Today we’re visiting Janice’s beautiful garden.
If you drive down my street in Rock Hill, South Carolina, it won’t be long before you recognize my yard. As you approach my home you will see lilies, bee balm (Monarda), and shasta daisies (Leucanthemum × superbum, Zones 4–9) standing tall along the sidewalk and the street.
I began gardening about 10 years ago. All I had were foundation shrubs and more grass than I wanted in my yard. I noticed how boring and bare the landscapes were in my neighborhood. While visiting places like Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, I noticed how the gardens were an extension of the home. People loved their outdoor spaces as much as their indoor spaces.
My home sits on about a third of an acre. My plan for the future is to remove more than half of my lawn and replace it with beautiful flowers, plants, and trees. I would like to also have a fenced area for my vegetable garden to protect my plants from rabbits and deer.
Lately my biggest success in the garden has been creating new beds using the sheet mulching technique. At the end of autumn, I smothered the grass with cardboard, compost, and mulch. By spring it was ready for planting. Ten years ago, my biggest garden failure was using the double-dig method to create my first garden plot. That was the first and last time that I used that method.
I really love that my neighbors enjoy the flowers as much as I do. Several people walk down my street just to see what is blooming. One morning I looked outside and saw two little boys stopping to touch and smell the flowers. I opened the door to speak to the family. The father said that his sons were obsessed with my flower garden. That made me so happy! I told them to come back when the zinnias were in bloom so that they could pick some flowers.
Right now my favorite plants are tulips, bee balm, and shasta daisies. My tulip displays this year really were magnificent.
During the fall, I spent the weekends searching for discounted bulbs. I hit the jackpot and ended up purchasing and planting over 1000 tulip bulbs. It was so much work. I thought I would never plant another tulip again, but I knew that was not the truth. I’ll be right back at it in the fall, looking for the killer deals.
If you would like to see more of this beautiful garden, check out Janice’s Instagram.
Have a garden you’d like to share?
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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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Comments
Gardening in such a way to allow the neighbors to see and enjoy what can be done is truly a public service. It's satisfying to think those boys will have pleasant memories of childhood that was thanks to the efforts to beauty your yard.
But with such success, the photos suggest less of an overhaul to the foundation planting. I hope enriching those beds is an upcoming challenge that Janice will tackle given how successful the street-adjacent beds.
So welcoming, fun and bright. Thanks for sharing - your Instagram account is great.
A third of an acre is lots of room to have fun in and still keep things manageable. Love the up close angled view of the asiatic lilies and Shasta daisies with the peek a boo pops of the little pink flowers. Your spring display of tulips is a traffic stopper...appropriately red!
Janice, I hope you can share again as your garden goes in to summer. Would love to see what you plant then. Love all that you have done.
Great job, gardening may not be for everyone - but MOST people enjoy gardens and you may be awakening the neighborhood . Beautiful flowers .
Great idea
Like your IG
Gardens are so good , thanks foryour post and leadership
The envy of the neighborhood, for sure!
Janice, I LOVE what you have accomplished - and making new beds is a LOT of work, so I know you've put in incredible energy already - and yet you still have even bigger plans to do more! I can't wait to see what you have in store for us as you convert more of your yard to gardens. What a delight you bring to your neighborhood!
Your gardening is truly impressive. I would love walking in your neighborhood as well! If I may make a suggestion, water your strip where the tulips are planted infrequently. This will help the tulips to stay viable longer! They like They like it dry!😊
Wonderful! I am slowly trying to do the same with my yard here in Waxhaw, NC. So far have enlarged and added a border in front and am planning a large planting area between two maples - have already put in a butterflies magnolia. Will use your method this fall to prepare the area for planting in the spring. Thanks for sharing your stunning garden!
I love a good "grass to garden" make-over!
You've made a really pretty garden from an ordinary lawn.
It not only takes a gardener to do what you did- it takes imagination and thinking outside of the box.
I'm not on Instagram, but if you have a twitter garden page pleas add me! I'm at https://twitter.com/WindfallGarden There is a very nice "garden community" on twitter from all over the world.
Nice !!!! Love the order, the composition & the passion !
Simply delightful!!! Just love the plants you've chosen, the design, the lusciousness of it all! Your neighbors need to step up! Maybe you've set too great an example for them. Great job!!! And, thank you for taking the time to share with us all!
Beautiful! I wonder how long it will take before neighbors become inspired to do something more interesting with their grass. You have created a beautiful garden in a space where you are graciously sharing it with your neighbors. More photos, please!
Janice - thank you for sharing such a wonderful front garden. I love how you designed it! I hope you will submit more photos and stories here.
I don't do Facebook or Instagram - but I may have to start after seeing your photos!
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