Hi GPODers!
A big move is always rife with challenges: adjusting to an unfamiliar neighborhood, saying goodbye to loved ones, discovering your new favorite spots in town, acclimating to a different environment, and more. For gardeners, moving to a new location and climate includes the added challenge of educating yourself on the best practices for the area. Linda Boblett knows this all too well, as she made the change from gardening in Ohio to the mountains of Washington. A completely new climate and increased activity from pests have given her plenty to adjust to, but her lush plantings show no indication that this transition has inhibited her ability to create garden beauty.
Hi all!
After gardening in the Midwest (Ohio), where just about anything grows, I now garden on Lookout Mountain in Whatcom County, Washington state (Zone 8a). Deer and slugs are a constant threat to plants, but I’ve learned to deal with it.
I’m not sure what kind of conditions Linda was working with in Ohio, but her new garden is a woodland wonderland quintessential to the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. The forest around her property is thick, and the plantings within her beds are foliage heavy.
Foliage heavy, but certainly not without flowers—an assortment of rhododendron makes a colorful splash along the border of her patio.
A small seating area is perfectly placed to enjoy all these bold blooms and bask in the tranquility of this shady corner of the garden.
For a shady foundation bed, Linda has a lovely collection of hostas in various colors, patterns, and forms. I wonder how she is managing to keep these beauties from becoming a feast for her local deer.
Shade can feel limiting to many gardeners, but it’s really an opportunity to plant something wonderful that would get scorched in the sun. Foamflowers, for example, love the shade and are textural powerhouses, with spires of tiny flowers and fabulous foliage forms. This appears to be the three-leaf foamflower (Tiarella trifoliata, Zones 3–9).
Another shady foundation planting features various ferns and light purple blooms of a variegated Jacob’s ladder.
A closer look at the Jacob’s ladder reveals more of that gorgeous golden, variegated foliage. It is potentially the Brise d’Anjou variety (Polemonium ‘Blanjou’, Zones 4–8).
A rustic garden bench in another shady spot in the garden is a perfect complement to a more naturalistic scene.
Linda’s garden is not solely shade; some areas do get hours of bright sun, but these sunnier spots are equally as lush and inviting. Ground covers creep between the gaps in these stone steps, and colorful containers lead you deeper into the garden.
One final view of the gardens and a beautiful lily pad birdbath!
Thank you so much for sharing your lush and lively garden with us, Linda! It’s clear that you’re adjusting well to gardening in the Pacific Northwest and creating an enchanting outdoor living area despite the new challenges you face.
Whether your garden is brand-new, decades old, large, small, or anything in between, we’d love to hear the story behind your space and the journey you’ve had with gardening. To share your garden story with the blog, follow the directions below to submit photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.
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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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