Happy Mondays GPODers!
Every Garden Photo of the Day contributor has a special place in my heart, whether you have submitted once or share photos as often as you can. However, it really makes me giddy when a new contributor feels encouraged to share more updates after their initial feature on the blog. So, when I saw these spring photos come in from Margaret Onken in St. Louis, Missouri I was over the moon. Margaret first shared some beautiful late-summer color from her garden last fall (Check out that submission: Late Summer in Margaret’s St. Louis Garden), and today she is back to give an update on how spring is looking in her landscape so far.
Good morning, GPOD! Spring has sprung in St. Louis and the garden is coming to life! Thanks so much for sharing photos from late summer last year! You really made me feel like I knew what I was doing!
The sun garden is bursting with green right now. This year everything seems to be blooming a few weeks earlier than last year. The weather has been all over the place and I think it has confused the plants! We built the first raised beds 14 years ago in the backyard and have added more through the years, finally topping out at 16 beds. I like the organization for the vegetables which is how this garden started and they love the hot St. Louis sun. I have beans, radishes and arugula & lettuces from seed and tomatoes, squash and cucumbers from nursery plants. I also plant potatoes every year. I have to rotate the beds as the tomatoes and potatoes wreck the soil, even with new compost every season.
The carpet phlox (Phlox subulata, Zones 3–9) is always glorious, cascading over the wall with gusto. My pig gets lost in the blooms!
I have evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa, Zones 4–9) that somehow found its way into the beds. This is an invasive plant but I can’t help but love the pink flowers in April. I just have to remember to pull most of them at season’s end.
I consider my herbs for both their flavor and flower. We often underestimate how pretty they are! They also keep the deer away so I have at least a small herb plant in each bed. The chives (Allium schoenoprasum, Zones 4–8) are some of my favorites.
Next to the chives is false indigo (Baptisia australis, Zones 3–9), the 2 purples are beautiful—even the bees agree!
One more purple for spring—our azalea that sits on the side of the house. Gorgeous this time of year!
My mother-in-law gave me our peonies as a house-warming gift. They are transplants from her garden. With the allium sneaking into the picture, it’s lovely at the front of the house and I think of her every time I see them.
My new shade garden is also popping up now. The Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica, Zones 3–8) and bleeding hearts (Dicentra ‘Gold Heart’, Zones 4–8) are Missouri natives and bloom with the daffodils and crabapple tree. So pretty!
Trillium and ginger (Asarum canadense, Zones 4–6) grow wild. I really lucked out with those natives remaining after we cleared out the back yard. I have transplanted the ginger everywhere as a sturdy groundcover. It’s lushous in the shade.
Anxious to see how everything grows in this year. We have been in a drought in St. Louis so we’ll see what has survived the dry winter.
Thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous garden with us again, Margaret! Even if you don’t think you know what you’re doing in the garden, your photos and words show only a deep appreciation and understanding of your plants.
Spring is really in the air and I’m thrilled with all the garden photos we have been receiving through our submission form and in our inbox! But if you’ve been hesitating to share your spring garden, I encourage you to take the leap as we have plenty of room for more beautiful spring blooms and dazzling designs to be featured. Follow the directions below to submit your photos to Garden Photo of the Day!
We want to see YOUR garden!
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, fill out the Garden Photo of the Day Submission Form.
You can also 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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