Today’s photos come from Pallavi Divekar in Naperville, Illinois.

I am all for perennial gardening and love to see the blooms year after year. I started this hobby a decade back and have turned into one avid gardener who loves to inspire others and share my knowledge of plants with others.

The lovely bright colors of gladiolus, hibiscus, and blazing stars add so much joy to my soul and are a remarkable treat for my eyes.

This front corner had few tulips when I moved into the house in 2005. Today it has a beautiful backdrop of white and purple phlox (Phlox paniculata, Zones 4–8) with Echinacea (coneflower hybrid, Zones 5–9), butterfly bush (Buddleia, Zones 5–9), and roses. Coreopsis (tickseed, Zones 4–9) in the forefront adds vibrancy.

This year I planted a few elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta, Zones 7–10 or as an annual) in the planters as well as a few in the soil. I love them, and they often remind me of childhood days when my mom and grandma made special stuffed taro rolls. The taro leaves grew near mushy soil better in India.

This picture is from the backyard with some annuals in planters. This year I bought several ready-made petunia baskets while I made almost 20 pots of flowers and veggies. I am so glad I got the old pine trees out from here, and I planted all these to see them multiply crazily.

This is another corner I worked on this year, with ferns and wildflower seeds planted under the birch along with a few mixed bulbs of dahlia, elephant ears, and begonia. My dog, who is a hunting dog, loves the area with its orange daylilies (Hemerocallis fulva, Zones 3–9), ferns, and grass. It probably reminds him of a prairie, which he loves to run through and sniff.

Hostas and coleus are so pretty and low maintenance. I have a combination of them under my kitchen window. I often enjoy a glance at these backyard beauties while sipping my daily cup of tea.

I hope you enjoy these pictures and get as much joy as I have gotten putting my hours of sweat into digging, weeding, watering, trimming, replanting, dividing, fertilizing, and so many tasks around the garden to make it a relaxing place full of eye candy.

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