For a gardener, a garden tour is a wonderful opportunity to take a look at another gardener’s vision. Last week, I got lucky and did it several times.
On Tuesday, along with some other friends, we visited a Master Gardener who had just hosted the garden wedding of her granddaughter. This garden could be in a magazine or on a fact sheet for how to layer plants to grab your interest.
I think each of us on the tour was making a mental list of what to move in our own garden. A couple of take aways were to pay close attention to the garden backdrop, height of your plants, and there’s definitely more interest in plants grouped together than planted individually.
I’ll share a couple of photos, but a professional photographer would be needed to truly highlight the beauty of this garden.




Over the weekend, a friend and I took advantage of a local first annual town garden tour featuring over a dozen homes and community gardens. These gardens were an eclectic group that with one exception were all home owners expressing their individual gardening interests. The town is hilly and rocky so it was interesting to see how people handled those challenges.
One home owner made a rock wall, while another gardened on a rock wall. The plants that seemed to be the predominant choices by all were roses and clematis in every type and color. There were also fascinating pieces of garden art, sheds, a handsome fire pit, and well placed seating opportunities.







Seeing friends, enjoying fun conversations, and visiting all these gardens made for a good week.

On the weekend garden tour, one of the stops was at a professional landscaper’s home. As we finished our chat with her, she said we should make sure to stop and say hello to her friend on the front porch.
There on a small table was her pet rabbit, Cinnamon. She has a little pad to sit on, one to sleep on, and a small box with ears on top to rest in.
After stopping to pet and admire her, we moved on, but she kept me smiling all weekend.
Happy Monday, and I hope you all have a fabulous last week in June!
The rabbit is so cute!!
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She certainly is a cutie, and I was amazed she just stays up there on that table top all by herself. 🙂
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Me too! Completely unphased by the passerby. 🙂 She’s beautiful in her fur color too. Do you know, the typical temperament of a rabbit?
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We had a family pet rabbit, Herbert Menninger. He had a wonderful temperament and would sit on my lap for an hour or so and just enjoy being petted. When we took him outside though, we either put him on his leash or kept him in a puppy play pen. This sweetie just sat on that table top whether someone was there or not. It just blew me away.
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Awe!! What a wonderful animal for our planet.
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Amazing gardens demonstrating what a bit of creativity and a mountain of hard work can produce! Thanks for sharing these. They brightened up a very gloomy Monday morning. It was 84* at 5:30am! Not so many days ago it was below 40*! Rain hasn’t begun yet, but the air is so heavy I swear you could weigh it on a scale!
Cinnamon is too cute for words. Perfect name for her. It was worth the trip just to meet and pet this little cutie.
Happy end of June. Wishing you all good things for July.
Ginger
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We are awaiting the rain also, and I wish it would arrive for the moisture and to break up this heat spell. It sure was hot over the weekend. I could have grabbed a chair and sat with that rabbit for an hour or so. I could not grasp that she stays right there on top of that little table. No fence, no nothing, she just stays there. You would have loved her. 🙂
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The local garden club had their garden tour this past Saturday. Several of my neighbors were on it. I always love to see what other gardeners put together. Roses and clematis are blooming in our area so they steal the show!
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I always find other gardens fascinating because they are always unique to the gardener. There were some absolutely fabulous roses and the biggest and boldest clematis plants I’ve seen outside a magazine spread. 🙂
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Judy, I have always admired gardens that achieve that look with tall plants in the background and clusters of blooming plants in the front, all at different heights. I’m sure it takes a lot of planning and hard work to get it right. Our garden shows happen in the spring and have been canceled for the past couple of years. Maybe this year we’ll get back to it. Glad you had a fun weekend of beauty and inspiration.
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Our spring garden tours have been cancelled in the past too. It was fun to see these gardens, and I truly admire my MG friend who has figured out layering that results in a wow factor.
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Love it! 🙂
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🙂
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Touring garden is a great inspiration. Sounds like you have come away with lots of ideas from this beautiful spot. I’m amazed at the catalpa flowers! Love them but have never seen them in bloom.
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I had never seen them either, and that tree was out of this world gorgeous. It was on a very tiny lot, right at the curb where it probably gets buried with snow and ice melt, but it looked healthy and beautiful.
