Garden Photo of the Day

From Spring to Summer in MN

By Kim Charles

Tom Charbonneau from Minnesota shares his lush gardens and landscape with us.

"Welcome to my zone 4 garden in Arden Hills, MN.  My 1/2 acre garden abuts a 15 acre nature preserve. Lots of hosta, wildflowers and perennials.  Never enough room!"

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Comments

  1. jeffgoodearth 05/19/2017

    Every photo is beautiful but man,,,,,,,,,,,those lady's slippers!

  2. mjensen 05/19/2017

    beautiful

  3. tennisluv 05/19/2017

    So very pretty. All the flowers and all the colors. The lady's slippers are outstanding. How nice to abut a nature preserve which just extends your 'not enough room' garden visually. The rainbow shows promise of a beautiful spring. Thanks for sharing.

  4. User avater
    user-7007816 05/19/2017

    Tom, what a wonderful lush garden. . . and in zone 4. This is the look I'm going for in our garden. In particular, I envy you and your beautiful lady sipper. Thanks for sharing.

  5. Sunshine111 05/19/2017

    Beautiful! The yellow Lady slipper stole the show though!

  6. NCYarden 05/19/2017

    Wow. Love those packed borders and digging those woodland plants. The cypripedium steal the show here for me, but all of it is beautiful. What a fantastic garden. Thanks for sharing.

  7. User avater
    meander_michaele 05/19/2017

    Those glowing beautiful lady's slippers look like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...what a treasure to have them growing so happily. Love how your handsome stone edging gives such a nice framing to the curving line of hostas. I join Diane in being curious about what plant the interesting shaped green leaf in picture #8 belongs to? And while I'm at it, what is the red flower with the yellow center right next to it?

    1. user-4691082 05/19/2017

      Good morning, Michaele! I think the red flower is a pulsilata or Pasque flower. I am curious about the yellow one too!

      1. User avater
        meander_michaele 05/19/2017

        Thanks, Rhonda. It's such a happy looking flower face.

    2. Chris_N 05/19/2017

      The yellow flower is Uvularia grandiflora, called bellwort or merrybells. It is a native wildflower. I agree with Rhonda about the red flower.

      1. User avater
        meander_michaele 05/19/2017

        Thanks for your two posts of info, Chris. I should have recognized the leaf of the bloodroot. I actually have one because a generous gpod-er sent me a chunk of his 2 autumns ago. It bloomed delightfully this spring and now I have my own clump of those interesting shaped leaves.

    3. Chris_N 05/19/2017

      And the interesting green leaf is bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis.

    4. User avater
      Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 05/19/2017

      I do believe that the IDs provided by Rhonda and Chris are spot on! :)

  8. Jay_Sifford 05/19/2017

    Awesome, overflowing, friendly, textural, colorful...hmm.. what's not to love? Thanks for sharing.

  9. user-7007498 05/19/2017

    Great photos, Tom. I am in love with the Lady Slippers like everyone else. And the photo of the hillside in summer is beautiful. What a great explosion of color in a very meadow-like planting. It is great that you can take advantage of the borrowed views of the nature preserve as a backdrop.

  10. User avater
    treasuresmom 05/19/2017

    Good grief! Everything is so beautiful.

  11. pam_clemmons 05/19/2017

    Oh so pretty! Love your lady slipper!

  12. user-6945477 05/19/2017

    What beautiful gardens you have created, Tom. I especially love the hosta hillside with the steps curving upward, but all of the gardens are lovely

  13. Doxnmomx2 05/19/2017

    Paradise! I can't choose a favorite photo. The hosta walk is so serene but the giant perennial border is gorgeous. So lovely.

  14. thevioletfern 05/19/2017

    LOVE the native ephemirals Bluebells, Bellwort and (gasp) you have orchids in Z4!!! You are my hero.

