2023 Highlights in Fran’s Garden

Today we’re visiting with Fran Cohen who gardens in Rhode Island:

In the middle of my winter gardening routine, pouring over seed catalogs, reviewing favorite gardening books and old Fine Gardening magazines, I saw the FG comment that GPOD submissions are slow in the winter. That prompted me to look back at the years’ garden photos to see if there was anything worth sharing. And that gave me a new perspective on my 2023 gardening year. Instead of my lingering preoccupation with the damage done by deer and rabbits and bugs, I’m pleased to remember highlights.

Most of my hellebore flowers (Helleborus hybrids, Zone 4 – 8) are downward facing so flotation is a perfect way to enjoy them.

This beautiful red quince (Chaenomeles speciosa, Zone 4 – 8) isn’t very full because it doesn’t get as much sun as it should, but it’s still one of my spring favorites. The buds are beautiful, the flowers are like tiny roses, and the color is so rich.

I haven’t had the best luck with this tree peony (Paeonia hybrid, Zone 4 – 8) which has been moved umpteen times, but it seems happy here, backed by a doublefile viburnum (Viburnum plicatum, Zone 5 – 7).

This is a shady spot between a magnolia and a stewartia where a robust but delicate maiden hair fern (Adiantum pedatum, Zone 3 – 8) enjoys the company of a geranium (Geranium × cantabrigiense, Zone 5 – 8), forget-me-nots (Myosotis sylvatica, Zone 3 – 8)and sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum, Zone 4 – 8).

This arch has been the site of a few family weddings.

We took out an old in-wall air conditioner and instead of patching the hole added a window which gives us a very nice garden view.

Here is another flowering viburnum (forgot the name). I like the sorbaria (Sorbaria sorbifolia, Zone 2 – 8)