Today we’re visiting Pallavi Divekar’s garden in Naperville, Illinois.
Once again it’s my pleasure to share the pictures of my garden with nature lovers and plant lovers. It gives me immense satisfaction and calmness when I spend time in my favorite place—my garden! I can work nonstop in my garden for five to six hours at a time dividing and moving perennials.
This picture is from spring, when my garden blooms start with numerous bulbs, including these tulips. Beautiful colorful blooms add cheer after the cold winters for sure.
This redbud tree (Cercis canadensis, Zones 4–8) looks so pretty in spring with pinkish red buds and the rainbow tulips I have planted underneath—a show-stopper for spring blooms.
Not much behind are the bearded irises (Iris germanica hybrids, Zones 4–10) that are waiting to show off their blooms once the tulips are done. Their timing is perfect, as there’s always something blooming in the yard to appreciate.
Right around Mother’s Day the lavender and white lilacs (Syringa vulgaris, Zones 3–7) and the red and white crabapple trees (Malus spp.) are blossoming, adding a depth of color to the backyard, while the front yard gets these daisies (Leucanthemum × superbum, Zones 4–9) around the mailbox area that put on quite a show.
This year I volunteered to teach basic gardening lessons online through Zoom. These Zoom sessions got really popular and brought people of similar hobbies together. I taught how to make your own pots with varieties of flowers by purchasing flats of flowers, as the planters with annuals get pretty expensive.
In this pandemic we really didn’t have human visitors, but I did have a few nonhuman visitors greeting me each day in my yard. I loved having bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
This coleus is from last year. Though it’s an annual in my zone, I saved it indoors through water propagation and planted it out again in the spring. It has been quite a delight to watch.
This entire summer the yard has kept me pretty busy with chores, and it has been so relaxing and peaceful breathing in fresh air and hearing the birds chirp and being close to nature. My husband helped me design a small pathway, and it was an incredible DIY project.
And last but not least was this year’s show-stopper of my yard—this beautiful dahlia (Dahlia variabilis, Zones 8–10 or as a tender bulb). I saved the tubers from last year and planted them in June, never expecting the flowers to be as big as a dinner plate. Last year they weren’t this big.
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Comments
So lovely! Amazing how our gardens soother our souls...
Absolutely , that’s the most peaceful place for me , specially in the stressful pandemic times ❤️
The daisies at the mailbox look almost fake...what an eye catcher. This was my first year with dahlias, but none as beautiful as yours, so I left tubers in the ground and am feeling a little guilty about it. I'm sure your zoom gardening was beneficial to both you and new gardeners.
you still have time to lift them! I just pulled the last of mine (zone 5b-6a) and they are in perfect condition!
You could dig them out now and store in a brown bag or box with little compost or peat moss layer 👍
If you don’t have time to dig , just put some brick or layers of mulch over the tuber just if it snows too much in your area .
Lovely! I wish I had your level of energy, LOL! Keep it up!!
I don’t know but i have a lot more energy outside while working in my garden , can’t keep up with same energy levels inside the house somehow 😩 No energy or motivation to fold clothes for sure 😜😜😝
Love all the colors & that includes your lawn furniture.
Thank you 🙏 I love vibrant colors and hence colorful chairs too 😊
this garden is a delight! Thanks for sharing!
So glad to hear that ❤️
All mail carriers should be so lucky as to deliver mail to a cloud of daisies!
You've created a very pretty and happy garden and personal sanctuary!
Awww... yes those daisies are quite attractive , I had planted seeds and they haven’t disappointed me year after year 😊
Pallavi - your exuberance for gardening comes through in your text and photos! I love all the cheerful flower colors. Your redbud is such a nice shape, too. What a great idea to connect people with Zoom gardening classes during a time when people might feel isolated.
Thank you 🙏 I loved teaching on zoom , making planters , best part that was challenging since it was first time online gardening session , was adjusting the camera . I used my hairdo mannequin stand , attached a selfie stick on it snd my phone to it and it worked for that session 😊
Thank you for sharing your bright and beautiful garden. I've just planted two redbuds this year and hope they will become as pretty as yours soon! Kudos to your husband on the perfection of the walkway.
The walkway in pictures is not done by us , it’s professionally done . The one my husband and I did together was a pathway . Will check if I can put that pic here . Thank you though ❤️🙏
Thank you so much for your lovely comments, sure motivating and encouraging for me to keep doing better ❤️
So much color! You’ve done a beautiful job.. No wonder it is your happy place. Keep on gardening. It is such good therapy for us.
Absolutely, thank you so much from one gardener to another 🙏
Pallavi, your garden is so beautiful. I especially love your use of bold colors. It really is cheerful and a great way to welcome all of the beautiful flying friends. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful creation. Blessings to you.
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