Garden Design

Today we’re enjoying Deidre’s beautiful garden.

Hello from upstate New York, where I’m mixing herbs and veggies into my flower gardens. You’ll always find fresh herbs growing on my patio, such as a variety of basil and oregano, bay laurel, chives, thyme, and rosemary. In my side garden I’m growing lavender, which I use to make sugars and iced teas all season long. There are also raspberries and roses growing side by side enjoying the sun. I’ve also built a few raised garden beds for veggies and more herbs, and it’s been wonderful walking down the garden paths and seeing the bees hard at work, along with the butterflies enjoying the big sunflowers. You can always find me sitting in the garden enjoying nature.

garden bench in front of a flowering ninebarkThis nice spot to sit and enjoy the garden is backed up by a flowering ninebark shrub (Physocarpus opulifolius, Zones 3–8).

monarch butterfly on a sunflowerA monarch butterfly stops for a snack on a double sunflower (Helianthus annuus, annual).

Blackeyed SusansBlack-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia fulgida, Zones 4–9) are the epitome of summer.

foliage garden with lots of textureA wall of contrasting foliage colors and textures is formed from the big bold leaves of a hosta (Hosta hybrid, Zone 3–9) paired with the narrow, grasslike leaves of a daylily (Hemerocallis hybrid, Zones 4–10) next to it, while diverse shrubs and trees form the backdrop.

foliage and stone in a gardenNo flowers needed here—foliage and stones have created a perfect garden scene.

garden path lined with ferns and hostasI love the towering mass of ferns on the left side of the path. They look like ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris, Zones 3–7), which can spread vigorously when happy, a trait used to great effect here.

Pots of herbs on a patioPots of herbs are beautiful clustered together here in the garden. Of course, they are wonderfully useful in the kitchen as well.

Raised beds for veggies and herbsRaised beds are used mostly here for veggies and herbs, but some tall sunflowers make a garden that feeds all the senses.

lavender in the gardenA big mass of purple lavender (Lavandula sp. Zones 5–8) flowers tumble over into the path. I bet Deidre’s lavender iced tea is delicious!

pink and yellow zinniasIt is hard not to love zinnias (Zinnia elegans, annual). They are so easy to grow, so pretty in the garden or a vase, and so great for pollinators.

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

If you want to send photos in separate emails to the GPOD email box that is just fine.

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!

You don’t have to be a professional garden photographer – check out our garden photography tips!

Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *