Hi GPODers!
In case you missed yesterday’s post, we’re enjoying five fabulous gardens this week that were featured on the 2025 Secret Garden Tour in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and today we’re continuing on to stop #2! If you missed yesterday’s post, which features the first garden and more information on the tour, check that out here: Teresa’s Serene Space. Otherwise, scroll on to see a splendid mix of vegetables, flowers, and herbs in Anne Rick’s gorgeous garden.
Anne Ricks’ garden reflects her Italian heritage, as well as her love of cooking. Just steps from her kitchen door, she can reach for herbs, two kinds of tomatoes, figs, and flowers, in beautiful raised beds. La Dolce Vita!
Edibles can just as much interest as your favorite foliage plants, with the added benefit of being able to eat what you grow. In this raised bed Anne has: ‘Bright Lights’ swiss chard (Beta vulgaris), ‘Fresh sweet’ basil (Ocimum basil), Italian oregano (Origanum x majoricum, and curry plant (Helichrysum italicum).
I love seeing Anne’s combination of garden classics with some warm-climate plants that are harder to maintain in many other regions. The salmony-pink blooms of ‘Senora’ zinnia (Zinnia elegans ‘Senora’, annual) and Sombrero® ‘Adobe Orange’ coneflower (Echinacea ‘Balsomador’, Zones 4–9) would look stunning in just about any garden, a fig tree (Ficus carica and cvs., Zones 6–10) makes for a pretty delicious addition.
While Anne has some fantastic fruiting trees, this one is all about the flowers. Golden dewdrop (Duranta erectaZones 9–11) is often grown as a shrub, but is occasionally trained into incredible small trees like this one. The gorgeous glaze on this pot would make is beautiful on its own, but some trailing plants take the interest to the next level and play into the “dripping” design.
Another pot squeezes some fresh fruit into Anne’s garden. A lime tree (not sure of the variety—maybe a Key lime?) with Berries Hill Toscana strawberry (Fragrance x in pineapple ‘Toscana’, Zones 4–10) at the base of the pot.
Not all of Anne’s plantings are potted. These tiered beds feature African lilies (Agapanthus africanusZones 8–10) on the lower level and flurries of orange bulbine (Bulbine frutescensZones 9–11) blooms on the upper two.
More incredible herbs: Onion chives (Garlic schoenoprasum), dill (Anthum graveolens), lavender, and lemon thyme (Thymus x citriodorus).
And you can’t have an Italian kitchen garden without some tomatoes! Roma Tomatoes (Lycopersicon lycopersicum ‘Roma’) are paired with ‘Santo’ cilantro (Quivering coriander) and basil.
Lastly, a pot featuring one of my favorite color combinations: bright yellow and cool blue. Sunfinity® ‘Double Yellow’ sunflower (Helianthus dose ‘Double Yellow’, annual) with Silver Dollar eucalyptus (Eucalyptus cinereaZones 8–10) and Blue My Mind® dwarf morning glory (EVEN ‘USEVO1201’, Zones 8–11).
We will be in Florida for the remainder of the week, enjoying more stops on this great garden tour, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still have the time or space to see your garden on the blog this summer! Follow the directions below to submit photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.
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, 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.
Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with #FineGardening!
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