Hi Your Artistic Ideaers!
As promised, we’re returning to Lambertville, New Jersey, to see more from Ann Gilmour’s small but sensational city garden. If you missed Garden Photo of the Day yesterday, be sure to check out Part 1. If you need a refresher on her garden, I included a brief snippet from her introduction below.
Hi,
I live in Lambertville, New Jersey, a small city on the Delaware River bordering Pennsylvania. Due to it being a city with many buildings and fences, we have somewhat of a microclimate here. I’ve developed the garden over the 20 years we’ve lived here, adding more each year as time and money allow. I’ve been gardening most of my adult life, learning largely from my mother, who was an avid gardener, and through trial and error and reading about plants. I also took a garden-design class 30 or so years ago, which gave me a solid foundation. I have been a decorative painter and dabble in botanical illustration, both pursuits adding to my color sense, texture, and design.
We saw a corner of this covered patio yesterday, but here’s a better look at the seating/entertainment area. Some fabulous foliage plants and beautiful black wicker furniture give the patio a tropical cabana vibe.
In Part 1, we also saw a peek of these dwarf crested irises (Iris cristata, Zones 6–9) at the edge of the outdoor dining area that is just beyond Ann’s covered patio.
Yesterday, Ann mentioned that a drought last year, cold winter temperatures, and damage from squirrels and rabbits caused some of her clematis and roses to bloom late this spring. However, she still got an impressive display, and this Rubens clematis (Clematis montana var. rubens, Zones 6–9) climbing on an iron trellis is absolutely covered in blooms.
‘The Charlatan’ rose (Rosa ‘Meiguimov’, Zones 6–9) also produced a fantastic flush of pink flowers, and Jackmanii clematis (Clematis ‘Jackmanii’, Zones 4–8) decorated the birdhouse post in deep purple.
Lilies in front of the clematis haven’t yet flowered but are already towering and popping with buds. I wonder if they have started flowering for Ann yet!
Another vignette features a fabulous trio of MegaBoom ‘Orange Crush’ dahlia (Dahlia ‘Orange Crush’, Zones 8–11), ‘Purple Flame’ iris (Iris versicolor ‘Purple Flame’, Zones 3–8), and ‘Krinkled White’ peony (Paeonia × lactiflora ‘Krinkled White’, Zones 4–9).
Close-up of one of those fabulous ‘Orange Crush’ blooms, a swirl of sensational sunset colors
And lastly, the bright white flower of a ‘Krinkled White’ peony: Peonies delight in any garden, but their big blooms pack an even bigger punch when your space is small.
Thank you so much for this incredible introduction to your garden, Ann! We always love a gardener who sees no limit to the space they have to garden, and you’ve planted a wealth of beauty in your small urban landscape.
One of the many inspiring aspects of Garden Photo of the Day is seeing the endlessly different ways gardeners utilize their outdoor spaces. Whether you tend to potted wonders on a balcony garden or create cohesion on acres of land, we would love to see the plant beauty you’ve cultivated! Follow the directions below to submit photos of your garden via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.
We want to see YOUR garden!
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.