GPOD Contributor

Kathy Schreurs in Sheldon, Iowa, is sharing her garden with us today. She wrote in right before the change from daylight savings time, and had this to say:

Keith Irvine is sharing photos with us today—some close-up looks at the stars of his Zone 3 garden in Oxdrift, Ontario.

We’re visiting with Marilyn Regnier today. We’ve visited her garden before (Marilyn’s Missouri-Inspired Garden in Minnesota), and today she’s joining in the fun of looking back and sharing the highlights of her 2023 gardening season.

We’re visiting Moyra Bunger’s garden today.

We’re back with Susan Warde in St. Paul, Minnesota! Yesterday we looked back at the year in her front garden, and today we’re taking the same tour through the seasons but in her back garden, where things are a bit shadier but no less beautiful.

Today Susan Warde is letting us visit her St. Paul, Minnesota, garden. She was inspired by the posts from Cherry and me looking back at “the summer that was” in our gardens, and so she did the same in her garden! We’re going to see her front garden today and the back garden tomorrow. I hope you’ll share your “summer that was” in your garden as well! It is fun seeing how everyone’s plants have performed throughout the year.

My name is Tingshu Hu. I live in Dunstable, Massachusetts (Zone 5b), but I love plants for warmer regions, such as canna (Canna hybrids, Zones 8–11 or as tender bulbs), crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia, Zones 7–10), Cordyline ‘Red Sister’ (Zones 9–11), and lotus (Nelumbo nucifera, Zones 4–10). I started my cannas indoors and planted them outdoors after the last frost. They started to bloom in July 4 and ended by the first frost. This year the first frost came on Oct. 31, about a month later than normal, so the cannas’ flower stems grew very tall. Most of the pictures were taken on Oct. 27 and 28.

My name is Darlene O’Neil. I live in a small village in Moravia, New York. I had volunteered and donated my time with the VFW Auxiliary for years. This kept me busy year-round, and I would squeeze time in for everything else. I finally decided I needed to step away and spend more time with family, friends, and my home, but first I needed to focus on me. I’d forgotten how important it was to do that. How do I heal?

Today we’re off to Berwyn, Pennsylvania (Zone 6b), to visit Carol Verhake’s gorgeous garden. We’ve visited Carol’s garden before (Carefully Chosen Colors Bring a Garden Together), and it is always a beautiful and inspiring visit. Carol has a way of combining colors to make magical garden scenes.

This is Julie Prince (Julie’s Georgia Garden), with a few pictures from the late summer and fall garden. The pool garden was started in the summer of 2020. The front-drive garden was started in 2021. Both are still “works in progress”! Things are changing constantly as I try to give the garden more height and winter interest.

We’re in Westminster, Maryland, today to see how fall is treating Mary Spencer’s garden. Last time we visited Mary it was in the spring (Spring in Mary’s Garden), so it is fun to see how different the garden looks at the other end of the growing season.

I am Kris Northup, and I live in beautiful central Pennsylvania, Zone 6b. We are having an unusually long growing season here this year, presenting us with some really amazing fall foliage.

We’re back with Carla Z. Mudry in Malvern, Pennsylvania, today, enjoying the beauty that was late October in her garden. It is a magical moment before the first frost when there are still some flowers and beautiful displays of autumn foliage.

We’re visiting with regular GPOD contributor Carla Z. Mudry in Malvern, Pennsylvania, today.

Hi GPODers. This is Joseph, your GPOD editor. I recently took a trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma, and thought I’d share some of the beautiful garden scenes I got to enjoy while there.

Cherry Ong is taking us on a look back at her garden over the past summer.

We’re back with more from Susan Esche’s visit to the beautiful University of British Columbia Botanical Garden in Vancouver in early September. It is open to the public and has many different sections and types of gardens to explore.

We’ve visited Susan Esche’s home garden before (A Garden Wedding, the Flowers, and the Deer), but today she’s taking us along to visit a public garden in Vancouver, British Columbia.

