From vision to garden and over the years, John has been designing thoughtful, timeless outdoor spaces.
Background
I am largely a self-taught designer and have spent many years studying beautiful indoor and outdoor spaces. Early in my career, I collected and sold home and garden antiques at shows and fairs, experiences that helped shape my appreciation for craftsmanship, history, and timeless design.
I later worked at Rogers Gardens and Gibson’s Home and Garden before opening Le Potager, my European-inspired home and garden store in Fullerton, California, which I’ve operated for the past 26 years. Almost from the beginning, customers began asking for help designing their gardens, often inspired by the taste and style they experienced inside the store.
Over time, I’ve come to describe my design style as “rustic elegance” — a look that blends natural beauty with classic structure. It’s a style that feels timeless, and one that, in my opinion, never has and never will go out of fashion.
About Le Potager Gardens
Le Potager Gardens is the garden design studio of John Reed, whose work reflects a lifelong love of timeless European gardens. His designs combine structure, texture, and layered plantings to create outdoor spaces that feel both natural and refined. Inspired by the enduring beauty of traditional gardens, each project is approached with the belief that good design should feel effortless and grow more beautiful with time.
Inspiration
My inspiration in gardens began in childhood while visiting my aunt and uncle’s beautiful French and English country-style home in a charming suburb of Kansas City, Kansas, where I spent many summers. Those early experiences sparked a lifelong fascination with gardens and outdoor spaces.
Over the years, my travels throughout Europe have continued to shape my perspective, from the charming stone cottages and manor homes of England, to the refined yet rustic beauty of the French countryside, to Italy’s magnificent architecture and formal gardens.
Green has always been my favorite color, in all of its shades and textures. I see it as the framework of a garden, the structure that quietly holds everything together while allowing flowers and seasonal color to take center stage. I continue to study and learn from the many great gardens that have stood the test of time, where beauty and good taste never go out of style.
