Garden Photo of the Day

Karen & Ted’s garden in North Carolina

The garden house overlooks a mixture of herbs, flowers, and vegetables. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Karen & Ted Harris

Today’s photos are from Karen and Ted Harris in Raleigh, North Carolina. Karen says, “My husband and I moved to Raleigh 23 years ago and have been long-time amateur gardeners. Although we live on almost 2 1/2 acres, most of it was wooded and frequented by deer, which offered many gardening challenges.

Fall begins with a kaleidoscope of color with a combination of ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum, sweet potato vine, and variegated yucca. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Karen & Ted Harris

“After Hurricane Fran toppled multiple trees several years ago it provided an opportunity to rethink our landscape plan. Since that time we have added a small ornamental pond with koi and goldfish, a larger pond with a shady area for brief relaxation during long days in the yard, and a fence for a portion of the backyard to control the deer population and allow us plant hostas, hydrangeas, and other plants favored by deer.

‘Navaho White’ crape myrtle bark and a variety of ferns. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Karen & Ted Harris

“Last fall we built a garden house that borders the back yard and provides a year-round sanctuary for reading, garden planning, and storage of frequently needed garden items. We hope you will enjoy some of our ideas.”

Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Karen & Ted Harris

Karen, your garden is beautiful, and the ponds are lovely! But my favorite photo is the one with the gardenias, simply because the little visitor is so darned cute….and I never thought I’d say that about one of those vile creatures… ha!

‘Jacob Cline’ monarda overlooks the water lilies in the larger pond. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Karen & Ted Harris

You’re running out of time to take some photos in your garden! So get out there with your cameras and send some in! Email them to [email protected].

Purple heart and hellebore. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Karen & Ted Harris
The smaller koi pond. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Karen & Ted Harris
Hostas and Solomon’s seal. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Karen & Ted Harris
Combining a variety of greens and textures for shady areas. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Karen & Ted Harris
Gardenias and variegated ivy. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Karen & Ted Harris

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Comments

  1. user-1020932 09/24/2013

    great backyard and yep, i covet the garden house. is that Agave attenuata potted on the decking? "there are always agaves if you look hard enough". took me awhile to spot the little visitor

  2. flowerladydi 09/24/2013

    Karen,,,, the garden is just lovely,,, and LOVE the pink door on the garden shed,, so charming!,, and yet again ( Jeffs yesterday ),, another GREAT photo of bark from the crepe myrtle,,,, I am in lust over that! -:), and looks so great with the ferns.
    Yes,,,, the ' vile creature ' , and I would agree, does look kind of cute there!
    Beautiful!

  3. User avater
    Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 09/24/2013

    Idyllic garden, ponds, and setting. I am enamored of all of your foliage "captivating combinations." I love hellebore foliage and the purple tradescantia looks awesome with it. And I don't want to forget the agave! :)

  4. wGardens 09/24/2013

    Looks great! Especially like your garden shed and surrounding plantings. Wish we could grow the Crepe Myrtle where I am... love the bark. The ferns look lovely next to it!

  5. User avater
    meander_michaele 09/24/2013

    Hi, Karen and Ted, I can tell from these great pictures that if I were a visitor to your garden, I would embarrass myself with gushing enthusiasm. Although admiring everything, it would be hard for me to resist not making a beeline over to your 'Navajo White' crape myrtle and just gaze upon it with intense appreciation...love, love love that bark! And, it looks so stunningly set off by the abundance of soft fern foliage. Your garden house is delightful...it looks so well situated with the surrounding landscaping framing it beautifully. Hard to believe it's only been in place for a year.

  6. Wife_Mother_Gardener 09/24/2013

    Lovely garden! Beautiful plant combinations.

  7. gloriaj 09/24/2013

    I can see myself sitting on the porch of the garden house. The colors and texture of your garden are beautiful. Did you say you and your husband are amateur gardeners, well your beautify garden doesn't reflect it. Both of did a wonderful job.

