My pond is humming with activity and tomatoes are popping out on their vines in the vegetable garden. I’m patiently waiting for the brussels sprouts to do something and hoping the 10-foot tall sunflower stalks produce some flowers soon. Other than that, the ornamental onions and zinnias are faithfully doing their thing. Let’s start…
Viewing Gardening
Pros and Cons of Whimsical Wisteria
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been attracted to wisteria. Its big, drooping blooms are breathtaking. When it wraps itself around a pergola or door frame, it seems almost magical to me. Whether you have it in your garden already, or are considering adding it to your landscape, here’s a few pros…
Charming Cottage Garden Tour with Fountain
Walking through pretty neighborhoods to look at landscaping is how I get most of my ideas and inspiration for garden spaces. On occasion, I stumble across a beautiful garden tour online like this charming cottage garden with a unique fountain. Photo by Mom’s Design Build When designing garden spaces, it’s always helpful when the house…
10 Summer Container Flower Garden Ideas
This weekend I’ll be headed to the nursery to select flowers for the garden. To help inspire me, I found several summer container flower garden ideas that I thought you’d enjoy too. Really, the sky’s the limit when you plant your flower pots. Just be sure to keep in mind that you’ll need to water…
Cottage Flowers to Add to Your Garden
Do you dream of beautiful garden spaces in your yard? I know I do. I tend to be drawn more to old-fashioned gardens like the ones at my grandma’s house. Her rose garden surrounded by arborvitaes. Her cutting flower garden that created beautiful bouquets in the living room all summer long. But unlike my grandmother,…
10 Mosquito Repelling Plants for Your Garden
Summer is my favorite season but the one thing I don’t like about it is – mosquitoes! Rather than use chemicals or sprays to keep them away, I prefer a more natural method, like this list of 10 mosquito repelling plants! Basil. Did you know that basil essential oil is deadly to mosquito larvae? The…
Spring Bulb Gardens to Soothe Your Soul
Winter is coming to a close and I figure we can all use a dose of spring bulb gardens to lighten our moods and help anticipate the joy of longer days and warmer breezes, not to mention the beautiful colors of spring! Entryway Gardens Every spring I kick myself for not adding more bulbs near…
Hummingbird Garden: Top 10 Flower Choices
When we added a garden pond to our backyard, we set up a hummingbird feeder about the same time. It’s such a joy to relax by the pond and watch these tiny creatures flit around like little garden fairies. To create your own magical hummingbird garden, be sure to include some of these popular flowers….
9 Charming Garden Gate Ideas for Your Yard
Maybe you don’t have a fence so you’re wondering why you need a garden gate. You can still use a gate to define an entry into a garden area, or even to the entry of your home. Fence or no fence, garden gates add charm and interest to outdoor spaces. Above, a hedgerow creates a…
Spring Flowers and Gardens: Total Eye Candy!
Who’s ready for a shot of beautiful color in the form of breathtaking spring flowers? ME!! And probably you too, since most of country is experiencing a polar vortex. Today’s post is total eye candy and everything that there is to love about spring flowers and gardens. Sigh! A beautiful, blooming cherry tree above is…
Oak Brook Garden Tour with Lush Plantings
Who’s ready for a garden tour? We have at least a foot of snow outside so I’m more than ready to enjoy lush green spaces. Today we’re touring a gorgeous Oak Brook garden by Bertrand Landscape Design that’s sure to put you in the mood to get a little dirt under your fingernails! This Oak…
Add a Charming Garden Shed to Your Yard
Welcome to February, which thankfully is the shortest winter month. I’m already thinking about the garden and what I’ll add to it this year. A charming garden shed would make a great addition, and any of these will do! (This post contains affiliate links.) If I put a shed out by the vegetable garden,…
My Koi Pond in the Backyard
Today is the last day of August and I realize I haven’t shared much of my koi pond this year. That’s probably because I’ve spent so much time enjoying it as opposed to photographing it. Plus I always feel like photos just don’t do it justice. We’ve been going through a bit…
13 Fall Flowers to Add to Your Garden
My love of gardening extends well into the autumn season and there are always new fall flowers I want to add as summer blooms fade. I’ve listed a few of my favorites, along with others that I haven’t tried yet. Do you see your favorite on the list? 1. Helenium, also known as sneezeweed although…
My 9 Favorite Shade Perennial Plants
Last year hubby and I created a shade garden with the pile of dirt that we kept from when our pond was excavated. This year we added several more plantings to it and I really hope to share it with you next Saturday. Here are some of my favorite shade perennial plants that we’ve added….
11 Bee-Friendly Flowers for Your Garden
You’ve probably heard that the bee population is declining, which isn’t good for our gardens or for the world in general. Without pollinators, our ecosystem would fail and humans wouldn’t be able to exist! If you want to help correct this problem, you can start by adding any of these bee-friendly flowers to your garden….