Yes, welcome to my Garden Party! So glad you could stop by today and I hope you’ll make yourself at home. You might not know this, but as much as I love to decorate, gardening is right up there for me too in things I enjoy doing and I love to grow pretty flowers. I’ve got a pretty good green thumb, although I’ve managed to lose a few here and there too, but right now is a good time to show off what’s blooming.
We’ve just had a nice rain for the last 2 days, so everything is looking so green and lush (and a little windswept too, but that’s OK). I started all of my beds 3 years ago when we moved to Birmingham, so they are finally coming along and looking good. This bed has an Endless Summer hydrangea, underplanted with hostas and I always add pretty impatiens to the front that peek out over the edging.
I have always, always loved impatiens. They are probably my all time favorite flower to grow.
These Endless Summer hydrangeas are doing well and if they bloom like they did last year (which they are covered with blooms now), they will be busting out in just a few weeks. You can see that they will be a nice deep blue.
This little bed has evolved over the last 3 years and almost nothing made it from what was originally planted. I can tell you that if you’re looking for a good shrub to add in your beds, that Spirea that lines the fence is a good one. It is a gorgeous shade of lime green with little pink blooms in the spring. I planted 3 of them three years ago and they have really grown. Unfortunately, all the other perennials I planted in this bed did not make it for the long haul, so I’ve had to replace them in the last couple of years.
I added mostly dianthus and I hope they all make it.
This is a spiderwort that my mom shared from her garden and it does well.
Those purple sage are newly planted this year. You can see the delicate pink flowers on the spirea. I love this shrub & will definitely plant more of them.
This hot pink dianthus I just planted this year and it’s doing well.
Here’s that $4 birdbath I found a couple weeks ago, looking right at home here in this bed. Found the glass ball last year at a sale and I love it in the water.
Closeup of the spirea and my iron armillary.
The glass ball just sits in the birdbath.
These dianthus were planted last year and have grown a lot. If you’d like to see how these beds have evolved in the last 3 years, you can go here and take a look. And this next area by our front sidewalk is where I built a stone wall all by myself and that’s on the link too.
Moving on to the bed beside our front sidewalk. This bed was full of overgrown boxwoods when we moved in and I knew I had to work on it, so I built this little stone wall out of paver stones from Lowes and planted it with knock-out roses and Dwarf Mock Orange shrubs which have done pretty well. I was featured with this project in the Birmingham News 2 years ago and that was fun.
The double-knockouts have done well for me too.
This urn sits a the end of the stone wall and I just planted it with some cheapie annuals.
Mulching with dark mulch makes any bed look better, I think. Found that armilary at a yardsale a couple years ago for $10. I’m always on the lookout for more garden stuff.
And of course, there are a few bunnies in my garden. I’m sure you are shocked to hear that! 🙂
Down by the mailbox, I added a new perennial purple verbena this year. I hope it does well here. I had some of this planted in my other bed up by the fence and it almost took over the first year. Then, for some unknown reason, it just completely died. Plants are hard to figure out sometimes, but I sure love to watch them grow. Flowers just add so much to the landscape and I enjoy walking outside to see them blooming this time of year.
This clematis is 3 years old and has the prettiest blooms every spring. Too bad they don’t last longer.
Purple verbena up close.
I had tried to figure out what to plant down by the mailbox, since it gets full sun, so I decided on this Miss Huff lantana which is supposed to be really hardy and drought tolerant and hopefully it will get big and fill out. I planted 3 of them. Most of my garden is pinks, blues & purples (my fave colors in the garden), but since I needed something here that is tough, I decided I could stand some orangey yellow down here.
So, how about you? Have YOU been digging in the dirt this spring and how is it looking? Share with everyone by adding your garden to Mr. Linky and add a link back to THIS post so everyone can find our party. I can’t wait to visit everyone’s garden too.
Happy May, ya’ll!
Don’t forget the rules on how to play with Mr. Linky. Go here if you need to learn how to do a permalink and don’t forget to add a link back to MY post here so others can find the party.
Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.
Hello Rhoda, sorry I couldn’t join your fun today, our recent rain messed up my petunias. I do hope they recover today.. But your garden is wonderful, it’s perfect for a party!
