Betty Truax's Gardens

My approach to gardening is a tad different from most people.  I have garden "rooms".  Not only does this give me an excuse to try lots of different plants, it really makes gardening easier for me by breaking the gardening tasks into smaller ones.  All my beds may need weeding but I'll feel like I've made progress if I completely weed one or two beds at a time instead of having 1/2 of a large bed done.  

Having both sun and shade is a real treat.  In my opinion, sun plants have pizazzaz and color going for them.  Shade plants have texture and elegance going for them.  Of course, there are a lot of exceptions in both categories.  Some plants do well in both shade and sun but generally will grow larger and bloom more in the sun.   Daylilies come to mind - they do pretty well in some shade but excel in full sun.  

Years ago I read an article about fairies loving thymes (a close second to tarragon as my favorite herb).  Since I was installing an herb garden at the time (which I called Herb's Tea Party) I was enchanted by the story and started collecting fairy statues.  I now have quite a few and like hide them between plants as caretakers of my gardens.


There are some plants I think  everyone should try to grow because they do well in our area, are easy to grow and readily available. Here is a list of my favorites in no particular order:

• Daylilies
• Barrenwort
• Hostas
• Autumn Fern
• Toadlily
• Coneflower
• Oakleaf Hydrangea
• Beauty Berry
• Knock Out Roses
• Iris Cristata
• Solomon's Seal
• Zinnia's
• Butterfly Bush
• Maple Trees