Saturday, August 15, 2026

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This annual display garden focuses on seasonal vibrance.

Each year a new designer has the opportunity to explore colors, textures, and patterns using plants, and share their vision with countless garden visitors. While much of Rocky Mountain Gardens is made up of perennial plantings, Beautiful Blooms‘ attention to annual species promises a fresh perspective on garden design year after year.

This season, we focused on a simple question:
What if edible plants were treated like ornamentals?

Ever plant in this year’s design is edible in some form, be it leaves, flowers, seeds, or roots. (Actually, there is one exception- the vibrant green succulent bordering each bed.) We’ve arranged vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers with the same care for color, texture, and structure that you might expect in a traditional flower garden.

You’ll see bold foliage next to delicate blooms and tall stems rising above creeping vines. A mix of familiar and unexpected choices. The goal is to show that food plants don’t have to be tucked away in rows, that they can be just as beautiful and dynamic as any ornamental planting.

This garden challenges how we think about what belongs in an “ornamental” space. It’s also an invitation: to experiment, to mix beauty with utility, and to bring a little more creativity (and maybe a little more food) into your own garden.

About the Designers

MOLLY ANTON, Rocky Mountain Gardens Coordinator

Molly’s design experience is rooted in hands-on work across farms, gardens, greenhouses, and natural landscapes rather than formal design training.

Drawing from both cultivated and wild systems, her work emphasizes plant performance in real-world conditions. Her approach bridges productivity and ecology, integrating the aesthetic qualities of designed plantings with the resilience and function of natural systems. Central to her practice is the development of spaces that are innovative and dynamic while remaining accessible and achievable for home gardeners.

LONI WATERS, Owner of Garden City Florascaping

My husband (and business partner) Justin would say that I am gardening obsessed. I would say that I have a passion for creating beautiful spaces.

I have always had a love of digging in the dirt. Having a background in archeology I started learning about how native people of our past used plants for medicinal and edible purposes. This really started me on my journey of loving gardening.

I was in graduate school at the University of Montana when my partner (now husband) decided to purchase a landscaping company that he was working for. Since then, creating beautiful outdoor living spaces with my sister (our designer) and my husband is really a dream come true.