Garden Photo of the Day

Bob and Linda’s North Carolina Garden

Shrubs, statues, irises, and more

By GPOD Contributor
A path leading to a patio area in a shady garden

Today we’re in North Carolina visiting with Bob and Linda Hatcher, sharing scenes of their beautiful, naturalistic garden.

Purple irises in front of a pond with a dock and boatWe have a small pond (3/4 acre) and a stone patio on the edge with a boat whose job is just to look like a boat for pictures. The purple iris was probably brought in by birds. Editor’s note: This looks to me like it might be Japanese water iris (Iris ensata, Zones 4–9).

A path leading to a patio area in a shady gardenWhat we refer to as “The Circle” is a stone patio with an old metal Vermont-type maple syrup cooker we use as a firepit. Many hours have been spent here and many marshmallows consumed.

Potted plants seen through a opening in a hedgeLooking through the holly hedge to the backyard, a hibiscus is visible in the small pot.

A large white pergola with potted hostas under itAs we look at our pergola between the house and the backyard, we’re thinking it should be named the hosta pergola.

Pots of flowers set in a row next to a hedgeThe right-hand side of the backyard includes repeating pots. The trick here was getting them level.

Purple irises in front of a statue of a birdA bird statue poses with the purple iris.

Statue of a child holding a birdbath in a gardenWe found this little statue in Charleston, South Carolina. Here it is backed up by hydrangea (we think this is Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Bloomstruck’, Zones 5–9), clematis, and giant garlic.

Three statues of geese in a gardenRusting galvanized geese

A statue of a sleeping girl surrounded by fernsThe sleeping girl in the ferns (Dryopteris erythrosora ‘Brilliance’, Zones 5–9)

A brick path lined with shrubs leading up to a white houseThe walk off the front porch is flanked by ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’, Zones 3–9), which haven’t flopped yet. That might be due to the fact that we cut them to the ground when they got to about 12 inches tall this spring. Also, on the right is ‘Carissa’ holly (Ilex cornuta ‘Carissa’, Zones 7–9) hedge. On the other side is Amsonia hubrichtii (Zones 5–8), a terrific plant with four-season interest. It self-seeds here, but just the right amount.

A brick path surrounded by shrubs including a large hydrangeaJust a little farther along the same path are mophead hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla, Zones 5–9), which look like this every year even though we still are never sure how to prune them!

 

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Comments

  1. User avater
    vanhatalosuomi 07/02/2021

    Thanks for sharing your lovely southern garden :)

  2. nwphilagardener 07/02/2021

    Gracious and relaxed! Once again, GPOD leaves me wanting more on a visit that felt way too brief.

  3. user-7525974 07/02/2021

    Bob and Linda, your gardens are glorious and the banner photo showing the circle patio made me gasp. I love photo opportunities being the reason for the boat. What a joy to have a partner with whom to garden, and the hard work really shows. Good job!

  4. User avater
    simplesue 07/02/2021

    I'm having some garden envy after seeing your southern garden- it's just delightful!
    Love, love, love "The sleeping girl in the ferns" statue and how you have her in that area is so pretty.
    So many interesting walkways and areas to explore and sit.
    It has cozy intimate spots and also open spaces to view....wow your garden has it all!
    Formal and natural at the same time...perfection!
    I'm just in love with this garden.

  5. User avater
    treasuresmom 07/02/2021

    That patio is something! I bet it is relaxing & fun in the summer to sit out & enjoy all around it.

  6. gardendevas 07/02/2021

    Absolutely heavenly gorgeous! So inviting, and wonderfully arranged, with plenty of negative space and flow.

  7. Cenepk10 07/02/2021

    Gorgeous, refined garden. Love it all !!!!

  8. btucker9675 07/02/2021

    What a wonderful garden you've created. Love all of the garden art, especially lovely sleeping girl. Happy Independence Day to all my fellow gardeners!!!

  9. Maggieat11 07/03/2021

    Absolutely love it. Have you done garden tours? Great photos, wonderful gardens. Also, I appreciate your use of garden art throughout your gardens. Well done!

  10. joxer 07/02/2023

    That patio is something! I bet it is relaxing & fun in the summer to sit out & enjoy all around it.
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