An Artist’s Garden

Today’s photos are from Dede Lifgren.

Welcome to my garden in Brewster, New York (Zone 6a). I am an artist and garden lover. Much of my artwork centers around my garden. Or is it the other way around? Either way, I love to take full advantage of both!

My pineapple columns and some potted impatiens (Impatiens walleriana, Zones 10–11 or as an annual) greet visitors at the entryway.

In the main garden, trickling water can be heard from the fountain as you enter the property. A cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera Aurea’, Zones 4–8) towers over pitcher plant sculptures surrounded by hostas, iris, fern, ornamental grass, canna, and a banana tree in the rear. (The tropical plants are overwintered inside.)

The fountain gathers lots of moss, which is good cover for the many frogs who gather there.

The walkway to the back of the house is shaded by trumpet vine (Campsis radicans, Zones 4–9) growing up the house and over the arbor. All the walkways are made from concrete, hand formed like mud pies.

Along the way, artwork invites you to stop. Here, poppies made from aluminum cans sit with some hostas and ferns.

Some big cactus sculptures keep real ones company. (The two on the left are real.)

This pond, dug out by hand, is home to goldfish and frogs and lots of lily pads. A pump keeps it oxygenated by recirculating water down the stream.

A walkway goes around the pond through a moongate (made from rebar and welded wire fencing) to the back garden.

A long shaded garden borders the perimeter of the yard with many varieties of hostas, ferns, some creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia, Zones 3–9), and iris (Iris sibirica hybrid, Zones 3–8). Pitcher-plant sculptures poke through.

This garden patch was planted last year after a tree was blown over in a storm. A potted foxtail fern (Asparagus densiflorus, Zones 8–10 or as an annual or houseplant) tops the column. Note that two mysterious flower spikes are hiding within the foliage. The tall pink ones in the iris leaves are made from toilet brushes. The small magenta ones at center right are made from drinking straw brushes!

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.

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!

Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.