The transformation is dramatic. At the end of winter, the trees are bare, the lawn is brown. A few months pass and there is an explosion of flowers, leaves and vegetation. I spent some time taking photographs in my own garden and those of my friends.

My Garden

I threw a half rotted squash into my garden on a pile of hay in the middle of winter. The seeds germinated and the resultant vines have overtaken half the garden. I’m intrigued at how prolific this plant is.

I added a variety of Bee Balm called “Purple Rooster” from Amazing Flower Farm. It is supposed to be more resistant to mildew which affects the common red variety.

I have plenty of volunteer plants that appear throughout my garden. One of my favorites are the butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) perennials. They have a large taproot and are difficult to transplant, so I plan the garden around them. In addition they are magnets for Butterflies, especially Monarchs.

Mary’s Garden

I enjoy visiting Mary’s garden near Pratt Pond. She has a very large and colorful garden full of flowers and shrubs. There are also some whimsical features, such as her “Cialis” bathtub.

Mary has many volunteer plants that appear throughout her garden. She gave me a very nice Liatris (Liatris spicata) and Balloon Flower (Platycodon) as a parting gift.

Bonny- Jo’s Garden

Bonny-Jo has a wonderful vegetable garden with herbs and flowers. She showed me a weird flower that she got from Agway which is specifically chosen as a pollinator. If you can identify it,please leave a comment.

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Dave’s Garden

I play music with friends in Rindge, NH and noticed they have a wonderful cutting garden in their front yard.

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Cape Cod Exception

However some plants cannot be legally grown in New Hampshire Gardens. While we were vacationing in Cape Cod and I was admiring the blue hydrangeas and other flowers I noted this herb in a garden.