Happy Monday GPODers! I love seeing familiar faces share updates from their gardens to the blog. Iâll never get tired of seeing a garden Iâve enjoyed before, and taking note of new additions as well as plants that delight year after year. However, there is something special about submissions that are the GPOD equivalent to: âlong time listener, first time caller.â Todayâs submission, from Kathy Rochon in Macomb, Michigan, is just that. While Kathy has been a part of the GPOD community for a while now, weâre just now getting a look at her lovely garden. Hello! My name is Kathy Rochon and I have been enjoying GPOD for many years, although this is my first submission. I garden in Macomb, Michigan. Attached are some photos from our yard, taken between May and September this year. I hope you enjoy them⌠Weâre starting in spring, when Kathyâs bright pink peonies were in bloom and shoots of fresh greenery were just coming up through the mulch and marking the promise of more garden growth. Around the same time or just a bit later, Dutch irises (Iris Ă hollandica, Zone 6â9) burst into bloom with arching red valerian (Centranthus ruber, Zone 5â8) behind and a compact Spilled WineÂŽ weigela (Weigela florida âBokraspiwiâ, Zone 4â8) adding another splash of color in this foundation planting. In a border along a pathway in Kathyâs garden, variegated Japanese water iris (Iris ensata âVariegataâ, Zone 4â8) sets off a series of purple blooms with woodland sage (Salvia nemorosa, Zone 4â8). As summer started heating up, the garden got more and more vibrant. Angelina stonecrop (Sedum rupestre âAngelinaâ, Zone 6â9) is a bold border around orange butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa, Zone 3â9) and hardy purple geranium. Later in the season that butterfly weed has grown taller and covered itself in blooms while garden phlox (Phlox paniculata, Zone 4â8) and a clematis add a new punch of pink. A closer look Kathyâs clematis climbing all over that gorgeous trellis. This is potentially the Empress⢠cultivar (Clematis âEvipo011â, Zone 4â9), which features those stunning light and dark pink stripes. Kathy has a mini coneflower collection that also erupts from this section of her garden in summer. The marvelous mix of colors keeps this planting exciting even with uniform shapes and textures. Kathy adds small touches of garden magic in every corner. This small corner next to an entryway gets a gorgeous pop of color with Golden Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra âAureolaâ, Zone 5â9) and a mix of other colorful foliage plants with orange zinnias in a pot. As summer sailed on, the first signs of fall started emerging in the garden. This small âKarl Foersterâ feather reed grass (Calamagrostis Ă acutiflora âKarl Foersterâ, Zone 5â9) adds great vertical interest to this border bed next to purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea, Zone 3â8). Lastly, September gave Kathy the first touches of fall color in her garden, A gorgeous diervilla, potentially the cultivar KodiakÂŽ Red (Diervilla splendens âG2X885411â, Zone 4â7), was beginning to transform while a bright pink rose bush was still putting on a spectacular performance. Thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous space with us, Kathy! Hopefully, your gardenâs first appearance on the blog will not be that last and weâll get to add you and your garden to our roster of familiar faces. If youâve been enjoying the blog and havenât yet shared your own garden photos, I hope Kathy encourages you to make this the season to spread some garden cheer. Much of North America is bracing for a particularly cold and snow-filled winter, so colorful garden scenes from warmer days will be needed now more than ever. To get your garden featured on Garden Photo of the Day, 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? Weâd 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 5â10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. Weâd love to hear where you are located, how long youâve 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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