It’s been a cold start to the year in the northeast of the US. At this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, I try to remind myself that winter is an essential time to rest and reset for the year ahead. It’s generally accepted that winter begins on the winter solstice, 21st December, when the earth is tilted as far away from the sun as possible, and the sun’s path across the sky is as low in the sky as it can be. That is why we experience the least sunlight hours of the year in winter, and it feels dark before you even reach for that afternoon cup of tea around 3 pm. Winter stretches ahead, and if the weather turns really cold as it does in the NE, it’s hard to do much practical gardening at all outside. It’s time to plan, dream, write, rest, sleep and read. Not so bad, hey?
With that in mind, I spent some office time last week looking back at Your Garden Story’s 2024 resolutions to see how we did and set about creating new goals for the year ahead. What I love about gardening goals is they rarely contain the word “less”, unlike traditional resolutions: drink less, eat less and scroll less!!
My 2024 New Year gardening resolution was to switch my focus and intention around gardening. Your Garden Story was born on a passionate mission to help us all become gardeners and make the world greener. How we garden, and the plants we grow make all the difference. With even minor changes, you can impact the space you see outside your window daily. With global climate challenges and disasters almost weekly, we see more and more why choosing the right plants for your natural environment is important.
So, how did we do on 2024’s resolutions? Let’s take a look back at them.
Host native plant sales in NYC and CT – Plant design project work and travel got in the way of plant sales last year. But this is back on the list for 2025 by request from subscribers and friends. Working with some fantastic native plant growers, I will host sales with an educational focus aimed at gardeners new to native plants. Watch out for more news and dates for NYC and CT.
Plant my sweet peas earlier – Yeah, we did it. It’s still not early enough, but my sweet peas in the UK, in particular, did so much better last year. This year I will plant out even earlier and direct to soil knowing how well sweet peas cope with cold temperatures.
Create a cut flower garden at our home in Litchfield, CT – Another success. I loved the whole process, from designing the space, growing from seed, planting out, caring for the plants and finally cutting the flowers. We grew a lovely balance of native and exotic flowers, which worked well. There is much more to learn and develop, but it is a great start.
Use my garden notebook as a daily journal – I didn’t hit this marker, but I wish I had, and it’s returning to this year’s list. I travel regularly for family and to take care of gardens, so making daily notes’s not always practical. What I did do better was make notes overall on what worked well with projects in the garden, specifically around varieties of flowers and vegetables, so I know what to order/grow again in 2025.
My cherry tomatoes were amazing, as were the radishes, carrots, early lettuces/greens, and the cut flowers, which got off to a great start. Less successful were Brussel sprouts (planted far too late); the diversity of tomatoes and my rhubarb was really poor! My notepad has plenty more comments, but those spring to mind.
So, what is new for 2025? Before I share my list, here are some practical New Year resolutions you might want to consider to help make the world greener!
1. Read The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Robin’s book describes the serviceberry shrubs’ relationship with the natural world as embodying reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. She asks how we can use the wisdom of its relationship with nature as a model to reconnect with values of community, collaboration and balanced relationships. It is a fascinating and thought-provoking book which uses nature to challenge modern society’s norms.
2. Plant or grow native plants from seed in your garden
It’s the same suggestion as last year and just as important. No matter how big or small your space is, you can find native plants that encourage wildlife into your garden and develop a robust, biodiverse ecosystem. Plant in a container or an existing bed combined with exotic plants, or take a piece of your lawn and replace it with wildflowers. Pollinators need our help. Loss of habitat is one of the main reasons we see fewer bees, butterflies, and insects visiting our gardens.
I had a lot of success this year growing natives from seeds, so if you have the time and the interest, this is an alternative to buying plants/plugs. Agastache, coreopsis and echinacea all excelled in the new cut flower garden in CT. Cutting the flowers every week and seeing that beautiful combination made me so happy, and the sight of so many pollinators working in the cut flower garden was inspiring. You can buy seeds from Hudson Valley Seed or Johnny’s Seeds in the US or British Wildflower Meadow Seed if you are based in the UK, I used them to add wildflowers to the meadow in Suffolk we started from plugs. Start small; buy a couple of packets of seeds and a few trays and experiment.
3. Volunteer in a green space near you if you don’t have a garden
Learning to garden with others is the best way to learn. I mostly learnt to garden from my mother and was lucky to have a garden throughout my childhood. Living in the city can be hard to afford your own green space, but you don’t have to look far to discover places to volunteer. I volunteer as an auxiliary member at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and have helped with their annual plant sale for several years. Gowanus Canal Conservancy
is another organization that always needs volunteers. Up in Washington, Connecticut, I will start volunteering at Hollister House this summer, which I am looking forward to. Its beautiful English garden began in 1979. If you are in the UK, there are thousands of opportunities local to you to volunteer with the RHS, this could be with a Britain in Bloom or It’s Your Neighbourhood group, a community outreach project, a school or youth group.
4. Learn a new gardening skill
Take a class or go garden with a friend and learn something new. Every year, I commit to expanding my gardening knowledge, be it visiting a new garden, taking a short course or taking up a new volunteer role. You never stop learning, and the garden never stops growing! There are so many great organizations, its hard to list them all. I have had great experiences with the New York Botanical Garden and Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The Native Plant Trust is another great source of learning if your interest is environmental/science-based. It’s a long time since I attended a course in the UK, but Beth Chatto have a great reputation and organize various experiences from workshops, courses to walks around the garden.
If we all picked just one of these resolutions, it would make a real difference to the environment and our experience of our backyard. Let’s make 2025 the year of becoming stewards of our gardens.
So, what are my new 2025 New Year Resolutions?
- Expand the cut flower garden in CT and learn more about growing cut flowers. I have just started a six-week online course with Floret Farm, a flower and seed farm based in Washington state. It is a step-by-step guide to growing cut flowers, no matter how big or small your plot is. I intend to use the course’s structure and content to inform my growing plan for this season.
- Plant a mixed hedge in the Suffolk garden to encourage wildlife. This takes shape in January, combining bare-root yew and native holly into one hedge at the entry to our garden. I am excited to add another diverse habitat to the garden in Suffolk.
- Start to create a series of “How to…….” garden modules to be shared in 2026 on Instagram/YouTube, covering topics from seed growing to container gardening. I will ask for your help deciding which topics are most interesting.
- Take a trip to three historic gardens I have not toured, at least two outside of the USA.
I would love to hear your resolutions/plans in the garden, however big or small. Comment on Instagram or Facebook, or get in touch on the website. I can’t wait to garden together in 2025.
Here to help us all become gardeners and make the world greener.
Love Wendy x
