Hello gpoders!
Thanks to Tingshu Hu in Dunstable, Massachusetts, we have a very special submission in today’s garden photos. If you’ve been following the blog for a while, Tingshu’s name rings the bells as she shares an incredible garden she’s made many times with her husband Philip (low maintenance gardens in Massachusetts, flowering trees in Tingshu gardens, Tingshu garden chickens, etc.). Subscribe to Fine Gardening’s Print Magazine and you may have seen her garden decorate the pages at the end of last year (a space created with Chinese design elements and British garden aesthetics). Tingshu’s gardens have an endless array of scenes and structures that will delight and admire each season, but today they focus on the furry cast of garden companions who enjoyed the garden through many ups and downs.
Our garden grows with dogs, especially with Havana dog Dee Dee. He witnessed all the major evolutions of the garden and enjoyed playing there since February 2007.
Our Garden in May 2010: Dee Dee was testing a newly built route. This is a newly planted two azaleas and a Japanese maple tree. Lulu (American Eskimo) was more interested in tulip bloom. Behind Lulu was a crabapple tree in the young prairie (Mars’s Prairie’, zones 4-8).
Dee Dee was guarding the chicken flock in October 2011. Throughout history, Havana dogs have been used in flocks of chickens on Cuban farms. He was very kind to the chickens. The plants behind Dedee include Annabelle Hydlangea (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’, Zones 3–9), red coles in pots, Japanese maple, and Jonagard Apple (Malus Domestica ‘Jonagold’, Zones 5–8).
Deepee and Lulu shared Bantam’s Chick and Peaceful Moment (July 2014).
After Lulu’s death in 2016, Dee Dee was lonely and lost interest in many things. We got him his brother Luke in 2017 and Dee Dee was revitalized. The photo was taken in May 2017, shortly after new fences were installed to protect them. It was Deanie who ran in front of me. Three months old Luke tried so hard to catch up with him. These fences marked the beginning of building the front yard.
The two brothers became very close. They liked to rest on this patch of this creeping phlox (Phlox subalata, zones 3-9) (May 2020).
Deanie and Luke enjoyed a walk along the garden route in the early morning (May 2022). The plants behind it include two flowering turias, faded tulips, iris, hosta, canna and ladymantle (Alchemilla Mollis, Zones 3–8).
An unusual photo (August 2023) of Luke and Mama in the same frame, each taking their business to heart. Tall plants next to the pergola include the striatacanna (Canna ‘striata’, Zones 7-10) and the American rose (Rosa ‘Jacclam’, Zones 6-9). Low-growth plants along the passageway include blue fescue (Festuccula Grauca, Zones 4-9), flossflower (Ageratum Houston Nam, Annual), flower carpet rose, ajuga, sweet Alicesam (Lobria Marichima, Zones 5-9), and Alascanustium (Nasco Potassium ‘Alascan Mix).
Dee Dee smelled like newly harvested tomatoes (July 2024). Flowering plants contain abundant zinnia and self-seeding sweet alyssum on raised beds.
The two brothers were relaxing on the bridge on a midsummer afternoon (July 2024). A blooming pink flower in the center, far away, is a potted crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica, zones 7-9). Overwinter in the greenhouse.
Dee Dee was standing in front of the fish column in June 2022. Plants along the fish pond include Japanese maple trees, blue fescue, coral bells, sedum, creeping jenny (Lysimachia nummularia, zones 4-8), iris, and cat mint. To the right of Deedee was Hostas and False Sypress. A patch of wild flowers was in bloom in the background. Dee Dee passed away on June 2, 2025 (almost 19 years old). He has left his mark throughout the garden and is now resting there.
Thank you to Tingshu for sending us this beautiful obedience and sharing the passage of your beloved Deanie. People and pets that we enjoy outdoor spaces are just as important as the plants we carefully tend to and place. If Dee Dee isn’t walking down the path and playing on the grass, your garden will never be the same, but memories will remain in that space forever. ❤❤️
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