We’re in Yorkville, Illinois, visiting with Anita Drendel again. We saw some photos of her garden in the GPOD recently, and she’s back to share more of her favorites from the past few years.

We often hear from Cherry Ong when she’s traveling to visit a marvelous public garden, but today she’s letting us in to see her home garden in Richmond, British Columbia. She says that she’s learned to love fall and is sharing the beauty of her shade garden with pictures she took in early October.

My name is John Markowski, and I garden in Zone 6B in central New Jersey. My property is inundated with deer, and the soil drains poorly, so I’ve built my garden around ornamental grasses and native perennials. The grasses are shining right now in combination with the slowly declining perennials.

We’re back in New Zealand today to see more of Jill Hammond’s beautiful garden. She has spent the last 28 years transforming a 7.5-hectare (18.5-acre) piece of land in rural Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. When she and her husband moved in, it was a completely bare piece of land, so she’s created this entire garden from nothing.

Today we’re visiting with Jill Hammond.

We’re visiting with Anita Drendel today.

Welcome back to Deb Jedynak’s garden in Holland, Michigan, where she loves pushing zones and getting creative with containers and designs.

Hello! This is Deb Jedynak, a Master Gardener living in Zone 6b, Holland, Michigan. Although autumn has crept in to allow summer to fade away, I’m still planting in the garden. The soil stays warm for a while longer, and it’s the best time to plant bulbs, perennials, shrubs, and trees. I can already visualize my constantly evolving garden next spring. The foliage and flowers were abundant in 2023, and journaling my successes makes it easier to plan for next season. The winter months are weeks away, and it’s the best time to consider planting opportunities and researching which perennials and shrubs thrive best in my zone. Since I live just steps from Lake Michigan, I’m figuring out ways to create a microclimate where I can push the growing zone for abelia, beautyberry, and azalea, three shrubs I’ve just added this year. My whimsical garden featured vegetables in raised beds, a hopscotch topiary garden, a 12-foot rowboat filled with perennials, seating areas, a firepit, a plant ladder, arbors, various containers, and decor that I’ve thrifted. There’s always something to look at as you stroll the paths that wind around the flower beds. The transitions are intentional, and I don’t get too attached to my plants as I move them around or eliminate the nonperformers altogether. The idea is to have fun in the garden, and these photos show you my most memorable moments!

Today we’re off to Canada to visit with Bas Suharto.

My name is Eric Peterson, and like most gardeners I have been into gardening since I was a child. I live on a 3,900-square-foot lot in Portland, Oregon (Zone 8b). I started my garden when I moved in about 12 years ago. Originally I was renting the house and started a container garden made mostly of plants that I would find on Craigslist for free. It made sense to have my plants in containers so I could take them with me if I moved. I continue to rescue unwanted plants when people are ready to give them a new home. We ended up buying the house in 2017 and still have a lot of container plants.

We’re visiting with Patsy LaHue today.

Nicki Snoblin in Lake Bluff, Illinois, found a wonderful little treasure to share with us.

Today we’re in St. Paul, Minnesota, visiting with Susan Warde.

Today we’re visiting with Rachel, a gardener and artist living in Elgin, Illinois (Zone 5b). She moved in 2022 to 1.5 acres and is in the process of designing and planting a fabulous front garden. She’s also diving into forest restoration for the back half-acre—making it beautiful for wildlife and her kiddos.

We’re off to Pennsylvania today to enjoy fall in Rhonda Molin’s garden.

A few weeks ago, frequent GPOD contributor Cherry Ong took us along on her visit to Bellevue Botanical Garden in Bellevue, Washington (GPOD on the Road: Bellevue Botanical Garden) but she sent too many photos to share that day, so we’re going back today to see some more of the beautiful images of this inspiring public garden.

Today’s photos are from Joseph in Indiana.

Today we’re in Portland, Oregon, visiting with Zeah.