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You had a week full of beauty, interesting gardens, and cuteness! Your pictures are absolutely lovely!! No pro needed. 😀
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Thank you. I think of you every time I see something about air flights, and I really do hope all goes smoothly for you and family.
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Thank you!! 😍We are all wondering the same and praying and hoping our flights aren’t canceled.
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Oh my goodness! Cinnamon! How cute can you get? I thought she was a garden statue! Apparently loves to admired by guests. I’m crazy about her little eared refuge!
Your tour pictures prove that gardening is truly an art. I admire those who know how to group plants with attention to height and variety, especially so there’s a continuing flow of blossoms. Sometimes I see homes with one annual planted in a perfect row along a driveway or hedge. The “artist” in me wants to stop, ring the doorbell, and say, “Your placement is bad! Get a variety! Group them!”
Yikes. Sometimes I scare myself!
Happy 4th, Judy, in gorgeous New England where we all began!
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That rabbit was the cutest thing and just sat on that table top which blew me away. The landscaper/home owner was maybe 35-40 and said her son had made that little house with the ears for her. Your grandkids would have loved her. 🙂 Layering a garden really is an art that my MG friend has. I’m lacking, but I’m looking around trying to figure out what I can do to improve. Happy 4th to you too and may you have a wonderful family weekend.
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So beautiful Judy! I’m excited now to go on our local garden tour in a couple of weeks, although everything is blooming so early, I’m not sure what will be in bloom!
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The flowers were certainly pretty, but the layouts, hardscape, garden art – it’s all so interesting. Maybe someone will have food. 🙂
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On this tour, there is always a beautiful garden with a stunning spread to purchase a great meal or snack! This year, they’ve added a stone labyrinth at one of the garden sites!
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What a charming garden
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Gardens are like mirror reflections of the gardener’s interests so I always find them interesting.
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I hadn’t thought about it like that but I think you’re right Judy
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Your photos are all wonderful. Including the “nice shed” one. 🙂 I thought for sure that rabbit was stuffed! What a lovely spot where they placed that bench on the driveway. – Marty
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That was a nice shed, and the rabbit was a sweetheart. The red bench and containers at the turnaround were brilliant. A turnaround is always so boring, but this was great.
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You did great with the pictures, enjoyed your persective
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It was a fun morning!
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Your photos are wonderful, Judy. I am in awe of those gardens. We have a few plants, here and there, but nothing that could be classified as a garden, let alone something like this. I also like the bunny.
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Think you could train one of your bunnies to sit on a table top and stay there? I was fascinated by that sweet thing just sitting there.
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We can get pretty close to ours, but I actually think they let us get closer when we had Maddie with us. But sit on a table? Nope. That’s too cute.
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Back when I was the editor of Doubleday’s Garden Club, I read a whole series of books about “staging” gardens, making sure that the right height plants backed up the smaller plants. I know all about it, but I’ve never really done it, probably because I had spine surgery when I was 19 and gardening outside has always been painful. But I know ABOUT it. I always wanted to design a big garden. I’ve had to settle for designing my back deck.
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I know about it too, but I’ve never accomplished it. 🙂 Gardening is personal so designing your back deck is a good accomplishment.
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A pet rabbit named Cinnamon is the ultimate wow factor, and you know how I feel about rabbits — not a fan! But I also know about pet rabbits, and this one is charming. I can’t believe it just sits there and waits to be admired. The eared box is hilarious. Your photos show such beauty — and such work! What a delight those tours must have been. Thank you for taking us along!
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Glad you enjoyed the tours, and that eared box was a hoot. I applaud her son for making it. You could have had a nice cup of coffee and enjoyed Cinnamon’s company because she wasn’t eating any plants.
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I enjoyed looking at all your garden photos Judy… all gorgeous. I think you can’t beat a lovely long stretch of lawn and an elegant tree giving shade on a hot day. Not to mention the variety of shrubs in the background. Inspiring!
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That big tree was like an umbrella over that stretch of grass. The wedding was held right in front of the tree. I can imagine it was a beautiful event.
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yes, I can imagine, a wonderful place for a wedding
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Garden tours are a great way to get new ideas and see new plants. That Cinnamon is a cutie… amazing that she stayed right on the table and didn’t run away!
