As the new year begins, it’s a time for fresh starts—not just in our lives but also in our gardens. January is the perfect opportunity to reflect, plan, and prepare for the upcoming growing season. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or a curious beginner, the start of the year offers countless ways to reconnect with nature and cultivate beauty and abundance.
Reflecting on the Past Year
Before diving into new plans, take a moment to evaluate your garden over the past year. How did your garden change in 2024 compared to previous years? What plants thrived? Which ones struggled? Did pests or weather conditions teach you any valuable lessons? How did your garden impact your life during 2024? By reflecting on these experiences, you can make informed decisions for the year ahead.
For me, 2024 was a very busy year for both our garden and related projects. Early in 2024, Marty and I finally made the big decision to convert a portion of lawn in our backyard into a recreation area. Both of us love to swim and play pickleball, so our wish list/landscape plan included those two items. Also, I wanted plenty of low maintenance garden border areas for native trees and pollinator plants (these were must haves!) and a gazebo/shade area for protection from the sun (also a must have for the grandkids and fair-skinned people like me). Fortunately, with a bit of fine tuning, we were able to include both the must haves and the wish list items into our budget. We initially anticipated the project would take 10 weeks to complete. However, like most home improvement projects, it took longer than planned (16 weeks) due to the usual supply delays and scheduling conflicts. Despite nearly falling into the pond (more than once) and almost breaking an ankle or knee (also more than once, and all due to my klutziness) the project was completed without any serious problems except for a few trees that needed TLC due to transplant shock.
Here are some before and after photos of the 2024 garden project.
The second big garden event of 2024 was really not an event at all, but rather, a major source of strength and inspiration. As I shared in previous posts, I started to write my first book in 2024 and it is about how the beauty and miracles of nature and the natural world can help us embrace wonder, joy, and well-being. While I was writing the book, I can honestly say I’ve lost count how many times being in the garden or interacting with nature helped me overcome writer’s block or writer’s burnout. In both my clinical practice and personal life, I am always amazed how gardening and nature are able to nurture our heart, our health, and our soul.
And thanks to nature being such a wonderful and supportive muse, I am happy to write:
I FINISHED MY BOOK!!!!!!
It is now in the hands of the publisher and we expect it to be available in May/June of 2025 – Yahoo!!! Because this is an exciting, terrifying, overwhelming, thrilling, chilling, and joyous new experience for me, I will share the progress of my nature publication adventure with you along the way.
Plans for 2025
While much of 2025 will be involved with completing the book’s publication, I also have plans for my garden. Being 3-5 years old now, many of my perennials will require dividing and refreshing this year – not a simple task considering the gardens cover almost 4 acres (I’m prepared for lots of blisters). Also, every year, I try to add a few new peony varieties to the mix (I absolutely love peonies) and will no doubt check out all the new plant introductions from regional growers. Other than that, Marty and I hope to make time for a few trips (maybe to flower shows or public gardens?) and more R and R at home enjoying the garden, the new recreation area, and fishing in the backyard pond.
Sounds perfect to me!
What are your garden plans for 2025?
Please stay safe, warm, and healthy.
Pam
