Today’s photos are from Connie Raines in Georgia.

I am a hobby gardener and a professional interior designer. I learned about plants and flowers while tending my own small city garden. I worked as a “professional gardener” during the 2008 recession when design work was hard to come by. I have continued my love for gardening and planting in a new home and have a wonderful wildflower meadow garden that I started in 2022. It has taken two years for some of these flowers to actually flower but it has been worth the wait. My property also has some very large azaleas.

This Lady Banks rose (Rosa banksiea ‘Lutea’, Zones 8–10) is covered in flowers after just two years. Lady Banks rose loves hot climates and is an early bloomer, covering itself with masses of small yellow blooms in the spring. Best of all, it is nearly thornless, so it can be used next to a seating area like this without any injuries.

Last fall Connie planted baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii, annual) seeds in the ground. This little annual is native to the West Coast and grows great when sowed in the fall in Zone 7 and warmer, or in the spring in colder zones.

Connie is adding more natives to her garden, like this baptisia (Baptisia alba, Zones 5–8). Baptisias are very long-lived, durable perennials but can take some time to settle in and start flowering heavily. This first blooming is the promise of lots of beauty for years to come.

Flowers from the wildflower garden: sweet William (Dianthus barbatus, Zones 3–9), native fleabane (Erigeron annuus, annual), phlox (Phlox divaricatus, Zones 3–8), and a stem of columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris, Zones 3–8)

Brussels sprouts and Swiss chard bring edible elements to Connie’s garden. Both grew over the winter, as they are quite cold tolerant.

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.

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

XLUX Soil Moisture Meter

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

- Large and clear dial, including ten scales, plug and read
- Simply insert the moisture meter into soil and you'll get the test result instantly
- Single probe, less hurts to the roots, doesn't dig up too much soil after test

Buy at Amazon

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

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