Today’s submission is one that gives you those warm-and-fuzzy feelings. It started with a message from Elizabeth on behalf of her friend, Sue:
Hello, Fine Gardening. My friend, Sue Carney, turned her yard into a lovely cut-flower garden three years ago. Last year she gave away 1,000 bouquets of flowers along with endless smiles of delight. For this season, I created and gave Sue a new whimsical flower house to reflect Sue’s kindness and love of giving.
Obviously, we couldn’t wait to hear and see more. Elizabeth got us in touch with Sue, and the story of this fabulous, cut-flower garden unfolded. Below you can see and read how a simple idea to share flowers turned into a space that connects the community and allows Sue to share her love for gardening with every friendly face that stops by.
Three years ago I enlarged my garden to replace my front yard so I could grow flowers to share with others.
I realized this wasn’t a new idea as I posted photos on Instagram and stumbled upon Steph Hankerson’s flower house, based on the free little library movement. Each day she put out flowers and a description of the contents of each bouquet.
A friend built a similar house for me, but this year when it needed to be replaced, artist Elizabeth Schoonmaker and her husband, John, volunteered. They picked up the flower house, stripped it to the frame, and designed and painted a new structure that reflected “my whimsical, interactive, garden installation.” Those were Beth’s words and her mission, and she executed it brilliantly. People have sent me messages about being able to see its new blue roof from a block away!
Last year I was able to give away 1,004 free bouquets to old and new friends.
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Twenty-five years ago when my wife Kathy and I started searching for a new home for our growing family, she focused on all the qualities one looks for in a new house. I, of course, looked at what every gardener considers imperative—the lot. Thanks to Kathy, we ended up with a wonderful new place. And much to my delight, the property had one particularly important feature—good soil. The other nice bonus was that the backyard bordered a small city park, with lots of open space for the kids to play, so my garden design did not have to include an area for kicking a soccer ball. Plant-wise, however, there wasn’t much other than invasive shrubs and trees. So after removing all the nasty invasives, I had a clean slate to work with.
Starting a new garden from scratch can be daunting, but it’s also a fantastic opportunity to create exactly what you want. The vision I had for my new garden (two decades ago) was based on the many small English gardens that I was lucky enough to visit—not the gardens with impeccably maintained lawns and neatly clipped hedges, but those that had plants spilling out of every nook and cranny. Since its inception, the landscape has been slowly undergoing a transformation over the past decade, from a traditional shade garden to a more naturalistic one that embraces an ecology-first mindset. This evolution, however, hasn’t sacrificed the original intention of my dream garden—that it be a visually appealing space with plenty of activity.
I have grown alliums for their stunning architectural form for years, but one is by far my favorite: ‘Ambassador’. Although its bulb is related to garlic, onions, and shallots, this ornamental garden variety is a show-stopper. There are many other allium cultivars out there, ranging in size, color, and form, but ‘Ambassador’ rises to the top of my list for a lot of reasons.
Electric Mower Upgrade For the Win! Jamie shares that feeling when you finally get to upgrade your old decrepit mower for a shiny new electric model. The saga of our mower
A couple of weeks ago we saw the bulbs and buds growing in Carla Zambelli Mudry’s garden in Malvern, Pennsylvania. (Check those posts out here and here.). She’s already back reporting on the flowers (some way ahead of schedule) that have emerged since then.
Bridgerton is coming to Chelsea this month, as Netflix makes its debut at the flower show, with a garden themed around its popular TV show. First time Chelsea designer Holly Johnston has created a garden based on the personal journey of the show’s main character, Penelope Featherington. The Bridgerton Garden is part of the Sanctuary Gardens area at the show.
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.
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:
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.