My once peaceful and beautiful back yard is still in shambles, mainly since the long recovery from Hurricane Irma. I could really relate to this article about starting over again.
Check out the article if you are in need of inspiration like me!
Showing posts with label landscaping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label landscaping. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Inspiration for a Beautiful Back Yard
My once peaceful and beautiful back yard is still in shambles, mainly since the long recovery from Hurricane Irma. I could really relate to this article about starting over again.
Check out the article if you are in need of inspiration like me!
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Awesome container gardening idea
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Landscape Inspiration
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Flowering Perennials
Bursts of color all over the garden can be a spectacular and soothing sight. One of my favorite things to do is color-coordinate sections.
Click here for an article on Flowering Perennials from Better Homes and Gardens. Plan for continuous color by mixing perennials and annuals. It is fun to experiment!
Happy Gardening!
Monday, June 20, 2016
Thursday, August 7, 2014
A Cozy Spot
There is no better therapy for stress than to have a cozy spot outdoors to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.
Back in the day, we had "rooms" set up in the garden for different times of day as the sun would hit the area a certain way. Then we had the spots that were perfect for watching the stars at night.
We are blessed to live in Florida when we can enjoy a meal outdoors just about any time of the year.
Fine Gardening is a great website to gather inspiration for creating a new spot in your garden. I love spending time going through all the awesome photos of gardens from all over the world.
This photo is from a garden in Connecticut . . . so comfy and cozy, yet very simple. To see more photos of this beautiful garden, click here.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Toss the bare lawn?
Our once gorgeous and lush green grass in the front yard has turned to bare spots and mass plantings of a variety of weeds.
When I saw the photo of an interesting and beautiful non-lawn yard scene, I thought "why not?"
One of the why nots is that succulents don't do well in our climate and that is one of the things that I really like about the scene.
With a little imagination, I guess one could set out those pavers, do some research and find a ground cover that would thrive in these conditions. The flashiness could come from the colorful tropicals that can be planted and do so well in our climate.
The area in the photo is small and our front yard is huge. One paver section at a time I guess! Another idea would be larger structures here and there, like bird baths and benches to take up some space. Large containers strategically placed would also take up space and add to the texture.
Anyway, when I found the photo, I thought it was a good starting point for inspiration. I'm sure we are not the only ones who are wanting to get rid of the lawn!
Click here to go to an article, "How to Use Ground Cover to Cover Bare Spots in the Lawn" . . . which is where I also found the photo.
Click here for another article, "Lawn Replacements: Kick Your Yard in the Grass" which includes a slideshow of many non-lawn inspirations.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Around the garden world in 365 days
Container gardens like the one in the photo is what we are striving to do in our garden that includes lots of concrete and container plantings. Much easier maintenance than the wild look we currently have. Love the tropical feel of this colorful garden vignette!
This photo was taken at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Day #32 in "Around The Garden World in 365 Days," Barbara's fabulous blog series that takes you on a trip to a different garden every time with lots of photos and inspiration for your garden. Click here for Day #32 where you will find many more photos from the gorgeous and inspirational Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
Barbara Peake Wise describes herself as a plant nerd who works for Landscape Service, Inc. You can also follow her on Twitter. She is one of my favorite garden enthusiasts on the internet!
Monday, May 6, 2013
Beautiful container plantings
Seems like I love container planting more and more as time goes by. I love being creative and taking inspiration from other gardeners to come up with my own creations.
Although there are many wonderful websites to inspire us, my latest favorite is Fine Gardening Magazine's website. Of course, the website is my photo source!
Today's inspiration is a glimpse of Chanticleer Garden.
Looks like this gorgeous and unique container is more of a mini raised bed, put together with pieces of slate, cut in various sizes. My idea is to make the pieces made of concrete . . . the forms would be super easy to make.
Two of them placed diagonally would be awesome looking! Wouldn't it? I would love to see this exact design on a larger scale, placed diagonally, as the focal point of a front yard. Awesome! We are looking for ideas for raised beds as an alternative to way too much grass in the front yard and this design would be great.
Color variations are endless by using concrete tints or by painting them. Anyway, love the design! Who knows? We may gather the energy to get this project done after the huge tree stump comes down!
Want to see more from Fine Gardening's article and many
more ideas for container planting? Click here
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Elegant Garden
The elegance of this garden immediately caught my attention when I was browsing through Fine Gardening's garden photo section for some garden inspiration.
Photo: Courtesy of Barbara Nuffer via Fine Gardening
Since our property is so large and we really don't want to be a slave to the garden as I have been in the past, the general thinking has been to design raised beds around large paths. Barbara's garden in upstate New York is exactly what has been going through my mind. Click on the Fine Gardening link to read the entire article featuring her garden and more photos.
