Today we’re in Anna Tsai’s garden in Bayside, Wisconsin. We’ve visited her beautiful plantings before (Beautiful Combinations in Wisconsin), and it is always a pleasure to see how her gardens have matured!
As a gardener I enjoy working in my backyard. I plant, and I transplant, plan, arrange, and redesign my garden constantly to keep it neat and looking beautiful. I also have a lot of frustrating times dealing with plants that died suddenly with no reason. Some of the plants failed to bloom at all. I guess that is a frustration shared by every gardener. As an optimistic gardener, I refuse to give up. I keep working in my garden, which I’ve been working on for over 20 years now. I love what I am doing. I am so proud to share the photos from my garden with Fine Gardening magazine and its readers who, like myself, are passionate about gardening.
Pink lupines (Lupinus polyphyllus, Zones 3–8) preside over a spring garden bursting with color. Lupines thrive best in climates with cool summers, but they can also be planted in the fall for spring bloom in areas where they can’t survive the summer heat.
Incredible spires of yellow foxtail lilies (Eremurus, Zones 5–9) tower over a huge clump of purple salvia (Salvia nemorosa, Zones 3–8). Good drainage is the key to happy foxtail lilies.
Soft pink Asiatic lilies (Lilium hybrid, Asiatic group, Zones 4–9) are loaded down with flowers and flower buds.
Various Astilbe (Zones 3–8) in bloom.
A garden sculpture in front of huge masses of pink and white astilbe. Though astilbe will grow in a wide range of climates, they seem to particularly thrive in the Upper Midwest.
An elegant spire of lily flowers just beginning to open.
Cheery white daisies (Leucanthemum, Zones 3–8) with a rich tapestry of shade plants behind them.
Veronicastrum virginicum (Zones 3–8) is a native perennial that can reach as tall as 7 feet with dramatic spires of white flowers.
Ligularia japonica (Zones 4–8) has dramatic, jagged foliage and tall spikes of orange daisy flowers.
One last view of this spectacular garden.
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Comments
My goodness, Anna, you humbly mention dealing with frustrating failures on occasion but all I see are magnificent and enviable gardening triumphs. Your stands of magnificent lupines and those amazing golden exclamation points of the foxtail lilies are sublime. The more subtle vignette of the daisies having the color of their golden centers repeated in your choice of daylily is masterful. Your 20 years of arranging and rearranging your plant tapestry has been a wonderful success.
Hi Michaele,
Thank you so much for enjoying my garden. It was tough when I had a full job but I retired two years and so it looks better now at least from the pictures.
Thanks again, Anna
Beautiful.! You obviously have many happy plants.
Hi,
Thank you so much for enjoying my garden. It is hard to live in Wisconsin, plus my yard doesn't get enough sun and also it's so wet.
Thank you again, Anna
What a fantastic collection of photos! Your gardens are beautiful, your combinations of contrasting and repeating colors and textures are so inspiring. Thanks so much for sharing with us this morning.
Hi Cheryl,
Thank you so much for enjoying my garden. They might look good in the pictures usuanlly.
I am very much appreciated, Anna
Oh my! Your gardens are spectacular! Thanks for sharing!
Hi, Thank you so much for enjoying my garden. It's not really spectacular if you walk into my real my backyard. 😀
Thanks again, Anna
You have mastered perennial gardening!
Your garden is better than Phipp's Conservatory's outdoor garden in Pittsburgh which has teams of people to work on it.
Very impressive. Very beautiful!
Thank you so much for enjoying my garden. My property is 0.63 acre and you are right, they need teams of people to work on it in the garden. I haven't hired any one work for me yet but I am also worried that who is going to buy my property - it is truly a lot of work. Luckily I retired two years ago. Thank you again.
Thank you so much for enjoying my garden. actually the pictures looked much better than the real backyard. 😀 Thank you again.
My, my, my, how very lovely!!
Thank you so much enjoying my garden.
Wow, just wow....
Thank you so much enjoying my garden.
Your paradise is a total inspiration! Thank you for
creating such beauty.🌷
Thank you so much for enjoying my garden. Actually the paradise is too far away from my garden, I would say it's my world and holds me a lot. 😀 Thank you again.
So lovely! I can tell how much effort you have put into this! Thanks for sharing your lovely garden with us all❤️
Thank you so much for enjoying my garden.
What an incredible botanic garden you have created! The last photo reminds me of Bouchart Gardens in B.C. Lush, exuberant, healthy, gorgeous!
Thank you so much for enjoying my garden and thank you so much for your compliment and I am really appreciated.
Amazing. Lots of plants i never have any luck with like Astilbe and Lillies. So beautiful.
Alice
Thank you so much for enjoying my garden. Actually Astilbes just need shade area and water, and Lillies need full sun with good soil. Please try and good luck.
Especially love the lilies and lupines- two that don't survive in my garden. Your color combinations in each area and the pinks that bring it all together are lovely. Thank for sharing your beautiful garden!
I love the Lilies and Lupines too. The lupines usually self seed and very easy to grow. Thank you so much for enjoying my garden.
Wonderful! What a gift for arranging the base trees, adding the perennials that bloom throughout the year. I can just imagine the scent with the lilies! What variety is the ligularia? Lovely cut leaf...
Thank you so much for enjoying my garden. Yes, the middle of July is the best color in my backyard especially those lilies.
I am sorry, I forgot what is the name of the ligularia, it's one of my favorite plants too.
Thank you again, Anna
Oh my Goodness Anna, I absolutely love everything about your garden. I fell in love with the very photo that introduced your article. I was excited, even before seeing the other photos...the colors, the mixing of plants and textures...I love it. You have done a fantastic job. Thank you so much for sharing your slice of paradise. Be blessed
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