Garden Photo of the Day

A Bee-utiful Backdrop for a Productive Garden in Denver

A mural artist creates the perfect addition to a garden that helps to feed a neighborhood

view of bee mural between conifers

Happy Monday GPODers!

We’re getting real artsy today with a submission from Tracy Lewis in Denver, Colorado. Tracy has been growing vegetables in her garden for several years now, producing enough to feed her family and help out some neighbors, an impressive and interesting garden in and of itself, but the addition of a fabulous garden-themed mural is what really brought the space to another level:

After having built and 8 raised garden beds at the begin of COVID and adding a few beehives 2 years later, our garden has amassed enough food to feed us and some neighbors from May through October here in Denver. I felt like there was something missing with our stark white house as the backdrop to the north while the rest was surrounded by green trees and grasses. So I asked an artist if he’d consider painting the side of our house and perhaps adorn it with some of my favorite flowers so I could see them year round. Matt Kress obliged me and made an homage to my peonies AND my bees!

gravel paths around raised vegetable bedsA wide view of the garden gives a glimpse at all the growing and enjoying that happens here. Rows of raised beds means there is ample room for all kinds of edibles, but wide gravel paths create lots of areas to walk, explore and delight in the space.

raised vegetable garden bedI absolutely adore that Tracy includes artful touches all throughout the space. Understandably, veggie gardens can sometimes be viewed and designed around utility, not always getting the creative touches that are all so common in ornamental beds. But just because a space is working hard, doesn’t mean it can’t be fun, too.

pink and yellow wooden beehive boxEven Tracy’s beehives are colorful and creative! The “Honey, I’m home” sign on the bottom is such a clever and cute touch.

view of bee mural between conifersA perfect frame for a beautiful piece of art, plants!

mural of bee and pink peonies in front of raised garden bedsI can’t even imagine this space with a blank white wall! I couldn’t agree with Tracy more that this art was exactly what this space was missing. And a very funky garden bench allows you to sit and spend as much time as you need taking it all in.

garden bed with pink peonies and blue lupinesThough an extremely productive garden space, Tracy still left some room for classic ornamentals. The pink peonies that inspired Matt’s artwork taking center stage and glowing in the Colorado sun.

blue flowers in the garden

Lastly, blue delphiniums adding pops of cooling blue to the landscape, with the incredible circle entrance to the garden behind.

Thank you for sharing your inspiring garden and it’s incredible artwork with us, Tracy!

 

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 [email protected] 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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Comments

  1. garden1953 07/22/2024

    Wonderful garden in Denver. Love the mural! Thanks for sharing.

  2. User avater
    simplesue 07/22/2024

    Very impressive accomplishment!

  3. User avater
    treasuresmom 07/22/2024

    Beautiful!

  4. btucker9675 07/22/2024

    I would never stop smiling if I had this beautiful mural to look at every day! Kudos to you for the idea and to Matt for the artistic ability to bring it to life. Wonderful!!!

  5. [email protected] 07/22/2024

    Wow Wow Wow! So creative and inviting! I love all of it.

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