Hi GPODers!
The most important (and most exciting) part of any garden is, of course, the plants. However, several elements need to come together to make a garden truly special. Along with paths to travel through your plantings and art to add more character and personal style, some space needs to be dedicated to seating areas and gathering spots that allow us to enjoy and share our gardens. Today we’re returning to the garden of Heather Moore in Macon, Georgia (Zone 8b), to see the comforting spaces she has created to view her lovely plants while keeping cool in Georgia’s heat. Heather first shared her garden’s story of transformation back in 2023 (Making a Garden from a Parking Lot), and today’s update helps to paint a clearer picture of the paradise she and her husband created from a parking lot.
Good morning! Several years ago you featured our Macon, Georgia, garden transformation as a GPOD. I wanted to share a few new photos of the outdoor living spaces we have cultivated over the last few years. These spaces are a vantage point to also enjoy the landscape of our “parking lot to paradise” potager garden and some respite after a long day working in the yard. Our climate is mild in the winter, so we enjoy fires year-round and even decorate the lanai with fresh greens, such as cypress, magnolia, and olive clippings from our yard, for Christmas. Years ago we put up a full-sized Christmas tree!
We live in a nearly 150-year-old Victorian home, and our front porch gives us additional shaded living spaces. Boston (Nephrolepis exalted Zones 10–12) and foxtail ferns (Asparagus densiflorus, Zones 9–11), geraniumsand impatiens enhance the shady areas, and containers with bright Dragon Wing begonias, calibrachoasweet potato vine (Ipomoea potatoesZones 9–11), creeping jenny (Lysimachia nummularia, Zones 3–8), and petunias provide interest in the sun. We have two young daughters that love to help us garden, and pink and purple flowers are always their favorites. I enjoy the whimsy that the bright flowers add to our more traditional and classic architecture. Thanks, and enjoy the photos! —Heather
Gardens are for fun too!
A covered living space provides shade and rest after a long day of gardening.
Back in 2019, we planted three 1-gallon star jasmine plants (Trachelospermum jasminoides, Zones 8–10) in the hope that they would screen a newly built pergola that was attached to a covered outdoor living area. We could never have imagined what this space would become! It now provides unbelievable coverage and spring fragrance and frames both an outdoor lanai and a small fenced kitchen herb garden with oregano, sage, basil, rosemary, lavender, parsley, and thyme.
The covered porch on Heather’s Victorian home has tons of charm and additional areas for comfortable garden viewing.
Sweet potato vine, salmon geraniums, and white calibrachoa add bright interest to a traditional front porch.
Thai basil, Dragon Wing begonia, calibrachoa, creeping jenny, and petunias greet guests at the foot of the stairs.
The pergola during its first year of jasmine growth (2019)
A festive year under the lanai!
A cozy reading nook with lush Boston ferns
The pergola provides a fragrant spot for an intimate dinner.
Thank you so much for sharing these gorgeous photos of the coziest spaces in your garden, Heather! Your submission is a wonderful reminder that gardens are so much more than the plants we grow and that it’s equally important to cultivate spaces for resting and gathering outdoors.
What spaces in your garden do you use for dining, entertaining, or simply relaxing and enjoying the fruits of your labor? If you’re feeling inspired by Heather, consider sharing photos of your outdoor living spaces with the blog. Follow the directions below to submit your photos to Garden Photo of the Day!
We want to see YOUR garden!
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, fill out the Garden Photo of the Day Submission Form.
You can also 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.
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