The conversion of garden sports fields into actual gardens is a subject that is intriguing to me.  You know I am not a huge fan of pools, and tennis courts in my mind are actually worse – they just don’t do it for me. (Jerry).

This little cove in Northeast Harbour Maine seems like it would have been marred by the tennis court, but the re-purposing of the court into an herb and veg garden seems distinctively more interesting.  It must have been an older tennis court because you rarely see modern installations with such fences.  But this fence gives such opportunity to create interest by taking away, rather than adding, and all the little windows and frames to peak through create an inviting garden.

I never thought of it, but 36′ x 78′ (playing lines for doubles tennis) seems like a perfect size for a vegetable garden.  If you have the space, this will provide ample space for beds and comfortable paths.  My veg garden was, until the last few weeks, 20 x 40 — and I found that a little too small — it is now 30 ish by 60 ish…which I think will be much better.

Images from the Smithsonian Garden Archive.