A few weeks ago, I stood looking at my sunny hillside with the man who has been helping me with my garden for the past several years. With the heavy lifting done by Bill Lucki from Natural Garden Design, I’ve systematically removed invasive and non-productive plants and replaced them with plants native to our area to support pollinators and wildlife. But I still wanted the garden to be beautiful.Bill turned to me and said “you wanted a stream of contrasting color and there it is.” And he was right. In a hillside awash with yellow native primrose, we had planted a weaving line of red yarrow a year ago and now it was starting to make a statement.

The last 4 years of systematically tearing the garden apart and putting it back together again is beginning to pay off, even though I know Bill has had his doubts about the level of destruction! Every year a wider species of birds appear and make their nests here while more pollinators appear to take advantage of the bounty. While the garden will never be 100% native, research suggests that a plant mix of 70% native puts it into the viable eco-system category and I’ve surpassed that percentage this year. The garden feels absolutely magical when I walk through it each morning, full of life, color, scent and sound.

The only way I can seem to truly capture that magic is through video, so here is my portrait of June in the garden. And while the video focuses on roses and lilies and clematis, the native plants and trees create the foundation that surrounds them.  

May you enjoy a summer of beauty and magic, wherever you are.