An excerpt from the article . . .
"This garden is a raised bed. The shape is a 20-foot-diameter circle with a gravel path at ground level leading to a fountain in the center of the circle, and continuing to a bench. The outer perimeter of the garden is a 2-foot-tall stone wall. The interior wall is pressure treated 1 x 6s cut into 3-foot lengths and sunk into the ground 12 inches. Since portions of this wall are curved, we used metal strapping nailed to the back of the pieces of wood to hold it in place. They are slanted slightly back towards the bed. The shape is really pretty in winter as the sun sets behind it. A natural stream is down the hill behind the garden so you hear running water as a backdrop.
We lined the bed with black plastic with some drainage holes punched in it. My soil mixture included 6 cubic foot bags of coarse texture vermiculite. We mixed this with potting soil that contained lots of peat. This was suitable because I was planning to use acid-loving plants. We also mixed in two parts of topsoil. The proportions were one part vermiculite to one part potting soil to two parts topsoil. The bed was well moistened and mulched with finely ground cedar bark."
Awesome inspiration!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Monday, March 4, 2013
Container gardening in the landscape
Love the simplicity of the container plants in this gorgeous Tennessee garden.
Fine Gardening has featured Jeff Calton's beautiful garden, which is a mix of landscaped areas with lush lawns, trees, lots of blooms and container gardens.
Click here to go to the article . . .
Photo: Courtesy of Jeff Calton via Fine Gardening
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
February Bromeliads
The massive plantings of bromeliads with their red blooms provide a burst of color in this gorgeous tropical scene. The water garden runs along a pond that is complete with fish, turtles and different types of birds who love to hang out in this area. Do you blame them?
This is one of the most serene and beautiful scenes at Busch Gardens!
We will get more photos from this area next time we visit!
The landscapers at Busch Gardens have cleverly used a mass planting of similar bromeliad plants in yellow and red to really provide that pop of color, bordering them with another mass planting of a variegated variety. They bring excitement to an otherwise green raised bed.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Claude Monet's garden in Giverny
Photo from
Claude Monet's garden in Giverny
Courtesy of Maria Fleming via Fine Living Magazine
Fruit trees don't have to stand alone!
I love the mass planting at the base of these fruit trees . . . looks like impatiens to me, a plant that I have used extensively in my garden to liven up boring spots in the shade.
Find a flowering plant that works in your climate and fill in those boring spots in your garden!
Check out more photos of Claude Monet's spectacular garden . . . click here.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Beautiful Flowering Variegated Gingers
Spring is one of my favorite times of the year in subtropical Florida. The Captain and I visited Busch Gardens this month and will be featuring plants and landscaping from the beautiful gardens.
The first in the series is
Variegated Gingers
Flowering variegated gingers were featured in this raised bed at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida.
A close up shows the beautiful flowers that remind me of clusters of pearls.
The variegated ginger is a green tropical perennial which grows up to ten feet tall outdoors and 3–4 feet tall indoors.
They do very well in the shade as well as the morning sun, however, they don't do well in the hot afternoon sun. They are reasonably drought tolerant with little insect or disease problems.
For more information on these showy, easy to grow plant, visit my webpage dedicated to growing gingers.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Landscaped borders
The older I get, the more I like landscaped borders with large paved living areas as opposed to huge planted areas. This idea works great for large yards with way too much maintenance. It also accommodates those gardeners like me who are not fond of grass or spending way too much time mowing the lawn.
These photos come from DIY Network's website, where you can get all kinds of inspiration and instructions for your outdoor projects.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Floors for outdoors
Love these pavers!
Stephen Orr’s Tomorrow’s Garden (Rodale, $25) showcases the
latest trends in sustainable gardens from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.
latest trends in sustainable gardens from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Blooming Bromeliads in October
Blooming Bromeliads were featured on this blog at the end August . . . the plant photos were taken from Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. When we visited the gardens this month, I thought it would be interesting to chronicle the life cycle of the blooming bromeliads from one month to the next.
The title photo was taken in August. One of those flowering bromeliads is gone and the pink flower is not as vibrant, actually almost done as seen in some of the following photos. All in all, they are not as vibrant as they were in August, but still very beautiful in the landscape.
This one appears to be almost done!
Awesome placement of bromeliads between the rocks that form the waterfall.
Check out the following video made from photos taken from the gardens of Busch Gardens to enjoy the lush and tropical beauty of Central Florida landscaping in October . . . this is subtropical gardening at its finest!
More posts and videos to come on container gardening
and specific plants in this subtropical paradise . . .
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