My name is Kelli Lage, and I garden and farm alongside my husband, Ryan, in Iowa. I began gardening five years ago when I met Ryan. He knows the ins and outs to planting and has shared his vast knowledge with me over time. My favorite part is being able to tend to the earth with someone I love and seeing new life come forth.
Black-eye Susans (Rudbeckia fulgida, Zones 4–9) are the epitome of cheery summer flowers..
Marigolds (Tagetes erecta, annual) are one of the toughest annuals out there, producing their sunny yellow blooms no matter what.
Clearly Kelli and Ryan know how to grow tomatoes. My mouth is watering!
Rosy apples fresh from the tree.
Dew on a fragrant rose.
A variety of bright annuals blooming together. A pink zonal geranium (Pelargonium hybrid, annual) in the back and a purple cape primrose (Streptocarpus hybrid) mix with the yellow marigolds.
Looking up at the front door of the house over the bright flowers of a begonia and a geranium.
Zinnias (Zinnia elegans, annual) come in nearly every color of the rainbow except blue. If you want to save seeds from your zinnias to grow again next year, be sure to collect seeds from your favorite plants to ensure that the colors and forms you like best are in next year’s crop of flowers.
A delicate, old-fashioned-looking rose with soft pink petals.
A bumblebee fuels up on a purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea, Zones 3–9). This type of bloom is what is called a composite flower. What looks like one flower is actually many tiny flowers packed tightly together. Each of the tiny little pink spikes is actually a small, individual flower, each with pollen and nectar for bees and other pollinators.
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
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.
If you want to send photos in separate emails to the GPOD email box that is just fine.
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Comments
thank you for spreading a bit of cheer during these difficult times. I am relying on my garden to get me through.
You have obviously been blessed with a great attitude, a green thumb, and an artistic eye for picture taking, Kelli. Sounds lie you and your husband are a great team and it's wonderful to share the interest in growing and nurturing things. Loved the peek at the stained glass panel in your front door...it's beautiful.
Great photos and a wonderful way to start the day. The picture of the bumblebee on the coneflower is fantastic. With as many purple coneflowers as I've grown, I've never taken the time to look that closely at the individual disk flowers. Beautiful.
Your photos are lovely, Kelli. Great photo of the tomatos and apples, especially! And how nice to farm with a person you love. So special, so rewarding!
Great pics. Beautiful plants.
Ohhh, love the flower photo with the front door/stained glass...and of course that big close up of the bee! Oh and the apples- oh all of it LOL! Just so pretty!
What a fantastic group of photos! I wanted a big bite of tomato and apple. I have that calla lily stained glass panel in your front door hanging in one of my breakfast room windows. It is lovely. Thanks for sharing your beautiful place!
These glimpses of your garden are so welcome today.
I especially love the rose with dewdrops-so pretty... and fleeting.
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