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One of the interesting things at one house was the combination of sun and shade plants in the same location, and they both were thriving. I also enjoyed how the individuals chose different things to include in their gardens that I would have never thought of. Putting that red bench and planters at the end of the turnaround was a brilliant way to break up a stretch of asphalt. It was fun.
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I love local garden tours and I always get a few ideas when I go on one. The spring tours we have here usually are of homes that use succulents and other low-water plants to their best advantage. Large areas of grass now look odd (and, sadly, are often brown). That first yard looks like the perfect venue for a wedding.
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That first yard certainly did make for a wonderful wedding site. Some homeowners here are moving towards native plants and more clover in their grass. It’s always interesting.
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What a beautiful garden tour for us! I loved all the pictures… thank you!
And Cinnamon was adorable! How did she stay on that table and stay so content?
I’m still loving all your pictures. Went back and looked a few more times.
Happy week to you!
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I don’t have a clue how she stayed on that little table. We were in the backyard with the owner when she mentioned stopping by the front porch. We walked around, and there she sat. It just blew me away. She sure was a sweetie.
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What a fun week, Judy! Thank you for taking us along! I love the arbor placed against the house. Our local garden tour happens in mid-July and always includes a Garden Faire filled with garden-inspired art. I’m sure that those who will be showing their gardens are concerned about the lack of rain. The plants are beginning to show stress (but the weeds are growing like crazy!). I thought of you this morning, Judy, as I was busy digging in the garden! Take good care!💗
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We are showing stress signs too because we keep seeing rain in the forecast but it never appears. I had never seen an arbor up against a house, but the owner said they wanted to break up that side of the house. I was thinking about you a couple of weeks back when I took out an entire shade garden to make a parking space. I gave a MG friend a half a truck load of a large variety of shade plants. I made a tiny garden around a tree with a sampling of my favorite plants. It seemed strange for a while, but now I’m good with it, and that’s the only place I don’t have to weed. 🙂
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Sounds like a wonderful visit, Judy. I’m sure you enjoyed it even more than I would have, having a more professional view. 🙂 But thanks for letting us amateurs come along.
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I just really like seeing what other people envision in a garden. It’s never right or wrong, but just interesting and different, and I normally get an ‘aha’ moment with their creative thinking.
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Thanks for the tour of these beautiful gardens! I love the rabbit!
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That rabbit needed an Academy Award for her performance on that table top. 🙂
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I love the chance to visit new gardens, but a garden with a tame rabbit would be even more of a treat.
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I know – that rabbit was like bonus points. What a hoot!
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What a lovely treat each of these days out would have been, especially when you get to share it with kindred spirits.
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It was like going to a really great candy store for gardeners. 🙂
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Lovely post, a feast for the eyes. The rabbit makes me laugh, when I think how hard Dom works to keep rabbits out of the garden.
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Yes, the wild ones can certainly cause great havoc in the garden. This one was pure fun.
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That Catalpa! Great messy things they are, but so beautiful and interesting.
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It was a huge tree, and when we first walked by it, the blossoms were all over a shrub beneath it. We ‘thought’ it was the shrub blossoming but then looked closely and realized this gigantic tree was dropping the blooms. It was on a tiny, hilly lot, and I couldn’t even imagine how the resident parked their car next to it or the town plowed snow. Interesting for sure.
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I love the pink bench at the end of the driveway turnaround – it’s cool and unique. One of these summers, I must go on a garden walk. I have not done one in this area and I’m not sure what I’m waiting for.
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Turnarounds aren’t all that good looking, and that bench and two planters focused your eyes on something lovely instead of asphalt. I have a turnaround and have been looking for a bench to paint ever since. 🙂
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Thanks Judy. These garden pictures will have me smiling all week. They are just lovely. I found your blog through a comment you left on Suzanne’s Picture Retirement. It’s nice to “meet” you!
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Thanks for the visit. Gardening became a big part of my retirement plans. I guess that’s why we’ve been Snowbirds for the past five years because it allows me to be outside without a shovel. 🙂
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Good Lord, I can not even imagine the kind of work that must go into creating gardens this magical. And that catalpa tree is indeed so stunning!
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For sure, there was lots of work required to get those gardens ready for tour. That Catalpa tree was in a corner between a driveway and the road, but what a specimen tree it would make with more space around it.
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