Cheeky Garden

09/06/2026

Spent the day wandering the property, following the creek up the mountain and taking in just how wild and beautiful this place is. Goldenrod everywhere, little streams cutting through the woods, trails disappearing into the trees… there’s always something new to explore.

My dad is slowly turning this place into our own little upstate escape — somewhere we can spend time together, make memories as a family, and enjoy for years to come. 🌲⛰️💛

08/13/2026

My garden has officially become a full-circle operation. 🌱♻️

I grow food in my backyard. We bring it inside, eat it, and inevitably end up with plenty of scraps.

But now, instead of throwing those scraps away, I feed them to my REENCLE.

Reencle uses microbes to break down food scraps and turn them into real compost. Once it’s mixed with soil and given time to cure, it can make its way right back to where it started: my garden. 🌿

Garden → kitchen → compost → garden.

And then we do it all over again.

This is the kind of sustainability I can actually get behind—not adding another complicated task to my life, but finding a better use for something we were already throwing away.

Comment COMPOST and I’ll send you the link and $50 off!

08/09/2026

I’ve wanted to add the sound of water to this little corner of my garden for YEARS. 💦🌿

But I kept putting it off because I assumed installing a water feature would mean complicated plumbing, a massive hole and probably calling in a professional.

Turns out…I was seriously overthinking it. 😂

We installed this Klamath Basin Fountain Kit from Blue Thumb in less than TWO HOURS—and that included digging!

It’s a pondless, recirculating fountain, so the water is stored in a hidden basin underneath the stone and pumped back through the fountain. No exposed pond and no permanent plumbing required.

And the Klamath itself is made from glass fiber reinforced concrete molded from real stone, so you get that natural boulder look without having to maneuver an insanely heavy rock into the garden.

I honestly can’t believe how much this one addition changed the entire feel of the space. The sound of bubbling water makes my vegetable garden feel so peaceful. 🥹

Want to recreate it in your garden?

💙 Comment BLUE and I’ll send you the link to the exact fountain kit I used. Use code CHEEKY10 at checkout for 10% off—that’s $58 in savings on the Klamath Basin Fountain Kit.

07/27/2026

There’s something incredibly peaceful about the sound of moving water in the garden. 🌿💧

Since adding this bubbling fountain from Blue Thumb, I find myself lingering outside just a little longer each evening. It’s become one of my favorite places to slow down, listen to the water, and watch the garden come alive.

Beyond creating a calming atmosphere, a shallow water source can also benefit your garden’s ecosystem. Birds stop by for a drink or a quick bath, while bees, butterflies, and other beneficial pollinators pause for a sip between visiting blooms. During the heat of summer, fresh water can be just as important as nectar, making a simple water feature a beautiful way to support local wildlife.

I love how naturally this fountain blends into the landscape. It looks like a weathered boulder, adds gentle movement and soothing sound, and creates a peaceful focal point that both people and pollinators can enjoy.

Creating a wildlife-friendly garden doesn’t always require a major project. Sometimes it’s as simple as adding a water source, planting a variety of flowers, and leaving a little room for nature to thrive. 💚

🌿 Comment GROW and I’ll send you my exclusive 10% off discount code for the Klamath® Basin Fountain Kit, along with links to shop my garden and some of my favorite gardening products.

Now help me finish this space! 🌸 What perennials would you plant around the base of the fountain? And don’t forget to follow along—I can’t wait to share the full DIY installation video soon!

07/27/2026

🌿 This mailbox garden isn’t finished… it’s just getting started.

My original mailbox bed had become overcrowded. I kept squeezing in “just one more plant,” but there simply wasn’t enough room for everything to mature. Instead of the lush, layered perennial garden I envisioned, it was starting to look cluttered.

So I grabbed a shovel, removed the surrounding turf, and expanded it into a much larger L-shaped bed that finally gives every plant the room it needs to grow.

Then came my favorite part—filling the space with beautiful perennials and shrubs from Great Garden Plants, delivered straight to my door.

To keep the garden colorful while everything establishes, I tucked in a few annual vincas. They’ll provide instant color this season while the perennials focus on something even more important—developing deep, healthy root systems.

After all, gardeners know the saying: First they sleep. Then they creep. Then they leap.

This first year isn’t about instant gratification—it’s about building the foundation for the garden I want three years from now.

One of my favorite details is hidden in the middle of the garden. I took four 10×10 trays of SedumSod®, sliced them into strips, and tucked them between the stepping stones so they’ll eventually knit together into a living carpet. I also planted Yellow Creeping Jenny, and I’m excited to watch both spread naturally through the garden over the next few seasons.

