Hi GPODers!!

If you’ve been following Garden Photo of the Day for a while now, you’re familiar with Lee and his colorful garden in the Mohawk Valley of New York. Just last month Lee shared some peak-season photos to help us chase away the winter blues, but there are a multitude of posts to explore that highlight Lee’s designs and endless creativity (Lee’s Backyard Escape, Lee’s Garden Through the Eyes of an Ant, Lee’s Tulips in Mohawk Valley, Early Spring Blooms from the Mohawk Valley, etc.) Today’s submission is fun, poetic, and inspiring as ever.

The subject title is two-fold: Firstly, if you have room for more flower photos in your future daily mailings, I have some.

Secondly, the subject title can be addressing other growers as well: “If you have room for more, then DO IT.” Don’t EVER think you’re done—for the day, yes—but not for future years.

We were given our turf for a reason. Grass and lawns are nice—really nice. It offers space to walk and meander, it provides space for recreation, for gatherings and an opportunity for our bare feet to make direct contact with the earth. I am blessed with that.

However, one’s turf begs for color, begs for a more populous “family”. The combination, and we all know it; is a balance of lawn, gardens, shrubs, trees, bushes, vines, natural materials and our favorite man-made materials—some painted, some colored with their own natural patina (even oxidizing/rusting metal (e.g. Sally’s “backside”). Obviously, the combinations are endless.

The attached photos don’t really focus on my above assessment but just by default, I guess I caught some of what I was talking about. And actually, my initial and only intent was to make use of some winter time here and pass my running thoughts along to others. No special “favorite” pictures—just some different views within the backyard , all from the “back 100” behind the deck and pool.

To all growers, once again—”If you have room for more……….. No excuses.

PS: I just HAD to include a photo of a “sun dog” that my wife and I caught when we were out driving with the top off the Vette on Father’s Day. If one is fortunate to catch one, consider one’s self lucky because they are not all that common. Dad’s way of saying, “Hi” from above…

Peace from Lee in the Mohawk Valley of central NYS

Lee’s garden photos exemplify the sentiment that “perspective is everything.” Through all the different points of views we’re treated to, we get new experiences and ideas from Lee’s plantings. They also highlight another aspect of Lee’s encouragement to create more: If you think your space or garden is too limited, try looking at things from a different perspective. A new POV might open your eyes to something that has been missing, or give you the realization that there has been “more” to your garden that you haven’t been recognizing.

Of course, when I think of “more” in Lee’s garden, the first thing that comes to mind if more color! Lee always shares an absolutely gorgeous array of big blooms in a stunning display of colors. In this vignette, I can’t get enough of all that pink!

“More” also applies to leaving room for something a little more unique or unusual. Lee has an impressive collection of lilies and daylilies, but the Apricot Fudge lily (Lilium ‘Apricot Fudge’, Zones 3–8) is one that breaks the mold and absolutely deserved space in the garden.

“More” obviously doesn’t just apply to plants either. Where plants must be omitted for whatever reason, there is always an opportunity for more interest in other forms. This small path cutting through dense flower beds could have been left as a little strip of turf, but a short stone path adds so much more character.

If I had to pick, my favorite kind of “more” is more fun, and it’s clear that Lee has more fun than I can even imagine in his garden. Wondering what I mean? Look no further than the title he gave this photo: “Sally’s Ham with Blooms” 😄 For another great photo of Sally, check out Early Spring Blooms from the Mohawk Valley.

As Lee explained above, he may not have intended to exemplify his musing in the photos shared, but life has a way of imitating art even when not intended. From the frame of a beautiful lily—potentially ‘Leslie Woodriff’ (L. ‘Leslie Woodriff’, Zones 5–8)—layers and layers of more garden interest can be seen.

A great plant combination of some bright honeysuckle blooms and a lush sea of ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris, Zones 3–7). Or, as Lee titled it, which gave me a good chuckle, “Honeysuckle with Ostriches.”

Nothing can’t be improved with a little plant life and color! A basic roofline provides an important purpose, but doesn’t particularly delight the senses. With the help of a plant at the right height, like this Maximilian’s sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani, Zones 3–9), Lee is able to add way more color and interest.

While the garden is ever-evolving (the space before you was once vegetable garden, and now reimagined into something completely new), you can see clearly the concerted effort to “balance of lawn, gardens, shrubs, trees, bushes, vines, natural materials and our favorite man-made materials,” as Lee expressed in the introduction.

Another stellar color combination of orange poppies—maybe the variety ‘Harvest Moon’ (Papaver orientale ‘Harvest Moon’, Zones 3–7) with the ruffled, semi-double blooms—and bright purple alliums.

Lastly, the sun dog that Lee saw on Father’s Day last year! In doing some research on sun dogs, I ran into some confusion. Sun dogs are an optical phenomenon that occur when light passes through thin cirrus clouds. Most definitions mention that this most often occurs during sunrise or sunset and usually appear on the left and/or right or the sun. Not sure if what Lee captured was actually a sun dog or something else, I discovered the term “fire rainbow“, which seemed to more closely match the photo above. However, I found mixed results when trying to dig down on whether these were two separate phenomenons or simply different names for the same thing happening at different points during the day. If we have any meteorologists or environmental scientists in the community, sound off in the comments!

*UPDATE: Lee and another helpful GPOD reader, Bob, did some digging and confirmed it is a “fire rainbow” AKA “circumhorizon arc”. For more information, check out these articles they shared: ‘Fire Rainbows’ and ‘Sun Dogs’ and Circumhorizon Arc or Iridescent Cloud?*

Thank you for sending us more fabulous inspiration from the Mohawk Valley, Lee! Your words and perspective are just as inspiring as your beautiful plantings, and I’m always excited to see what new treasures you have in store for us.

How have you made room for more in your garden? Whether that’e more plants, more creativity, or simply more time, winter is a great time to reflect on what you can use more of. If you peruse through some photos while you’re doing your reflecting, consider share some with the blog. Follow the directions below to submit your photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.

 

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to gpod@taunton.com along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

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