Yesterday we got to visit Patrick and Dorothy Smyth’s garden on a corner lot in the concrete jungle of Toronto, Canada, and today we’re back for more!

Patrick and Dorothy have divided up their small, urban lot into many different spaces and filled them with beautiful plants to create a garden that feels worlds away from the urban landscape around them.

It’s spring in the garden, with color from tulips (Tulipa hybrids, Zones 3–8), daffodils (Narcissus hybrids, Zones 3–8, depending on variety), and that soft spring green of new leaves pushing out from perennials, trees, and shrubs.

A sheet of moss phlox (Phlox subulata, Zones 3–9) in lavender provides a big burst of spring color, with the magenta blooms of a redbud tree (Cercis canadensis, Zones 4–8) in the background.

A clump of purple irises (Iris hybrid, bearded group, Zones 3–9) as seen through a frame of other shrubs. Dense plantings that can hide and reveal the gardens beyond them can make a small space feel much larger.

Clouds of lavender (Lavandula species or hybrid, Zones 5–8) look beautiful, and you know they smell even better in person!

Variegated miscanthus grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’, Zones 5–9) has yellow patches on the leaves, which echo the yellow blooms of the St. John’s wort (Hypericum sp., Zones 5–9).

There is so much to see in this picture, from the black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia fulgida, Zones 4–9) in the foreground to the contrasting colored foliage in the background, to the fountain, bench, and gravel walk in between. These are gardeners who know how to layer plants and details to create a rich experience everywhere.

A serene garden moment, with Buddha backed by a wall covered with Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata, Zones 4–8).

In this early spring view of the Buddha sculpture, the Boston ivy is now bare of leaves. A male cardinal visits the water feature.

Black-eyed Susans and purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea, Zones 3–8) are in the height of their summer display.

 

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.

If you want to send photos in separate emails to the GPOD email box that is just fine.

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!

You don’t have to be a professional garden photographer – check out our garden photography tips!

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