10 Most-Pinned Gardening Ideas
These reader-favorite container gardens, Midwest plant picks and yard designs will inspire your gardening plans.
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Sitting pretty
A long planter chock-full of flowers and foliage substitutes for a window box on a porch railing. 'Goldilocks' creeping Jenny, 'Burlesque' pigeon berry, Madagascar dragon tree, calibrochoa and coleus create a lush mix of upright and trailing plants.
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Backyard water feature
Invoking beach getaways and lounging by the seashore, water in motion adds an aural sense of escape to a backyard. Reflective and soothing, it can veil the sounds of nearby traffic or too-close neighbors. You can install waterfalls to bring the benefits of water to your yard or use a self-contained fountain for a similar effect at less cost
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The right path
A garden path issues an enticing invitation to backyard visitors-or just a convenient route for plant maintenance. Large stones set in mulch are a good solution for a path that gets moderate use.
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Butterfly weed
Though it has the word weed in its common name, don't let that scare you away from butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa). Sometimes called milkweed, it's as easy to grow as a weed but much prettier, plus hummingbirds and butterflies (especially monarchs) adore it. Clusters of orange, yellow, pink or vermillion flowers appear in mid- to late summer, followed by thin, ornamental seedpods.
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Mini lily water garden
Place hardy miniature waterlilies, such as these Nymphaea pygmaea 'Helvola', in a yellowware bowl for an easy, striking container water garden.
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Lilacs: Spring's favorite perfume
When lilacs bloom, it's suddenly spring. With their sweet scent, pastel blooms and delicate, heart-shape leaves, they're the perfect bouquet. These flowers were photographed at Ewing Park lilac arboretum in Des Moines.
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Blanket flower
Give these red or orange daisylike flowers full sun, and they'll bloom from summer deep into fall. Another plus: These drought-tolerant flowers attract butterflies, not deer.
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Window box beauty
Variegated trailers dangle over the edge of this box filled to brimming with cottage favorites, including hibiscus, impatiens, pansies and periwinkle.
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Dramatic grasses
Containers with ornamental grasses provide easy-care drama. For greater impact, combine different textures, heights, colors and plumes. These tough plants will still look great at the end of the season. In containers such as this one, the flowers hide the base of the grass and can be switched out as blooms fade.
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Great gate
Set the tone to your yard with a gate that reflects your style. Pretty flowering plants frame this garden gate, creating a lovely doorway from the yard.