I am Maria and I live in the southwest of the province of Quebec, Canada, Zone 5. I want to add that my husband is in charge of the grass and tree part of the gardens so by keeping it all neat and clipped weekly my gardens are always looking at their best.

After being featured on the GPOD in June 2023 (Maria’s Quebec Garden), I was asked if I would host a garden tour for my garden club. They are always looking for opportunities to visit other gardens. It was my pleasure to do so but it also was a bit of work as we always want to show off our best in the gardens. The vegetable garden did not need much watering and was bountiful this fall. It is hard to choose only a few pictures of all the ones I take of my garden so hope you enjoy.

One of my hanging pots made by me looking on to my new flowerbed….with practice they are becoming nicer.

Vegetable garden end of July looking really good. The tomatoes were not the best as they are sunloving plants and the rainy summer did not help.

A begonia (Begonia brevirimosa subsp. exotica, Zone 10 – 11 or as annual) giving to me as a birthday gift from a friend.

Hibiscus moncheustos ‘Marvel’ (Zone 5 – 9) is dark red and always stunning. This year, though, it lost it’s leaves earlier than usual…not sure why!

My white double Brugmansia (Zone 8 – 11) along the stone wall and amidst annual zinnias (Zinnia elegans, annual). I plant zinnias all over the place, they were my mother’s favorite flower. They are so easy to grow. These I started inside in April. They get much bigger than those planted in the ground in my experience.

A beautiful-large white phlox (Phlox paniculata, Zone 5 – 9). Behind it a large hosta (Hosta plantaginea, Zone 3 – 9) in flower, the flowers of this hosta have a nice delicate smell.

A couple of my ceramic friends in the garden under a tiger eyes sumac (Rhus typhina ‘Bailtiger’, Zone 4 – 8).

Oriental poppies (Papaver orientale, Zone 3 – 8) started from seeds.

Anna Paulowna tree (Paulownia tomentosa, Zone 6 – 9). It’s a tropical tree and does not flower in our climate. It dies down every winter and comes back in the spring and grows up to 10 feet or more in one season. It is in the corner of my veggie garden and I always get asked “wow…what is that”?

A digitalis (Digitalis purpurea, Zone 3 – 8) started from seed flowering in late October. We have had a mild autumn and I had quite a few of late bloomers all around the gardens. It was really a nice to walk around and get surprised by something you were not expecting to be flowering at this time of year!

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.

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