  8. tractor1 09/24/2013

    I like that garden house, and the red French doors are a superb idea, they must give a great view of the outdoors from inside. What is that crimson leafed tree behind your smaller koi pool? Karen & Ted, your garden looks captivating, I only wish there were more wide angle photos.

  9. wittyone 09/24/2013

    Love this garden. It has a very serene feel to it. The doors to the garden shed give it just the right amount of liveliness. What color are they? Someone said pink, someone said red but on my computer they look almost fuschia. Whatever, it was an inspired choice of color.

  10. annek 09/24/2013

    Picture Perfect! I love the first photo of the garden house with the pink-red door (what IS that color??) The bark on the crape myrtle is magnificent...oh, if only they would grow in Montana! Is that a cairn in the pot in the fourth photo down? Great idea. Ohh, to walk through those paths.

  11. sheila_schultz 09/24/2013

    Karen and Ted, your gardens are so rich with texture and color, they are just lovely. I'd definitely need my camera to remind myself of combinations if I were wandering through your yard! Then there's that sweet garden house...

  12. GrannyMay 09/24/2013

    I can just imagine relaxing at your lovely garden house and enjoying the beautiful views, my favourite being the smaller koi pond. And yes, the crepe myrtle bark.

  13. arthurb3 09/24/2013

    Beautiful! Love the deck!

  14. GrannyCC 09/24/2013

    Like others, I love the garden house. I also like the variegated plants that you combine with Hostas to lighten the look.

  15. dadeo1 09/24/2013

    Superb garden ! but omg this is just a tease, right? Gotta be more pics of the ponds, and so much more of the 2 1/2 acres to see... :)

  16. crizmo 09/24/2013

    Perfect garden, coherent, beautiful and inviting.

    Annek, that is not a cairn. It is a pot of Sedum grandifolia.

  17. wildthyme 09/24/2013

    Almost makes me wish for a hurricane if this is the result! Is that the deer fence in the larger pond picture? That would never keep out our "Montana mice."

  18. ancientgardener 09/24/2013

    Beautiful, beautiful! My favorite view was the smaller koi pond. The surroundings so lush it looks like the Garden of Eden. I'm not sure what to call it (a cairn?) but I love the stacked stones. An idea I may have to copy. It's wonderful when a husband and wife garden together as a team. My husband didn't care much about working with flowers, but always did the hard stuff, planting trees, hardscaping, etc.,for me, and was pleased when others admired the gardens. Now he is gone and my garden has, of necessity, shrunk considerably.

  19. Karen_intheGarden 09/24/2013

    Thank you for the compliments on the door color. I couldn't begin to tell you how many reddish colors were tested before we arrived at this particular one. It doesn't have a special name, but it's closest to raspberry. Tractor1, the crimson-like tree in the background of the small pond picture is a burgundy loropetalum.

  20. User avater
    meander_michaele 09/24/2013

    Well, Karen and Ted, I'm a woman of my word...just bought a couple of green foliage ferns to plant at the base of my cinnamon barked crape myrtle...monkey see, monkey do! Thanks for the inspiration!

  21. user-1020932 09/24/2013

    ok, i'm back for an encore. in the photo captioned "combining a variety of greens and textures for a shady area" is that Chrysogonum used as a groundcover? and what is that variegated tasseled Carex kind of plant? i think i really need at least 5 of those

  22. sheila_schultz 09/24/2013

    Encore here, too...
    All of our questions about the gardens we see from day to day, with so many wonderful answers. How very cool is this? Fine Gardening magazine provides us with so much info, but it is GPOD that gives us what we need to know now. Love it!

  23. Karen_intheGarden 09/25/2013

    Tntreeman, the plant you asked about in the "variety of greens" photo is
    Carex phyllocephala 'Sparkler' (Sparkler Sedge).

  24. cwheat000 09/25/2013

    Your garden house is beautiful. You have put together some great combos. I have eyed that carex sparkler on santarosagardens.com. You have used it masterfully. It makes me want to try it. Love that crape myrtle bark, also!

  25. Letsgomom 09/25/2013

    Since I'm in the process of designing a building for my gardening needs, I'm wondering how you came up with the design for yours. You're looks so inviting.

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