Garden Photo of the Day

Joan’s New Garden

Filling a new space with flowers

By GPOD Contributor
bright pink Chrysanthemum

Joan Cogliano is sharing her garden with us today.

I moved to a new house in Weymouth, and it was a mess. I removed a leggy peach tree, two scraggly Alberta spruce, and several stunted barberry. I amended the soil, started a compost pile, enlarged a front bed, and started adding perennials and roses given by friends and family. Here is the progress after one year.

garden near the front steps of a home
A newly planted purple-leaf sand cherry (Prunus × cistena, Zones 2–8) in the back corner will grow into a large shrub. Various annuals and perennials fill the space for now.

Apricot Drift rose‘Apricot Drift’ rose (Zones 4–8) is a very disease-resistant variety with softly fragrant, apricot-colored blossoms.

Sweet alyssum in the gardenSweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima, annual) makes a mass of frothy white flowers in the front of this bed. Sweet alyssum generally prefers cooler weather, and newer varieties are sterile, which results in much longer, more prolific flowering as they put their energy into making blooms instead of seeds. However, the newer sterile varieties will not self-sow to come back the following year the way old-fashioned sweet alyssum will.

bright pink Chrysanthemum
A warm, rich-hued Chrysanthemum (hardiness depends on variety) has its colors echoed beautifully by a lavender hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla, Zones 5–9) and a pink veronica (Veronica species or hybrid, perhaps the variety ‘Pink Potion’, Zones 4–8). The three colors are similar enough to complement each other, but different enough for contrast, and the spiky veronica blooms contrast nicely with the rounded forms of the hydrangea and chrysanthemum.

Apricot Drift rose with sweet alyssum behind it
I bet the combination of ‘Apricot Drift’ rose with sweet alyssum behind it smells wonderful!

light pink peony blooms
Is there anything more spectacular than a clump of peonies (Paeonia hybrid, Zones 3–7) in full bloom?

 

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Comments

  1. User avater
    vanhatalosuomi 03/26/2021

    Nice color combinations! Thanks for sharing :)

  2. Patchworkgardener 03/26/2021

    Wow! You’ve done a lot of work and it shows. Love your color combinations. Thanks for sharing

  3. annek 03/26/2021

    A beautiful result in such a short period of time! Stunning

  4. User avater
    treasuresmom 03/26/2021

    You are really coming along. Share more as you do more.

  5. User avater
    user-7007816 03/26/2021

    Wow! You've done an amazing job so far and it will only get better over the years.

  6. Maggieat11 03/26/2021

    Really lovely! Nice job. I'll look forward to more photos at some point!🍃😁

  7. User avater
    simplesue 03/26/2021

    So pretty! Flowers seem to like you, as they are growing wonderfully in your garden!

  8. btucker9675 03/26/2021

    Beautiful color combinations - your garden will just keep getting better and better!

  9. user-5117752 03/27/2021

    Simply charming!!! Love your combinations!

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