Hi GPODers!

Today we’re looking at the lavish bounty Amanda Benick gathered from her garden so far this year. This beautiful bouquet is a feast for the senses with vibrant color and sweet scents.

Grew some “wildflowers” this year. Thought maybe these are bright enough to share. Corn poppies (Papaver rhoeas, annual), Chinese forget-me-not (Cynoglossum amabile, annual), candytuft (Iberis umbellata, annual). Lavender thrown in for scent. Also I grew this native meadowsweet or Queen of the Prairie (Filipendula rubra, Zones 3–9) from seed. I used the wintersowing method last year and it is blooming this year.

A great year for poppies might be an understatement! That red looks like it’s going to pop right off my screen and land on my keyboard 😍

And it looks like it was a great year for all the flowers Amanda grew this year. Those forget-me-nots are looking extra blue and the sweet pinky purple candytuft can’t be hidden.

From every angle there is a gorgeous bloom to admire.

Plants really are the gift that keep on giving. From far away they are striking, but get up close and personal with a bloom and there is a whole world to explore. Common poppies I always found to be particularly interesting, their bright red petals opening up to reveal a dark center with lots of fluffy-looking stamens. As a child I always thought they looked other worldly.

While Amanda did an amazing job of capturing the colors of this bouquet outdoors, nothing has the ability to make flowers shine quiet like natural sun rays.

Finally, a shot of the Queen of the Prairie Amanda so successfully grew from seed. An absolute stunner, Amanda—thank you for sharing your fabulous flowers!

My mom just recently secured her annuals for the year, I’ll be sharing those in a few weeks. Do you add annuals to your garden every year? Let us know what you’re growing in the comments or send photos to gpod@taunton.com!

 

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.

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

Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.

Fine Gardening Recommended Products

Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

Featuring gorgeous photography and advice for landscapers, Planting in a Post-Wild World by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West is dedicated to the idea of a new nature—a hybrid of both the wild and the cultivated—that can nourish in our cities and suburbs.

Buy at Amazon

SHOWA Atlas 370B Nitrile Palm Coating Gloves, Black, Medium (Pack of 12 Pairs)

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

Lightweight and close-fitting for excellent dexterity. Machine washable. Breathable back of hand to reduce perspiration. Designed for easy movement and continuous wear. Ideal for aerospace, assembly, automotive, construction, final fix, gardening, manufacturing, operating machinery, packaging, precision handling, tiling, warehousing.

Buy at Amazon

The New Organic Grower, 3rd Edition: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener, 30th Anniversary Edition

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

Since its original publication in 1989, The New Organic Grower has been one of the most important farming books available, with pioneer Eliot Coleman leading the charge in the organic movement in the United States. Now fully illustrated and updated, this 30th Anniversary Edition is a must-have for any agricultural library.

Buy at Amazon