Summer Time Gardens

I have too many loves regarding homes that I have a hard time balancing. Decorating, renovating/remodeling, art and gardening. When I say gardening, I'm not really the tomato/squash farming type. I think it's super cool when I see my neighbors' vegetable gardens, but I'm all about the 'show' and design. You know, the flowers and their array of blooms, layering of colors and textures, etc. My mom, who is Mrs. Green Thumb, always tells me, "Always do curves in your beds and plant in odd numbers." It's a little different in home interiors in the odd #s part, but some rules still apply. If it gives you perspective, my plant stand made bank over our lemonade stand growing up. My mom had a mini nursery in our backyard and let me benefit from selling off her hard work (love you mom)! If someone bought one of her staghorn ferns, it made my allowance for a year. If you've bought established plants, you know how expensive they are. My sister has the gift too and am waiting to see her yard in Southern Living any day now.

To start, give yourself a little treat to reward yourself at the end of your digging and planting in the heat.

Currently, with the all the basil and blackberries in full affect, I love this cocktail: St. Germain, splash of fresh lemon juice, muddled fresh basil and blackberries, and Prosecco or Champagne. You can also sub club soda for the bubbly. SOOO refreshing and light. You can see I went a little heavy on my blackberries;-)

I'm a little behind in the planting season b/c I just moved into my house, but thank goodness for the thunderstorms and rain these last few days. I was lucky enough to score a sale at a wholesale nursery for some basics. If you haven't found your wholesale nursery in your area, then you are spending WAY too much for basics. They are a little bit of a hike typically, but most do deliver if your fab little car can't handle the load. Now, let's get to some pretty yards!

 

Architectural! You can tell they have large trees that shade most of the yard, so they rocked an alternative to full grass and plantings.

To die for border under large oaks. It's not as easy as you think and this takes years to grow in! Hydrangeas abound and great layering.

Jenny Hardgrave in Atlanta gave a patio lots of color. This affect you can get very quickly grow time.

Notice the curves, layering of colors and laddering to give depth.

My favorite by Donna Lynn. After looking at these curves, I hear my mom and now have to redo mine because mine aren't up to par and look puny in comparison.