Charlie is also quite the explorer and enjoys documenting how her vegetables and squash gardens did throughout the summer of 2012. The squash area was new this year and she experimented there by using large cardboard boxes. Pretty neat!

Early fall 2012 has been the new spring in Carol’s garden. After three months of the hottest, driest days she’d ever experienced as a gardener, Carol finally had some good rains, thus her Dianthus is blooming. Phlox ''David'' had a good run in July and didn''t last long, but it has made a triumphant come back now in the fall. Elsewhere in the garden, some Bird''s Nest Spruces (Picea sp.) decided to bud out again just like spring and some Hosta that died back almost completely are sending up some new shoots, as is a Clematis vine that she innocently planted in May not realizing that it would be the hottest, driest three months of her gardening life.

In recent weeks, their garden has had a good amount of rain and is keeping the garden in remarkable shape. Their hibiscus plants (or is it hibisci) and all the various rudbeckia have never been bigger and their backyard is always a buzz with all kinds of bees and butterflies. They literally cover the marsh milkweed and ligularia. Both Pat and Jim remark that you can ‘hear them flying around the yard’. 

 

In this blog, Jean draws on her gardening experience as she reflects on her own garden, makes observations about gardens she visits, and reviews garden books and garden blogs. Occasionally, she uses the lens of her sociological training to consider the social meaning of gardening and to observe the community of garden bloggers.

                   

Barbie and Christine share similar life experiences, thus their friendship and kinship is shown through their words, posts and images of their gardens growing. Young mothers in their late teens / early twenties, “corporate types” throughout their 30's and then business owners in their 40's, gardening is a new passion for both. Both ladies embody the idea of country living and cherish their time in their gardens. They showcase their true green thumbs and spirit of the earth.

          

We thoroughly enjoyed her Soil is Haunted post. Her humor with regards to gardening is something so unique that we keep coming back to her site! Another favorite is: Better Homes and Gardens Than Yours.

What we like best about Michelle’s blog and garden is her natural approach to gardening. Her Zone 7A garden is a place for her, her blooms and tons of wildlife to showcase itself. As for what’s blooming to date in her garden, the list goes on and on, but she’s currently enjoying daffodils, blackberry lilies (Belamcanda chinensis), hydrangeas, hellebore, Gelsemium sempervirens (Carolina Jasmine), Cornus florida (Pink Dogwood), Knockout Roses and Yarrow.

What we like best about Debra’s blog and garden is her creative approach to color. Her blog is a place for her, her friends, her stunning garden and others. As for what’s bloomed for her, the list goes on and on. Debra loves color and uses iris, Asiatic lily, roses, lavender, hydrangeas, daisies and peonies throughout her garden and pathways.

What we like best about Margarte’s blog and garden is that she clearly loves what she’s doing: building a habitat. Her blog is a place for her, her friends, her stunning garden and for birds and bugs. As for what’s been blooming in her garden or what’s to come, Margaret loves HOT colors. She’s recently been expanding her palette of sunny-colored annuals, including a very sexy new-ish petunia called ‘Potunia Papaya,’ from German breeder Dummen-Red Fox.

You can read more about Lisa’s garden experiences on her blog, Life in Green. Some of her most notable posts include the ones about her recently expanded veggie garden.

Benjamin says gardening is something he got from spending time with his mother in her garden growing up. He says his mother’s gardening habits are a way to reconcile her past and present, the darkness and light, to work through good and bad, a place that has defined her since a child needing to escape her life. So when he moved into a townhome, his first place, Benjamin’s mother made sure they put in a small bed near the patio.

Currently showcasing in her garden are Autumn Joy Sedum, Knockout Rosa ''Radcon,'' Weeks ''Mardi Gras'' floribunda and other Butterfly Bushes. In late Spring/early Summer, she had two flash floods within a week, which ruined her Parsley, Basil, Zinnia, all but one Mammoth Sunflower, as well as some of the Morning Glory & Green Bean vines. But as of late August, she harvested round two of ''Early Girl'' tomatos as well as her first Green Beans. It''s also been an incredible year for Jo’s roses & many other blooms in my garden.

