Today I have the honor of sharing another flower garden with you for our garden tour series How Does Your Garden Grow. On a quaint street in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, sits the most charming bungalow and perennial garden lovingly cultivated by the sweetest owners, Dilan and Emma Marion.

Dilan and Emma are partners in photography, capturing and celebrating the most joyous seasons of life for their couples and families. To know Dilan and Emma for even a few minutes, you will feel right at home with them. They are genuinely the nicest people you will meet! I consider myself lucky to have collaborated with them on a few special projects over the years.

Dilan and Emma are sharing their garden from this past May, at the height of rose and peony season. Doesn’t it remind you of a flower hug?

THANK YOU SO MUCH DILAN AND EMMA FOR SHARING YOUR SWEET GARDEN WITH US. TO START THINGS OFF, WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT THAT IS BLOOMING RIGHT NOW?

Our climbing roses! We get so excited every year for our climbers to bloom because they are true showstoppers when they do! When they bloom, our whole garden is alive with color & the loveliest fragrances. It's just a dream come true.

CLIMBING ROSES REALLY ARE THE BEST THING. WHEN DID YOU BEGIN GARDENING IN YOUR CURRENT SPACE AND HOW HAS IT EVOLVED SINCE YOU STARTED?

We started our flower garden when we first bought our 112 year old home in 2016. Our small yard is mostly shade with sun mainly on the sides of our home, so we wanted to make the best of the sun that we do have. We started with one side yard & created a small rose garden, garden roses being one of my (Emma) favorite flowers. Because landscaping can be pretty expensive, we started with a few plants and added to it each year. With time, love and lots of learning, the garden grew and filled up with a variety of roses & perennial flowers that we love.

YOU CANNOT GO WRONG WITH ROSES AND PEONIES! HAS A LOVE OF GARDENING BEEN PRESENT THROUGHOUT YOUR WHOLE LIFE OR DID YOU DISCOVER YOUR PASSION LATER ON?

We both have always loved being outdoors & watching plants grow. I've always had a deep love for flowers. But our love for gardening really grew throughout the years of our marriage & it really became a hobby that we love to do together. We have learned so much and continue to learn to this day!

WHAT HAS WORKED OUT WELL FOR YOU WITH YOUR GARDEN? HAVE YOU HAD ANY HAPPY SURPRISES WITH YOUR PLANTINGS?

We have loved planting perennial plants in our garden because they tend to be a little more low maintenance for us. With our busy work schedule, we aren't able to be in our garden as much as we would like, so having plants that don't need as much attention is really great for us. We love that they come back every year & they really have been such a wonderful investment.

This year we have been venturing learning how to grow annual cut flowers. We are so excited to be adding some more flowers to our garden. There are so many flowers & plants that we love that aren't perennials, so it will be nice to have a bigger variety of flowers we can cut & not only have in our home but share with our loved ones too! We recently planted some cosmos from seeds and are so excited that they get bigger each day!

OH I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR COSMOS WHEN THEY BLOOM! DO YOU HAVE A CURRENT GARDEN PROJECT YOU ARE WORKING ON?

We feel like there will always be a garden project, just because we love gardening so much! Our next goal is to fill the other side of our yard full of different flower varieties, including wild flowers! Eventually we'd like to have our backyard as lovely as our side yards, but we are taking it one plant at a time!

HAS GARDENING TAUGHT YOU ANYTHING THAT YOU APPLY TO OTHER AREAS OF YOUR LIFE?

Oh my gosh yes. It's really taught me that I don't need to be discouraged if things don't always turn out the way I hope them to. To try again or try a new way. Sometimes plants do good & sometimes they don't. Continuing to learn & just have fun with gardening has really turned it into a passion for us. And giving ourselves grace when we need it is truly something we can apply to all areas of our lives.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE FLOWER? I KNOW WHEN YOU SEE SO MANY DIFFERENT PLANTS, IT IS SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO CHOOSE JUST ONE!

Dilan loves them all, but for me, garden roses have always had my heart. I love that they come in so many different shapes, colors & smells. Each one is unique & I love how resilient they are. They just need a little love & they say thank you with the prettiest blooms every year.

Thank you again Dilan and Emma for sharing your garden with us! It really is so darling. Be sure to give them a follow on Instagram if you haven’t already.

All photos provided and taken by Dilan and Emma Marion. Visit their website here.

HDYGG Series: Dilan & Emma Marion