Lately, I’ve felt pulled to share more of my everyday life with all of you, through both my social media channels and my blog. Today, I want to highlight one of my favourite summer activities– gardening! Since the spring, the kids and I have been working hard to get our yard and garden feeling lush and fresh. Yes, you heard me right, it’s a whole family affair in our household. I’m super passionate about balance, and gardening helps me to achieve this. Tending to the garden with the kids helps me to reconnect with nature and my family, and while it’s such a simple task, it’s a simple pleasure that truly brings me SO much joy.
Now, I say it’s a simple task, but if you’re just getting started, nothing is ever easy! Before I start getting into some great plant recommendations, it’s important to determine if you are looking to plant annuals or perennials. Annuals are plants that will grow for one season and then die when the frost hits, while perennials will return from the base or rootstock the following spring. As you can probably imagine, perennials provide more bang for your buck, but you can switch your garden’s “look” up more often if you’re replacing your plants every year. From vegetables to beautiful floral blooms, there are endless possibilities.
Once you have determined whether you want annuals or perennials in your garden, you’ll need to map your garden out (or at least visualize it) based on which areas have the most and least sun exposure. Below, I have broken down some plants that are wonderful for adding colour and texture to your home and garden, categorized by their need for sun exposure:
Full Sun
- Coneflower (perennial)
- English lavender (perennial)
- Hydrangeas (perennial)
- Peony (perennial)
- Garden cosmos (annual)
- Marigold (annual)
- Lilacs (perennial)
- Tomatoes (annual)
- Peppers (annual)
- Melons (annual)
- Dill (annual)
Partial Sun
- Daylily (perennial)
- Astilbe (perennial)
- Snowdrop anemone (perennial)
- Basil (annual in Calgary)
- Lettuce (annual)
- Lobelia (annual)
Shade
- Hostas (perennial)
- Ferns (perennial)
- Caladium (perennial)
- Rhubarb (perennial)
- Beans (annual)
In our garden, we have a combination of full sun, partial sun and shade, so we decided to plant a few new deep-pink rose bushes, some extra tall grass to keep a contrast of green all season and a few edge plants to spruce up our walkway! Out of everything we planted, our lilac bush has been the most fruitful this season. We also planted a variety of herbs and veggies to get the most out of the season.
Happy gardening! Let’s take it all in and soak up the rest of summer, while we can. If you started a garden this year, what did you plant? I’m always looking for recommendations and want to hear. Keep an eye out on my Instagram as well for a reel featuring my own personal garden!
