2-for-1 Gardens to visit - Autumn Colour

Monty Don is one of the nation’s favourite gardeners. For nearly twenty years, Monty has been lead presenter on BBC Gardeners’ World, the beloved television programme which inspires this magazine.

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.

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.

Several times a year a visitor to our garden is shocked to find a rogue steak knife pierced downward in one of the beds, as if it were an escapee from our kitchen knife block. I’m always quick to tell them that it’s indeed where I meant to place it, and that I haven’t found any tool as great as a serrated knife when it comes to removing grass or root systems. It’s perfect for edging small areas or pulling up entire sheets of grass; all I have to do is start on one side and pull up as I carefully saw back and forth. It can be a cheap purchase from a thrift store—or in my case, the way I finally convinced my husband that we needed a new set of kitchen knives.

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

Moss campion plant (Silene acaulis) is a rock garden plant native to the Arctic tundra and high mountains of Europe and North America. In the U.S., it is confined to the Western mountains and New England, particularly Maine and New Hampshire. Its mat-forming, evergreen foliage is found tucked away in elevations too high for trees to grow, with harsh winters and short summers. While it cannot survive in the shade, it prefers moist soil.

Here are key autumn garden tips plus 7 top suggestions of plants to plant now.

Check out some of the most stunningFall Flowers for Containers that will help you to make a beautiful autumn landscape full of vivid colors!

We’re in Holland, Michigan, today visiting Terri Holden’s beautiful garden.

Arianne gardens in a small city lot in chilly Minneapolis (Zone 4B) and fills her space with an abundance of beautiful flowers. Even more impressively, she grows many of her plants herself from seed.

Arianne is letting us into her beautiful garden today.

Fall is a beautiful time to explore Bedrock Gardens in Lee, New Hampshire, one of New England’s newest public gardens. The 30-acre property was historically a farm and more recently the home garden of artist Jill Nooney and her husband, Bob Munger. Over the course of three decades the couple built trails, garden rooms, water features, and structures that provide visitors with a unique and immersive woodland adventure. With sculptural elements and installations sited throughout the landscape, there are surprises at every turn.