Cherie has the privilege of gardening in both shade and sun and loves them both! Her garden provides great subject matter for my second love, photography and she thoroughly enjoys spending hours on end in her Illinois garden.

If you look around Teresa’s home, you will find yourself surrounded by roses in intriguing containers and other plants potted up in metal pitchers. She is a natural cultivator of numerous rose species and valiantly attempts to do her part to expand the general interest and knowledge of the beautiful gift we have in plants.

Roses permeate so many facets of our lives, and Chris embodies that sentiment. When you visit his website at RedneckRosarian you will see his dedication to perpetuating knowledge about all types of roses and particularly the planting and care of rose gardens. If you look around his home, you will find yourself surrounded roses. They appear on dishes, photographs, upholstery, clothes, shoes, wallpaper and paintings. Chris valiantly attempts to do his part to expand the general interest and knowledge of the beautiful gift we have in the rose and to date, he has 73 roses under cultivation, representing over 60 varieties.

The March 2011 Garden of the Month belongs to J. Paul Moore from Nashville, Tennessee (Zone 7). Paul is a freelance photographer by trait and enjoys photographing all types of gardens, including his woodland shade garden, currently filled with Tennessee native plants.

Tootsie has been growing in her greenhouse for about nine years and loves every minute of it.She grows all her own annual flowers from seeds each year and dreams of the day she can own a greenhouse large enough to make a living growing for others.

The October Garden of the Month belongs to Steve from Jacksonville, Florida (Zone 9). Steve specializes in using tropicals and houseplants outside in the landscape, either overwintering them outdoors or bringing them in. His favorite plants to use are bromeliads, ti plants (also known as ti or Hawaiian good-luck-plant), alocasias, palms and gingers, with evergreen natives thrown in for protection, wildlife and shade.

The most innovative aspect of Steve’s garden is his newly installed rain garden! He used a groundcover of liriope ‘big blue’ (the big clumping kind) and liriope spicata (the short and spreading kind) to create a patchwork of different heights. Cordyline australis ‘red star’ and ‘dark star’ rise out of the liriope at alternating heights, and dyckia ‘red planet’ sits on the edge of the rocks.

The September Garden of the Month belongs to Chris T. from Champaign, IL. The patio garden is one of the latest additions to Chris’ quarter-acre suburban yard. Before the project, this site was a landscape nightmare. Chris was never able to decide which plants would fit the site. Years ago, when friends gave his son a 'North Star' cherry tree, Chris placed it at a focal point on the corner of the patio, but never developed the surrounding bed.

This spring and summer, Chris filled the patio garden with a variety of tropicals, annuals and foliage plants in a variety of colors and textures. The plants used include Caladium, Coleus ('Trailing Dark Heart' and 'Religious Radish'), Lantana, Melampodium 'Showstar', New Guinea Impatiens, 'Little Prince' Banana, Pennisetum 'Purple Baron', Carex 'Red Rooster'.

The August Garden of the Month belongs to Rita, B. from Orlando, FL. Her garden started out as a few mismatched, languishing plants, or as Mrs. B likes to call it, "Not a thing of beauty."

She was yearning for something peaceful and tranquil, as her patio is an important focal point of her home. So she decided to bring the inside out with regards to her garden. She added bold, warm colors and textures that mirror the exquisite modern decor of her home.She outfitted her patio with all Costa Farms’ plants, combining oranges and pinks with every hue of green imaginable. The movement of the glass sculptures inside her home is reflected by the shape of the leaves of the Philodendrons, Fiddler's Fig and White Bird of Paradise.She added color through the Hibiscus, Philodendron and Anthurium. She spent hours arranging the plants. At the conclusion of the project, Mrs. B. ended up witha beautiful canvas, full of life and harmony.