Photos Ideas, Tips & Guides

Happy Friday, GPODers!

Creating an entryway that truly works is a worthwhile investment. You will enjoy how it makes your home look and feel, and providing a welcoming first glimpse of your home and property will increase that all-important ‘curb appeal’ if and when you sell your home.

Hey GPODers!

Hey GPODers!

Today we’re exploring more of Jay Sifford‘s lesser-seen back garden. We’ve toured and featured the award-winning landscape designer’s immaculate stylized meadow front garden, but now we’re wondering why the blooming bogs at the back of his home aren’t getting more attention.

The old saying about clematis growth is, “The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, and the third year they leap.” Growth may seem slow as the plant builds its root system, but once established, clematis are strong growers. Clematis likes to be planted where it has cool roots and a sunny top.

It’s always a treat when award-winning landscape designer Jay Sifford sends in photos of his fabulous home garden in the mountains of North Carolina. Today, we have an extra-special treat:

It is your GPOD editor, Joseph, here today, sharing photos of more wildflower adventures, this time in southern Indiana. It is amazing to me what beautiful flowers I saw and how many of them I have never seen in gardens! There is so much more we can do to truly appreciate and grow our beautiful native plants.

Joseph here, your GPOD editor. Last week I was in the Cincinnati area for a work project, and I took some time to hike in a few area parks. It was perfect time for spring wildflowers, and I saw some real beauties!

Mother's Day is just around the corner and it's time to show your mom just how much you appreciate her. If gift-giving isn't your strong suit, you're not alone—moms can be really hard to shop for. How can you convey all the love you have for her in a simple gift? Every year I find myself scratching my head at what to get my mother, and I'm constantly in competition with myself and my siblings.

Brigitta Stewart, the owner of the small mail-order nursery Arrowhead Alpines in Michigan, has a garden full of tiny treasures, many of them very rare—special plants that you don’t see in many gardens.

April has been a mixed and breezy month, with April showers and sunny periods, and although it has been pleasant in the sun we have not really felt much warmth from it, with temperatures rarely rising above the mid teens (centigrade). Today has seen a change, however, with a mild night and blue skies from daybreak onwards, and our weather monitor recording temperatures over 19°C – but we still have the breeze! We are forecast more days like this, and I feel confident of beginning to plant up the cutting beds.

My name is El, and I have always been surrounded by plants. My original interest in succulents and the fun in propagating them led me to creating my dream indoor garden. Over the years, I began to collect more plant varieties, and I currently have over 250 plants growing year-round indoors. My collection consists of a wide variety of houseplants and succulents. Plants bring me so much joy and excitement, especially when I wake up in the morning and find new growth or a flower beginning to form.

Carson Downing

Cicada Brood XIX has arrived in Greenwood County. Enjoy the amazing photos taken by HGIC Agent, Ginger Long. Brood XIX is one of the largest broods in the country, covering the greatest geographic area. In South Carolina, the emergence is projected to be in many upstate counties and counties along the Savannah River basin down to Aiken County. The adults live only for a few weeks, and after about a month, they will disappear as mysteriously as their arrival.

I’m Ebony, and I’m from southwestern Louisiana. I’ve been growing succulents for nearly six years, and it’s been such a great hobby for me. I’m a wife, mom, and pharmacist, and caring for my succulents has given me an outlet to relieve stress and care for myself. Here are some of my favorite photos of my plants.

If you're craving a bit more color in your living room but are renting your home or are not looking to make any major, permanent changes, by no means is all hope lost.

A while back I saw a post for a pool noodle chair and thought that, since my grandson was coming to visit, I'd surprise him with a float he could 'chill' in the pool with. Using the same method, this is what I came up with. (This is my first ever Hometalk post, so on that thought...here goes.

Today’s photos are from Connie Raines in Georgia.

My name is Anna Lindquist, and I’m a personal and professional plant nerd based in the Intermountain West. I’m especially enamored with native plants and am constantly in awe of the magical vignettes created by native plant communities. Though I’ve tried my best to replicate them in gardens, I’ve found that nature always does it best. I moved to Utah two years ago and unfortunately do not currently have space to garden at my rental property, so I have had to rely even more on public lands for my nature fix. Being at the confluence of multiple eco-regions, Utah encompasses a little bit of everything. These photos showcase the beautiful diversity of plants found across the state, from the desert to the high alpine.

We’re back today to see more spring blooms in Carla Zambelli Mudry’s garden in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

Today we’re visiting with Carla Zambelli Mudry in Malvern Pennsylvania:

Even seasoned interior designers started their careers somewhere—and that somewhere may not have included all the decorating tips and tricks they keep up their sleeves now. That's why we asked several interior designers which decorating secrets they now incorporate into every space. Their secrets are out. Spare yourself the trial and error of decor woes, and read on for eight decorating musts designers wish they knew about sooner.

“April is the Kindest Month. April gets you out of your head and out working in the garden.” ~Marty Rubin~

Today’s photos are from Lee:

If finding gifts for birthdays and holidays like Mother's Day strikes a little fear into your heart, I can empathize. Some parents never want anything or are quick to say that the best gift is you, their child.

Choosing to hire an interior designer is no small decision, and if you haven't ever worked with a professional in this capacity before, it can be difficult to fully determine whether a specific person is the right fit.

Perennials are the heart of so many gardens, coming back year after year to fill our spaces with beautiful flowers and foliage. But because they don’t usually bloom as long as annuals, and change through the seasons, they can sometimes be difficult to use effectively in a garden design—but not for the gardens we visit today in our look back at some of favorite perennial gardens featured on the GPOD.

If you're dealing with an awkwardly shaped room in your home and are coming up short on how to best arrange furniture within the space, professional interior designers are here to help.

We get to see tons of beautiful plants on the GPOD, but almost nothing gets people quite as excited as beautiful displays of roses. So today we’re celebrating some of the most beautiful rose-centric posts we’ve had on the GPOD.

We love a good before-and-after on the GPOD. Getting to see what a gardener started with really shows the work, talent, and time that goes into creating every garden we feature on the GPOD. So today we’re going to share some of our favorite glow-ups.

We’re looking back again today at some of the best GPOD posts from the past, and today the theme is containers! There is so much room to be creative and playful with containers, and they can transform the smallest space—even an apartment balcony—into a beautiful garden.

The HGIC Visit to Riverbanks Botanical Garden in Columbia ~Part 2~ This is a beautiful place to bring the whole family. There’s a 3-acre interactive Children’s Garden that features a dino dig, giant tree houses, splash zones, and more. Plant a visit soon!

If you feel it’s time to refresh your home, but fear the cost and work involved, think again: you don’t need to break the bank or hire a professional to revamp your home or a single room. Nor do you have to go on a shopping spree to completely overhaul your home’s decor.

This week we’re going to do something a little different on the GPOD: We’re going to be looking back over the years of gardens we have shared and pull out some of our favorites to visit again. And today the posts are all going to be stunning shade gardens. Gardening in shade can feel a bit like a challenge or limitation, but lots of GPOD contributors have turned that challenge into an opportunity and made beautiful gardens.

As much as we adore forecasting upcoming trends here at The Spruce, we love seeing those trends executed in real life even more.