Filling your garden with vibrant flowers and lively vines is the surest way to brighten your summer. The right perennials will grow back year after year, filling your home with joy each season. If you're looking for ideas, Ina Garten's garden is a masterclass.
The Barefoot Contessa took to Instagram to share her garden idea, taking viewers on a tour through the bold green space. It's a combination of carefully pruned hedges, verdant hostas, and warm-toned blooms. Vines crawl across her garden walls, and tall grasses wave in the breeze. Just watching the video is a hit of fresh summer energy.
Luckily, our resident master gardener and Gardens Content Editor at Homes & Gardens, Thom Rutter, watched and unpacked the video to find out exactly the plants Ina uses and how to care for them.
He states: 'Summer-flowering plants like dahlias, clematis, and roses bring months of beauty if you choose the right varieties.'
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These Felco pruning shears have hardened blades for effortless trimming in your yard, making light work of tough rose pruning jobs. Our Garden Content Editor swears by them for even the toughest shearing jobs calling them the 'best pruners you can buy.'
Rosa 'Paint the Town' has gorgeous big flower heads that rebloom for months. Add a bold splash of red to your landscape from late spring through the first frost of fall with a rose that stays compact and tight.
This starting solution is an expert-approved fertilizer preference, and we can see why: the liquid plant food can be used with seedlings, flowers, vegetables, trees, and other plants when planting or transplanting.
Part of what makes Ina's outdoor space so gorgeous is the colors: she opts for a variety or reddish and white long-flowering perennials. The interaction of different colors is an underrated element of garden design that Ina makes full use of.
'As seen in the image here, romantic tones, dusky pinks, deep mauves, soft creams, are colors that add a little grace to borders and pots,' explains Thom.
What is the best way to keep this wide variety of plants healthy? According to Thom, it comes down to frequent deadheading using essential pruning tools.
He advises: 'The trick is to deadhead regularly during August… simply snipping off faded flowers will keep your display abundant through fall.'
Though gardening isn't always easy, it's always rewarding. With careful planning and maintenance, you'll have a flowering oasis as bold as Ina's in no time.
