurants had garnered worldwide acclaim, and they shared an affinity for using petals, leaves, and stems of edible plants to add complex flavors to their culinary creations.
Now, almost 30 years later, these chefs continue to explore the limitless possibilities of garden-to-table cuisine, and Pascal Garbe notes that humans have been growing their own food for a long time, but in recent decades, the routine has evolved more intentionally from the practical and the pleasurable to the gourmet.
In his garden, Pascal Garbe has created a space that is not just a reflection of his profession, but also a place where he can experiment and push the limits of what is possible with edible plants.
This experimentation has a direct impact on the people around him, as the food he grows and prepares is often shared with family and friends, creating a sense of community and connection.
Today, Pascal’s garden serves as his own laboratory, as well as a source for family meals and special gatherings with friends. “At first I designed my garden with common plants, and the lawn was a place for our son to play soccer—but the ball was always damaging the plants,” he says with a laugh. “When I got more serious about edible plants, I removed all the nonedible ones, except structural shrubs like yew and boxwood.” Within that structure, Pascal has created a series of garden rooms that unfold amid the almost-an-acre plot behind his 18th-century house. Although the space he had to work with was relatively tight in comparison to his expansive vision, he ultimately realized that “a small garden would allow me to focus and plant only things I found worthwhile.” Each space features different edible plants—everything from herbs like hyssop and campanula to flowers such as California poppies, begonias, daylilies, and clover. Some have been shared by neighbors; others he’s gathered from destinations on the other side of the world. “I must admit I never have quite enough room, and I do sometimes plant too densely to the detriment of their development.” To provide a little air among the abundance, Pascal also practices container gardening. In his book Tout Se Mange Dans Mon Jardin (Everything is Edible in My Garden), he writes that many of his new plants spend time in pots before they get a permanent spot in the ground. “That way, I can see how they develop and find the best place for them,” he says. He also doesn’t hesitate to dig up whatever he finds less interesting or too demanding.
