I’m Ruth Kenworthy Ecker of Wellesley, Massachusetts. I am a member of a local garden club and serve on the board of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts. Though I have no formal training in hands-on-horticulture, I have adored gardens all my life and have been observant of those elements that appeal to me. After retiring, I thought I’d try try my hand at landscape design. Green-on-green is soothing to me. But who doesn’t like color? I also maintain two manageable, perennial garden plots filled with color mostly in a rosy pallet.
This is an absolutely beautiful, but simple, combination. Spotted deadnettle (Lamium maculatum, Zones 3–8) is a vigorous (sometimes a little too vigorous) ground cover with silver painted leaves, here combining perfectly with a white variegated euphorbia (Euphorbia sp.).
A purple ornamental onion (Allium sp.) shows off beautifully here mixed with ferns. It almost looks like the ferns are flowering!
A view of part of Ruth’s garden handiwork showing her emphasis on rich shades of green, but with points of color here and there.
This butterfly certainly appreciates the flowers. It has settled on a lantana (Lantana camara, Zones 8–10 or as an annual), which is a plant always well loved by butterflies.
A study in shades of green. Sometimes green fades into the background in a garden, but without any flowers, this scene allows you to take a moment and appreciate all the different shades and variants of green and how beautiful they are.
Here the green is broken up with delicate flowers of astilbe (Astilbe chinensis, Zones 4–8) and comfortable chairs welcoming you to sit back and enjoy the quiet beauty.
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.
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!
Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.
Fine Gardening Recommended Products
Bee Watering Station with Vivid Flower Design
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Thoughtful Combo: You will receive a bee feeder and 30 glass marbles. This thoughtful combo can provide clean water for the bees, you just need to put the marbles into the bee watering station, add water (note: the water level should not exceed the height of the marbles) and hang them in the right place. The round, colored marbles can provide a place for the bees to stand and prevent them from falling into the water, effectively keeping the bees safe. Fine Material: This exquisite bee bath is made of high quality iron material, smooth surface, rust and weather resistant, not easy to fade, sturdy and reliable. Bee cups for garden can well meet the drinking water needs of lovely bees, and it can also provide food for bees, such as sugar water, nectar, etc., attracting more bees to your outdoor area and making your garden full of vitality. Perfect Size: The butterfly watering station has an overall height of 13.4 inches, a bowl diameter of 9.4 inches, and a weight of 0.44 pounds. The bee cup serves the needs of the bees well without plunging them into dangerously deep water or taking up unnecessary space in your garden, and this compact and efficient design makes it a practical addition to any outdoor space. Elegant Design: Our bee watering cups are designed in unique flower shapes with vibrant and realistic colours to attract lovely bees to your garden and patio, bee feeders for outside are not only functional but can also be used as a landscaping element, their vibrant floral patterns enhance the beauty of your garden. Multicolored Decoration: Colorful bee water stations look like flowers in a garden, flower bed or pot and attract bees and butterflies. They can drink or bathe in bee feeders, which are highly decorative and practical.
Bird Houses for Outside Clearance with Copper Guard, Cedar Bird House Outdoor, Bluebird Finch Swallow Wren Chickadee
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
1-1/2" ENTRANCE HOLE SIZE: SISTERBIRD bluebird houses for outside have a properly-sized entrance hole, through this blue bird houses for outside you can attract desirable species to your bluebird house, such as Bluebird, Wren, Tree Swallow, Chickadees, etc. While this blue bird house excluding predators and unwanted occupants, for example, European starlings. HIGH-QUALITY MATERIALS: SISTERBIRD birdhouse kits for kids and adults use untreated, unpainted cedar. bluebird nesting box has a rough surface, and birdhouses for outdoors can give birds a foothold as they enter and exit the cedar bluebird house. Cedar of birdhouses for outdoors clearance also can keep out weather-related damage. SAFE HOME FOR FLEDGLINGS: SISTERBIRD Bluebird BirdHouse Box with copper predator guard around the entrance hole can help young birds against predators. These birdhouses for outdoors interior grooves, like a small ladder, help young birds leave the cedar bird houses for outside, especially swallows and bluebirds. A great birdhouses for outside clearance for creating a trail. EASY AND FUN TO ASSEMBLE: Just use a screwdriver, you can experience the thrill of working with your family to build blue bird houses, and feel the pride that comes from building a bird nesting box for little birds. You can also DIY, paint it, making blue bird box special and unique, build your own blue bird houses for outdoors. EASY TO CLEAN & REUSABLE: SISTERBIRD wooden bird houses front door opens for easy cleaning after fledglings have left. When the season is over, clean out the blue bird boxes for outside and save bluebird birdhouses for outdoors clearance for next spring.
Comments
That looks like Euphorbia 'Tasmanian Tiger' and that's a great pairing. Folks who go after maximum contrast between foliage color miss the fun subtleties of a plant palette harmonized by similar color variegations. One could add Japanese Sedges (Carex) or Hostas with white margins…and all these plants would "have a dialogue"
In the photo with the beautiful Astilbe near a sitting area, I think that weeping blooms suggests Astilbe thunbergia 'Ostrich Plume' rather than Astilbe chinensis which has heavier upright flowers. I especially love that weeping habit that reminds me of Goatsbeard, aka Aruncus
I really love the idea of mixing the Allium in with the Ostrich Ferns. That's a perfect combination since, for some reason the strappy blades of the Alliums are often already in decline just as the flowers bloom. But planted amongst taller ferns those unsightly leaves would be hidden. And the combo magical
What a beautiful soul satisfying view you have while standing right outside that blue door. One has to give fair credit to how much the swath of lush grass also contributes to the verdant serenity. Include me also as a big fan of the allium flowering among the ferns...that gives a very delightful effect and yes, does solve the problem of the premature deteriorating allium foliage.
I imagine that area with chairs is so relaxing to sit in & enjoy all around you.
The different textures and shades of green and silver are so soothing but interesting. I’d never thought of pairing allium with ferns- will try it . I’d welcome advice about keeping euphorbia Tasmanian Tiger for years!
Ruby - you have created a truly lovely and elegant garden - thank you for sharing it with us!
The view across the patio and the area with the chairs look so inviting. How do you keep the rabbits and deer from munching your plants? In my (opposite) end of Wellesley, the rabbits are prolific and hungry.
Ruth, thank you for sharing your beautiful photos and your love of gardens and gardening. Thank you also for your willingness to serve on your state board for the Gardening Federation of America. Your design abilities are quite evident in your photos! Great pairings! Hope to see more soon!
I've always been a fan of predominantly green shades in a garden only accented with the color of flowers. Your garden really suits me, love the calmness it has. I especially loved the way you used the natural overhanging branch in your composition of plants.
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Sign up Log in