Backyard Garden Pride: Stunning Flowers and Foliage from Houzz Readers

In a recent Houzz Call, we asked readers to share photos of their backyard treasures — wildflowers, succulents, mystery shrubs. The response was a glorious showcase of plant pride. Here are a few standouts.

Look closely at the bottom of this photo — that's not a mutated stem, it's Houzz user midmodfan's wrist! She planted this 'Festiva Maxima' peony in 2000; six years later it was massive. "They smell heavenly too," she says.

Amy Rafferty brought a trellis from her old house with no plan. Now it supports delicate black-eyed Susan vines. "Since I have no talent at making things grow, I plant things hoping they'll do well on their own — and this climber certainly does. When I see recommendations to leave things wild for pollinators, I say, 'I can do that.'"

Sword fern (Polystichum munitum), Solomon's seal (Polygonatum biflorum), and lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) thrive in Flip Breskin's yard, but the star is a topiary stag by artist Oliver Strong. Maintaining the antlers is the challenge: "In the wild, stags shed antlers yearly — squirrels and chipmunks eat them for calcium. I have to find new antlers for Moss Hart every few years."

"This pollinator garden adds more to our life than color," says Ginny Phelans. After retiring to a fixer-upper in North Carolina, they renovated the landscape first. "It's our breakfast view — butterflies, bees, hummingbirds — it makes me smile every day."

"I like bright annuals to greet visitors," says Margaret Egan. Mini petunias, purple flossflower (Ageratum sp.), and multicolored daisies line her walkway. A neighbor's cat often joins her. (Note: many commenters warned about toxic plants for pets — research pet-safe options.)

Kelly Boerner's dahlias thrive in her former restaurant/rose nursery property. "Dahlias hate summer heat and humidity, but nurse them through July and August for fall blooms. Key concerns: support and drainage." She gardens on a slope for better drainage.

Joanna Perkins in London grows purple geraniums. "Take cuttings, leave in water a few days — free new plants! Add tomato food to soil and they go wild with blooms."

Sigrid Olson in Moscow received an opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) as a gift seven years ago. It never bloomed in shade. Removing a sickly tree gave it sun — "first year it bloomed!"

Katherine Flowers inherited a double daylily (Hemerocallis sp.) among "an obscene amount of flowers — wildflowers, magazine finds, flowering trees, roses, peonies, lilies."

Delora Ricky in Southern California simplified their 100+ plant quarter-acre to drought-tolerant lantana on a gentle slope. "Once a year in November or December, we 'buzz cut' everything for spring growth."

Kendra Haines in the Blue Ridge Mountains currently loves spirea, bergenia, and crocosmia. Her tip: leave the garden standing over winter — "really improved this year's overall garden health."

As Kelly Handverger commented, "Picking a favorite is like picking a favorite child."