A Memorial Garden in New Jersey

Hi GPODers! While most gardens could certainly be described as “special” this space gives that adjective even more meaning. Today we’re looking at the memorial garden that John Svinos created for his late father in New Jersey:

My garden has been a memorial for my late dad. He was an avid gardener as was his brother and dad before him. They came from the small island Kos in Greece, where they were the in charge of the gardens.
Many of my plants were my dads and came from the island. Including speciality jasmine, fig and lemon trees, also hydrangeas and hostas previously from his garden and brought to mine.

A pool patio is the perfect spot for a summer container garden. As the climate in Greece is just a bit different than New Jersey, I’m sure John takes special care to shuffle these prized plants indoors when winter blows through the Mid-Atlantic.

I absolutely love the John included so much fun garden art with the plants in his father’s memorial garden. Rather than create a space that is somber and sad, he created something filled with life and joy. With the wind chimes singing with each gust of breeze, this looks like the perfect spot to immerse yourself in good memories.

This bright pink bigleaf hydrangea is loving its spot by the pool. While many gardeners are eager to get their hydrangea in the ground as soon as possible, my varieties will be happy in a container for several years.

Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora, Zones 6–10) is the clear star of this area, being perfectly framed by a garden arch that looks to be wrapped in string lights. Would love to see this space illuminated at night!

John’s fruit trees mixing and mingling with potted annuals by the pool is giving his New Jersey garden a tropical vibe.

A close up of a stunning jasmine flower, I believe this is ‘Grand Duke of Tuscany’ jasmine (Jasminum sambac ‘Grand Duke of Tuscany’, Zones 9–12).

Lastly, John’s fabulous fig. While fig trees may conjure images of cliff-sides in Greece or rolling hills in Italy, these edibles are relatively cold hardy with the right overwintering technique and can be grown in ground in most parts of the US. The most northern states can still get their fill of figs by growing a dwarf variety in a container like John’s other fruit tress above.

Thank you for sharing your garden with us, John! What a beautiful place to commemorate someone so special and influential.

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