Today we’re visiting with Elaine Esposito.

My love for gardening started over 60 years ago when my grandfather, who lived next door, had every variety of flower on his very small lot. He grew poppies, roses, irises, strawflowers, and so many perennials that I now I have in my gardens. My gardens started small but grew larger every year as I experimented with what I could grow to coexist with the many animals who loved them as much as me. I also wanted to enjoy the flowers with the changing weather, as I live in Zone 5. The secret to my gardens is to plant what I love. I shop local garden centers and mix the plants, mostly perennials, without a formal plan. My gardens are my passion, my stress relief, and my love of nature.

A swallowtail butterfly loves Elaine’s garden as much as she does.

A bed overflowing with perennials guides you toward the barn.

Clouds of purple Siberian irises (Iris siberica, Zones 3–8) bloom in early summer and have beautiful, grasslike foliage the rest of the season.

The blue-and-white blooms on this bearded iris (Iris hybrid, bearded group, Zones 3–8) suggest that it could be the variety ‘Batik’ or another similar cultivar.

I love the strong contrasting colors in the petals of this stunning bearded iris.

Birdhouses scattered through the garden ensure that feathered visitors feel at home.

A gardenia (Gardenia hybrid, Zones 7–10) unfurls its intensely fragrant white flowers.

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

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