Today’s photos are from Angela Jobe.
I’ve got my 200th issue of Fine Gardening in front of me, looking at Garden Photo of the Day. I don’t know why I’ve never submitted anything before. I guess I just didn’t think you’d be interested.
But things are different now. I’ve been collecting dirt under my nails in this garden for almost 20 years. It is pretty special, and now it’s hard to believe it was a disaster when we bought this house—pretty much nothing but ugly red and pink azaleas (sorry, not a fan) and lots of weedy vines.
Over the years, walls have been built and trees have been felled (or come down in hurricanes), only to be saved and repurposed into a rustic pergola. A shed was moved, stone steps have been hauled in and set. My father’s 70-year-old peonies have been transplanted and retransplanted.
In four weeks, we will be leaving, moving on to greener pastures—literally. We bought an old farm. We are in our 60s. What are we thinking?
In the meantime, I thought I’d share my treasure. The people who are moving in have no idea the love that lives in these gardens. Nor do they understand the relationship these plants have with the birds, the bees, the flowers, and the trees. I love this place with all my heart. It will be tough to leave.
Every Sunday morning I stroll in the garden. It’s my favorite time. These treasures self-seeded. Mother Nature knows what she is doing. These are my Sunday morning feet.
The back border was started from nothing 18 years ago. Now look at her. Some of the peonies date back to 1950 and were dug out of my father’s garden.
This underused plant, Amsonia hubrichtii (bluestar, Zones 5–8), goes from diminutive delicate blue flowers to a powerhouse of golden feathery leaves in fall. Weigela ‘Wine and Roses’ (Zones 4–8) forms a lovely backdrop.
This mass of purple salvia looks like Salvia guaranitica ‘Amistad’ (Zones 7–10 or as an annual).
In this magical scene, dark pink in the back transitions to white in the front, with the soft pink Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (Zones 3–10) in the middle.
A four-legged garden resident rests on the stone steps.
The color scheme along the stone steps is white flowers and yellow-green foliage.
The vegetable garden
A beautiful spring view
Wine and Roses weigela makes a dark contrast to the lighter flowers around it.
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