Garden Design

We’re visiting with Kevin Kelly today.

Today I am taking you on a brief review of my garden in 2022. As I am planning for a new growing season, it was nice to look over a few photos and see what I liked and what I would like to enhance in the upcoming growing season. I am in Harrisburg, PA, Zone 6b. My home is in a residential neighborhood and sits on just under a third of an acre.

front yard garden with shrubs and perennials in bloomThis is a view of my front yard in early August. Over the years I have scaled back much of the lawn, so it is now mainly paths and serves to rest the eye from the exuberant borders. Hydrangea paniculata White Diamonds® (Zones 3–8) makes quite a statement.

large planting of blue forget-me-notsI love this drift of Myosotis (forget-me-nots, Zones 5–9) that have seeded into this bed along the walkway leading to the front door.

close up of light green Champion HelleboresMarch is such a wonderful time for hellebores. This one is ‘Winter Bliss’ (Helleborus × ericsmithii ‘Champion’, Zones 5–8). I grow about 20 cultivars. They look great year round and contribute to the matrix layer (which covers the ground, eliminates the need for mulch, and knits the borders together).

s small plants and pink flowers growing between rocks and gravelThis is part of a crevice garden I built in the front yard in March 2022. I took this photo one month after planting. I am looking forward to seeing how it will look this spring.

mass planting of purple allium blooms backed by shrubsAllium ‘Purple Sensation’ (Zones 3–9) blooms in late May and is a wonderful transition from the early spring bloomers and the summer perennials. This cultivar naturalizes well.

a large bare tree and surrounding conifers covered in snowThis is a photo from January looking out from where we eat our meals. The maple is Acer rubrum ‘October Glory’ (Zones 4–9).

shrub with white flowers in front of tall, light pink flowersOne of my favorite combinations in July: Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum ‘Little Red’, Zones 4–8) is in the back, Hydrangea paniculata Bobo® is to the right, and Clethra alnifolia (Zones 4–9) is to the left.

boarder with yellow and purple flowers and a white hydrangeaWhen I took this photo I was standing on my driveway looking over the border across my front yard. There is a flagstone path hidden in there.

tiny white and pink aster flowers in front of a shrub with fall foliage and blue berriesI love this combination in the fall: Calico aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum, Zones 4–8) paired with Viburnum nudum ‘Brandywine’ (Zones 5–9).

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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