Rhoda,
Thanks for sharing your garden pictures and relating the names of
these plants. I got several good
ideas from looking at your pictures
today. I really like the way you explain everything on your blog, gardening, decorating, etc. It helps
to know how you did all these projects. I marvel at the creative
projects and ideas of so many
wonderful ladies. HOW DO YOU HAVE
THE TIME AND ENERGY TO DO ALL THIS?? I love your blog!
I had those spider worts in the yard when I bought the house. I didn’t know what they were. Thanks to your post, I can now identify them.
Beautiful Gardens Rhoda. Thanks for hosting the May Garden Party.
Hi Rhoda!
I love the look of your Garden.
Beautiful gardens!
Hugs
What a nice idea Rhoda, your garden looks lovely.
My tulips are still in bloom but not much else; our trees are ready to burst, it’s still early here. I love this rebirth each year and like you I love to try something new each year. My Grandmother had such pretty gardens she had such a green thumb, my own Mother could not care less about gardening, I got Mum’s green thumb and just LOVE it. I make mistakes but who cares it’s fun 🙂
You throw a mean party Rho,
xo Kathy 🙂
Rhoda…your plants are gorgeous. I missed getting pictures to join the party…not much is blooming here yet except for my annuals which I am still planting. I did post of few pics of my plantings from over the weekend….stop by if you have a minute…by the way…I had never thought to underplant my hydrangeas……going to now….yours look so beautiful….Thanks for hosting this lovely party!
Rhoda, you got the best garden in Bama. I luuuv them bunnies!!! And who gets a bird bath for $4? Now that’s what I call a deal. Your perennial purple verbenas are gorgeous. I’m taking notes for my garden. Thanks for hosting a great garden party. Next time I’ll grab my sun hat and bring a batch of sweet tea.
Your garden is beautiful! Since it’s still spring in Oregon and too early for summer annuals, I’ve linked to some pics my husband took of the bulbs and other spring flowering plants in our yard. Thanks for this beautiful idea!
Becky
It’s all so lovely, Rhoda. You have done a fabulous job making it all work together. It’s amazing how gardens are an ongoing project and never really complete. I understand trying to work around the rain. Our yard is saturated right now, making it difficult to get some things done.
Thank you for hosting a fabulous garden party today,
Jennifer @ Fiddle Dee Dee
Your gardens are beautiful! Thank you for hosting this glorious Garden Party, I’ve loved every minute of visting other gardeners!
Dear Rhoda,
Thank your for kindly hosting a garden party. I am unable to participate with photos this time around, but I am sure gleaning from your garden and the other ladies who submitted theirs. Thank you for your suggestions in gardening as well. I too love digging in the dirt and gardening and these past three years on our property has been a great deal of learning. :o)
Sincerely ~ Tricia Anne
Rhoda, I loved the stroll in your garden.
Hey Rhoda!
Love your garden! I just spruced up our back porch to soften things up a little and enjoy being outside with nature.
Love this rain for our ever growing garden…..work in progress. Planted a hydrangea (in bloom already) and several azaleas this year in the back.
Good to see all your photos!
Thanks for the lovely stroll in your garden. I’m glad you visited mine last week. I think it may have floated away today after all the rain.
Thanks to ALL of you for coming by who added a link & for all who came by to enjoy all the beautiful flowers.
Believe me, I'm no expert on all of this & it has been trial & error in my garden too. Some things I've lost & had to replant, but luckily most all of the basics have made it.
And ooops, I forgot that many of you are further north and haven't got blooms yet, so maybe next year if I do a party, I'll wait a little later on ya'll!
Ooooooohh! Your gardens are beautiful!
***** SOOO L*O*V*E*R*L*Y, RHODA!!!*****
Many thanks for the smiles,
Linda *
Oh, things have surely changed in your garden, Rhoda! All still wonderfully delightful. I love gardens; unlike interior decor, gardens change and evolve all on their own. I love to see the changes from year to year, the surprise volunteers that start growing, the naturalized bulbs that come back, even when I didn’t remember planting them.
Thanks for the beautiful pics!
Hi Rhoda! your garden looks lovely – so lush! We’ve just pretty much seen the end of our snow up north here in Alberta. My daffodils and tulips are coming up and I’m excited about a couple of blooms – it’s doesn’t take much to excite us northerners!! Spirea do well up here in zone 5. My favorite plant however is hydrangea and the lovely big blooms (either pink or blue) don’t grow here:( Still we can find some very hardy plants and there are some beautiful gardens here – I’m still learning.
Take care!