GPOD on the Road: The Garden Fling, Part 1

Garden fling part: a concise orientation before we get practical.

Garden fling part: Quick notes

Hi GPODers!

Social media can be a controversial place. Anonymity can bring out the worst in people, and the most polarizing points of view can often get unworthy attention. However, it can also be a beautiful place that allows us to express, share, and connect. I find that the latter is especially true in the gardening corner of our online spaces. Just as gardeners are apt to welcome fellow plant-lovers into their landscapes, I find they are just as generous in giving out inspiration, advice, and insight to their followers. So I was thrilled to learn about an incredible gardening event from Sue Webel that allows gardeners who share on social media to connect in person. Sue has shared her gorgeous garden in Canton, Connecticut with the blog several times (Check out her previous submissions: Exceptional Scenes From Sue’s 2024 Garden, Sue’s Favorite Foliage Plants, Making a New Garden in Connecticut, and Highlights from Sue’s 2021 Garden), but today she’s sharing highlights from her time at the 2025 Garden Fling in Memphis, Tennessee.

And if you would like to get inspired by more of Sue’s gorgeous garden photos, be sure to check out her Instagram: @musabasjoosue

Pictures are from The Garden Fling which was held this year in Memphis in June. I believe the hardiness zone is 8a. The Garden Fling is an annual garden communicators event open to anyone who has a public social media account devoted to gardening. For more information you can visit the website or any of the associated social media accounts. The majority of these photos were taken in private gardens. The 2026 Fling will be held in July in Buffalo, NY.

The Fling itinerary offers a mix of public and private gardens with an occasional nursery tossed into the mix. This photo was taken in the Memphis Botanic Garden which was lovely and well worth visiting if you find yourself in Memphis.

Annesdale Mansion, garden and event venue, hosted the Fling banquet. It was recently purchased by a new owner who is renovating and expanding the gardens.

Experience Memphis Gardens is a six week garden event inspired by Garden Walk Buffalo and organized by the local Cooper-Young Garden Club. One of our mornings was spent wandering in and out of gardens all located in the same neighborhood. I wish I lived in a neighborhood like that! The next four pictures are from this same neighborhood.

A shady nook in one of the neighborhood gardens.

So many of the neighborhood gardens had creative entries.

At first I thought this concrete statue was an old tree trunk.

A large mass of elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta, Zones 8–11).

For the second half of our Experience Memphis Garden morning we were bussed to some larger individual gardens. Unfortunately torrential rains dampened some of these visits but not the spirits of the visitors. The following two pictures are from these gardens.

I took so many pictures of crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica, Zones 7–9) trunks. They are so common in Memphis. I gave up trying to grow them in my northern Connecticut garden even as die back shrubs. My high elevation summer season is just short enough and cool enough to prevent them from blooming well.

Like crepe myrtles, southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora, Zones 7–9) was everywhere. Be still my heart-another beauty I can’t grow.

Check back in with GPOD tomorrow so you do not miss Part 2 of Sue’s garden-filled foray in Memphis.

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Garden fling part comes up here to connect ideas for clarity.

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