The past month certainly hasn’t made establishing a new garden easy. Between heat waves, wildfire ash, dirty rain, tornado watches, and a little animal browsing, these plants have already been through a lot. That’s simply part of gardening during the first year, and I’m confident they’ll reward the patience.

The best part? This is Year 1. I can’t wait to compare it to Year 3 and see how much it has filled in. Gardening is one of the few hobbies where patience truly pays off.

💚 Comment “GROW” and I’ll send you my exclusive discount along with links to every plant featured in this mailbox makeover so you can create your own layered, four-season garden. 🌿🌸

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07/25/2026

🌺 Look who decided to show up early… My Summerific® ‘Evening Rose’ Hardy Hibiscus is already stealing the show, and it’s only just getting started! 😍

With huge rose-pink, dinner-plate-sized blooms set against dramatic deep purple foliage, it’s one of those plants that literally stops people in their tracks. And the best part? This perennial blooms for weeks from midsummer into late summer, then comes back bigger and better every year.

Even though it’s one of the last perennials to wake up in spring, don’t let that fool you. Once it starts growing, it explodes into a massive 4-foot-tall, 5-foot-wide showpiece that’s surprisingly easy to grow. It thrives in full sun, laughs at the summer heat, is cold hardy from Zones 4–9, and even tolerates wetter spots in the garden once established.

I can already tell this is going to be one of the stars of my landscape this season, and there are still so many buds waiting to open. 💕

🌿 Comment “GROW” and I’ll send you my exclusive discount code to shop Great Garden Plants and add a Summerific® ‘Evening Rose’ to your own garden!

07/24/2026

✨ Golden hour may get all the attention… but my favorite time in the garden is after sunset.

The string lights come on, the fountain starts bubbling, and suddenly the whole space feels like an outdoor room. 🌿✨

This little kitchen garden has become my favorite place to unwind after a long day—surrounded by climbing vegetables, blooming flowers, soft string lights, and the soothing sounds of my new water feature.

If you’re dreaming of creating a garden that’s just as beautiful at night as it is during the day, this is your sign to add a little landscape lighting and a bubbling fountain. 💚

You might notice a new addition to the garden… my new Blue Thumb fountain! 💧This is just a little glimpse for now. Follow along for the full DIY installation video coming soon, where I’ll show you just how easy it was to install.

🌱 Use code CHEEKY10 to get 10% off your very own Klamath® Basin Fountain Kit from Blue Thumb today! http://bit.ly/4gVb4wC

07/22/2026

Peak summer in the kitchen garden. 🌿🍅🌸

Everything is growing like crazy right now.

The zinnias are blooming, calendula is glowing, petunias and marigolds are spilling over the edges of the beds, butterflies are stopping by, and the tomatoes seem to ripen a little more every single day.

This is exactly why I love mixing flowers with vegetables. The flowers bring in pollinators and beneficial insects, while the vegetables reward you with baskets of fresh harvests. Together, they create a garden that’s as beautiful as it is productive.

There’s something blooming, buzzing, or ready to pick every time I step outside—and that’s my favorite kind of garden. 💚

What’s thriving in your garden right now? Let me know in the comments! 🌼🍅

07/22/2026

🌿🍅 One of my favorite ways to use fresh garden tomatoes & basil? This Roasted Pesto Caprese Chicken.

Juicy chicken is topped with basil pesto, fresh Roma tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and roasted until perfectly melty. Around the edges, cherry tomatoes roast until they burst into sweet little bites of summer, creating an incredible sauce to spoon over everything.

It’s simple enough for a weeknight, impressive enough for guests, and tastes like peak tomato season. ❤️

If your garden is overflowing with tomatoes right now, this recipe deserves a spot in your dinner rotation.

👇 Comment “RECIPE” and I’ll send you the full recipe and blog link!

What’s your favorite way to use fresh garden tomatoes?

07/22/2026

Garden harvests just hit different. 🌿🍅

Fresh basil. Sweet cherry tomatoes. Creamy mozzarella. Pesto. Juicy roasted chicken.

This Roasted Pesto Caprese Chicken is one of my favorite ways to bring the garden to the dinner table. It's packed with fresh summer flavors, comes together in one pan, and is perfect for busy weeknights when you want something that feels a little special without spending hours in the kitchen.

If your basil won't stop growing (not that we're complaining 😉), this recipe is the perfect excuse to put it to good use.

✨ Get the full recipe here: https://cheekygarden.com/blogs/garden-resources/roasted-pesto-caprese-chicken

Have your tomatoes started ripening yet? Tell me what's coming out of your garden this week! 🌱👇

Juicy pesto Caprese chicken with fresh garden tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. An easy 30-minute summer dinner perfect for tomato season.