Early Spring in Beth’s North Carolina Garden, Part 1
Hi GPODers!
Ready or not, spring is here! Despite our best intentions, spring is almost always frantic and feverish with warmer weather bringing a slew of garden chores and social activities. Amidst all of this excitement and increased activity, a flurry of growth emerges from our gardens that can quickly come and go before we have a chance to really admire and appreciate it.
Thankfully, friend-of-the-blog, Beth Tucker in Waxhaw, North Carolina has already gotten outside and captured many of the bursts of color and life that have emerged from her beds during the earliest days of the season. Beth has shared several scenes from her garden in North Carolina over the years, as well as photos from her previous garden in New Jersey (Check out those submission here: A Look Back at Beth’s Early Summer Garden, Beth’s Poolside Garden, Winter Favorites, Memories of Spring, etc.). Today we return to North Carolina to see how the 2025 growing season is treating her so far.
Hopefully viewers will forgive the messiness of my garden—still in the process of spring cleanup.
The camellias are in the border between our raised back deck and the pool. Morning sun, shade in the afternoon.
If any plant gives me zone envy, it is the camellia. I’m located just outside of the hardiness zone of these beautiful shrubs and while there are plenty of other plants that provide early blooms in my area, few rival the big, bold flowers and glossy foliage of this genus.
Lily magnolia (Magnolia liliiflora, Zone 5–8) with the pretty porcelain pink blossoms is in full sun in our backyard small lawn area.
Aside from camellias, Beth enjoys a pop of color from another flowering shrub. Her bright red flowering quince—potentially the variety Double Take® Scarlet (Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Scarlet Storm’, Zone 5–9)—is covered in flowers and unfurling buds.
A few of my many irises are starting to bloom. These are in our front walkway, as well as the two irises below.
Lots of irises, various lilies and daylilies are in the front border. It was a builder grade planting of shrubs lined up like soldiers when we bought the house. I transplanted many and planted my favorites to bring more of a cottage border feel to the front walk.
Various shades of purple and yellow appear to be the color story in Beth’s front beds, and this ‘Mariposa Autumn’ iris (Iris germanica ‘Mariposa Autumn’, Zone 4–9) is a spectacular addition to the plant palette. As the name suggests, these irises put on a spectacular spring/early summer display display and will bloom again in late summer into fall.
A grouping of irises along the stepping stones leading down to the raised bed area in back.
So many plants have already put on a floral show in Beth’s garden that we will be back in North Carolina again tomorrow to see more of the early spring color she has on display.
And don’t forget that your spring garden also deserves our attention and admiration! While you’re outside getting spring chores done, remember to take photos of your early spring flowers and foliage to share with Garden Photo of the Day. Follow the directions below to submit your 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.
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