It’s my favorite time of year – when we showcase the gorgeous gardens of the Cup of Joe community. Native wild flowers spread! Giant sunflower! Candy colored ranunculus! Every photo submission is a joy. So, without further ado, here are 11 readers’ gardens…
Both photos above: “My partner and I transformed our front lawn into a meadow of native wild flowers five years ago. There are over 40 flower species, and the meadow is over 2,000 square feet (bigger than our house!). People walking or driving by always stop to tell us how much they love it. Random strangers have even left seed packets in the meadow and love notes in our mailbox!” – Annalisa, New Haven, Connecticut
“It’s been a tough season for my family, but whenever I see these happy ranunculus on my front door, I can’t help but smile.” – Laura, Northern Ireland
“Vegetable gardens are magical with kids. We grow lots of cherry tomatoes (perfect for little ones), fairy tale eggplants, blackberries and pink lemonade blueberries, which turn pink when ripe.” -Sarah, Ridgefield, Connecticut
“We added chickens to our garden last year. My two-year-old named them Cashew, Evie, and Pumpkin. She loves feeding them and collecting eggs. However, they are very noisy eaters, so I always keep them away from my crops!” – Naudia, Nyack, New York
“My pride and joy is my agave. It’s big, bold, five feet tall and the heart of my front yard. They typically live about 25 years and only flower once before they die!” – Lisa, San Jose, California
“We moved to a remote island off the coast of Vancouver Island three years ago and bought a little 100-year-old yellow house. My friend said it looked like Miss Honey’s cottage matildaAnd this has been the blueprint of the garden ever since. It’s all a work in progress, but I want to keep building and growing this garden until I’m 100.” – Jess, Cortes Island, Canada
“When people are starting out they don’t always realize that creating a garden takes a lot of time. You can’t create the garden of your dreams overnight without spending a lot of money, and there’s no amount of money that can create the feel of a mature, well-cared-for garden. So, I’m trying to take things slowly. I recently built a gravel fire-pit area and breakfast nook. I love the feeling of manual labor, and it It’s so satisfying to see it coming together!” — talkativenashville
“When my husband and I moved into our house, my parents brought seeds from their garden — cosmos, zinnias, marigolds. We got married in our backyard that summer and used the flowers in our bouquets. My father, an avid gardener his entire life, passed away last year, just two weeks after my daughter was born. I saved the seeds from that summer and will plant them with her this spring. We’ll use the watering can I had in my Parents gave it to him; and when the flowers bloom, we will think of him.” – Chelsea, Ottawa, Canada
“Four years ago, my lovely grown daughters gave me a peony plant for Mother’s Day. Its huge, fragrant flowers are now the greatest joy in my (mostly vegetable) garden.” -Sasha,Belgrade,Montana
“After long dark winters, it’s so fun to see what we can bring to life – sunflowers, cucumbers, watermelons, catnip for cats, and tomatoes that dogs eat straight from the vines. Some years are more successful than others, but our garden makes us happy every summer.” – Lauren, Columbus, Ohio
“We are so lucky that our neighbor’s cherry trees and azaleas have been growing under her care for almost 40 years. The colors are incredible! This weekend, we had some stormy weather, so it was raining pink petals. My child loves tossing them in the air like confetti.” -Emma, Philadelphia
Thank you so much for sharing! How are everyone else’s gardens going? We would love to know.
More PS14 readers share their gorgeous gardens and Abe Nova’s Connecticut home is filled with plants and books.
(Photos by Gabby Llewellyn Mary Caroline Russell.)
