When it comes to gardens, bigger isn't necessarily better---or more beautiful. The striking pansies shown here were located in a 10-inch-wide window box, as gorgeous as any pocket garden. The cheerful faces turned toward the sun and random passersby made my day on a stroll in Petoskey, Michigan's historic Gaslight District.
"Flower gardens" don't necessarily need to be populated with traditional flowers either. Yet another eye-catching window box consisted of cabbage-like plants surrounded by a sea of Dusty Miller. The blue-green and mauve-veined leaves created a powerful contrast against the feathery gray-green foliage behind it.
The experience left me aiming my camera lens at even smaller 'gardens' along my route. This sea of yellow and orange and lime was cascading from a hanging flower pot outside a Gaslight shop. Even in the smallest of spaces and containers, gardening can happen. The result? Eye-catching and creative encounters with nature that transform the landscape for the better.
