Today we’re visiting the garden of Jane Watkins.

I garden in central New York. The heavy clay soil and ravenous deer are challenges in my Zone 5 gardens. I stick to what grows best for me. Deer don’t like minty Monarda, and they usually leave my daylilies and hibiscus alone. The deer will devour tulips but not daffodils or canna.

I had to remove my long driveway border this year but still have several smaller gardens, a small shade garden, and a long daylily border in the rear of the property. I also have a vegetable garden and several fruit trees.

Chartreuse Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’ (Japanese spikenard, Zones 4–8) brightens up the shade garden.

Bleeding heart ‘Goldheart’ (Dicentra spectabilis ‘Goldheart’, Zones 3–9) brings more sunny color to the shade.

My 15-year-old tree peony (Paeonia hybrid, Zones 4–9) puts on a beautiful show each spring. I have it in a slightly raised bed.

I can’t say enough about hydrangea ‘Little Lime’ (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Little Lime’, Zones 3–8). I have a hard time getting hydrangeas to bloom. If the frost doesn’t kill the buds, the deer nip them off. But ‘Little Lime’ blooms on new wood, and for some reason the deer don’t attack it. It starts out lime green and ages to a beautiful mahogany color.

My long daylily border has roughly 40 daylily plants and a mixture of Siberian iris and grasses to keep it interesting all year.

One of my favorite daylilies, ‘Frans Hans’, is an old variety that blooms well into September.

Another favorite daylily, the double orange ‘Kwanso’.

Daylily ‘Orange Sunset’

Hardy hibiscus ‘Midnight Marvel’ (Zones 4–9) boasts enormous, deep red flowers and complementary reddish-hued foliage.

Diverse perennials in full bloom in the garage border.

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