  15. user-4691082 05/19/2017

    Well Tom, it looks like you need to be a regular contributor! Great rainbow photo. I have to say, the lady slipper is my fav. I see your bloodwort is not in bloom but they are spectacular when they are. I missed photographing mine this year. You have so much to look at, I'll be going back over them a few more times. Thanks for sharing!

  16. Chris_N 05/19/2017

    The yellow flower is Uvularia grandiflora, called bellwort or merrybells. It is a native wildflower.

  17. user-3565112 05/19/2017

    Good morning , Kim called it right when she wrote "lush" You might be in a unique northern tropical micro-climate because your gardens have it all going for them. The wild flower garden to me looks like a meadow & is my favorite photo.
    Thank you for posting & good luck, Joe

  18. hontell 05/19/2017

    lady slippers...sigh

  19. Chris_N 05/19/2017

    Great job, Tom. I like it all. I appreciate the shot of the tulip beds and then the same shot later in the summer. It's always fun to see the progression through the seasons. You've put together a fine mix of native and ornamental plants.

  20. user-150783 05/19/2017

    Tom absolutely stunning. May I ask the name of the plant with yellow drooping flowers in the woodland picture with the bleeding heart.
    Susan W

  21. VikkiVA 05/19/2017

    Tom what a glorious garden you have. I love all the color and variety of plants. Like Susan, I'm curious to know the name of the yellow flowered plant. Vikki in VA

  22. sheila_schultz 05/19/2017

    Wow, what amazing views you must have out your windows! You must anticipate all of the beautiful blooms all winter long!

  23. User avater
    LindaonWhidbey 05/19/2017

    Good morning, Tom. Wow, living through a MN winter might be worth it if you have your garden to look forward to in the spring. Backing up to a preserve, do you have issues with the wildlife feasting in your yard? The photo of the stairs climbing through the bed of hosta just drew me in as well as the yellow lady slipper. Thanks for a great ending to the GPOD week. Enjoy your weekend everyone. We're off to the laburnum tunnel at one of our local nurseries. Photos to follow.

  24. greengenes 05/19/2017

    Hi Tom! What a treat to see your gardens this morning. You have some amazing areas filled with wonderful plants! I sure want to try lady slippers in my gardens after seeing yours! Every photo is so beautiful! I wonder what summer is like! Thanks for sharing!

  25. User avater
    Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 05/19/2017

    Wow, Tom. Absolutely gorgeous. As a self-confessed serial-cypridedium-killer, I'm yellow with envoy over your beautiful ladyslipper orchid. The Uvularia isn't too shabby, either!

  26. bsavage 05/19/2017

    Wow!

  27. inesmalardino 05/19/2017

    Stunning, love it all and the greens are fab, the third photo down is my favorite, plus of course the first photo! Good for you. Thanks for sharing, what a pleasure to sit back and enjoy. Just makes your heart smile, right?

  28. Meelianthus 05/19/2017

    Great show Tom! Your hostas are outstanding and I can hardly believe you are in ZN4! All of your beds are so thick and robust, really beautiful. How long is your summer?

  29. foxglove12 05/19/2017

    Wow great job! Gorgeous! What is the yellow flower in the next to the last photo? And is that a May Apple next to it?

    1. donnapopma 05/20/2017

      I don't know about the yellow flower but that is Bloodroot next to it.

      1. user-6536305 05/22/2017

        The yellow flower is Uvularia grandiflora

  30. user-6536305 05/22/2017

    So Lush and what a beautiful zone 4 garden!. The lady's slippers and Uvularia grandiflora etc are stunning! Thanks for sharing. What's the cultivar name for the lady's slippers?Thanks for sharing and great photos.

  31. MNGardenGirl 05/22/2017

    So beautiful! I am a Minnesota gardener too - your neighbor to the South in Savage. Thanks for sharing!

  32. User avater
    vanhatalosuomi 05/23/2017

    Very nice and very lush. I keep hearing about how fast hostas can fill up a space, but I've yet to see it myself :)

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