Pam’s Pennsylvania Garden

My name is Pam Zimmerman, and I garden in State College, Pennsylvania (Zone 5b). I’ve been gardening at this home since 2006. I have shade in the front of the house and sun in the back gardens. I’m challenged by black walnut trees along the back of my property and deer roaming through my backyard. I’m planning to do more experimenting with native plants to attract more birds and pollinators and because I’ve learned that many native plants will survive near black walnut trees. In May, one of my garden beds displayed a bearded iris (Iris hybrid, Zones 3–8) originally from my aunt’s garden and transplanted through the years from other gardens at other homes. The rest of the bed is still green, waiting its time to flower. The same bed in early July featured the Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum × superbum ‘Becky’, Zones 5–9) and coreopsis (Coreopsis verticilata ‘Moonbeam’, Zones 3–9) in full bloom. Later in July, the Shasta daisy and coreopsis started to fade, but garden phlox (Phlox paniculata, Zones 4–8), hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’, Zones 3–8), dahlia (Dahlia ‘Debra Renae’, Zones 8–10 or as a tender bulb), Russian sage (Salvia yangii, Zones 5–9). I like to start some annuals from seed or seedlings in large pots and then transplant them into the garden where there are bare spots after the perennials are done blooming. I continue to “tuck in” plants all summer. Here you can see annual zinnias (Zinnia elegans), snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) and white angelonia (Angelonia angustifolia). Salvia (Salvia nemorosa, Zones 3–8) with purple spikes bloom next to a happy clump of chives (Allium schoenoprasum, Zones 4–8). Peonies (Paeonia hybrid, Zones 3–8) take center stage with glowing blooms, their warm color echoed by the other plants around them. In early summer, the container of annuals echoes the blooms of the perennials in the garden beds behind them. In this tapestry of flowers, bright lantana (Lantana camara, Zones 9–10 or as an annual) echoes the glowing colors of the big daylily (Hemerocallis hybrid, Zones 3–9) behind it. 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.