Garden Photo of the Day

Christine’s “Joy Garden”

Caribbean Vibes in North Carolina

Today we’ve got photos from Christine Callwood’s garden, sent in by her daughter, Jinger.

Christine with her roses in her “Joy Garden,” named after one of her twin daughters. All of the photos were taken in her front yard. She is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Zone 7, where the Carolina sunshine presides over her flowers keeping them blossoming and thriving.

A blend of lantanas (Lantana camara, Zone 8 – 10 or as annual) and a few knockout roses (Rosa ‘Radrazz’, Zone 5 – 9). Christine has been gardening for 3 years. She started out taking gardening classes and soon progressed toward growing her own home garden. She’s appreciative of local gardeners and Witherspoon Rose Culture for tips and tricks on maintaining a successful garden and hopes to pass along some of the gardening wisdom she’s picked up over the years.

Christine’s favorite flower is the hibiscus because it’s characteristic of Caribbean tropical locales where she is originally from. She plants them in a variety of colors including, red, yellow, and orange, and pink. These are hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus hyrid, Zone 5 – 9)

A vigorous rose standing at 6 feet tall, a family favorites. A gardening obstacle she’s overcome has been poor soil quality. At one point, the soil was deteriorating the plants, and she had to remix the soil to include compost and soil conditioner, which prepared the plants for healthy growth.

Christine’s biggest success is her nearly 15-foot banana tree which took nearly a year to grow. She and her husband were surrounded by banana trees on the Caribbean island she’s from, so it’s symbolic having a piece of their native territory right in their backyard.

Christine’s King German Shepherd Darwin, loves being out in the garden. Oftentimes, when she’s watering the plants, Darwin leaps up and drinks water from the hose. Every single time without fail when he sees the water hose come out, he attempts to block the path between the flowers by jumping in front. It’s become one of his favorite past times.

Gorgeous roses in bloom.

A bright orange canna lily (Canna hybrid, Zone 8 – 10 or as tender bulb)

A swallowtail butterfly on a white butterfly bush (Buddleia, Zone 5 – 9)

Yellow ‘Julia Child’ rose surrounded by lantanas.

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Comments

  1. user-7392754 01/02/2024

    A tropical paradise!!! I’m in awe at the profusion of flowers!!! In the second pic with Christine I can see the size of the roses!!! They are certainly very happy there!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

  2. User avater
    bdowen 01/02/2024

    Beautiful colors, lovely garden- after only three years? Impressive.

  3. User avater
    simplesue 01/02/2024

    Wow, your 15-foot banana tree is fabulous, and so is your variagated orange canna lily!

  4. btucker9675 01/02/2024

    All things bright and beautiful - including Darwin!

  5. User avater
    cynthia2020 01/02/2024

    Hello Christine and Jinger - I enjoyed reading your gardening story and looking at all the photos. Thank you for sharing!

  6. annabelblossom 01/04/2024

    I love Christine's bold choices of flower colors! And I appreciates that these pictures depict a little more joy than some of the typical Fine Gardening articles. (Not that I don't appreciate the other wonderful gardens and pictures, too.)

  7. RickySan 01/15/2024

    WOW so many red flowers. So attractive! Fun Games

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