Time to Contemplate

As the saying goes “a garden is never finished.”  Therefore the work of a gardener is never ending. This has never been more true for me than in 2023. As I look back over the year, it seemed there were only rare occasions that I was finding joy in my garden. And this is NOT acceptable as my garden has always been my happy place. Maybe I am realizing that with each passing year, my garden is not getting any closer to the vision I had for it. Maybe I need to work harder, longer, and smarter? Or perhaps the image of the perfect garden in my head no longer works for my garden anymore.

So now as I look forward, I must ask myself “what needs to change to get the garden back to my happy place?” While I contemplate this question, I decided to take a look back through the photos of my garden from 2023 to hopefully glimpse an answer.

I saw many old favorites are still here.

Drift Rose

Amistad and Zexmenia

Lemon Yellow Rosemallow

And some newer additions are fitting in nicely.

Oakleaf Hydrangea ‘Alice’

Barbados Cherry

Spurge (Gopher Plant)

 I am still trying to get to know my garden after losing so many trees which had defined its woodland character. And while the increased sunlight provided the opportunity to introduce more plants, this change was a hard one to embrace. But I do feel that incorporating plants that attract pollinators is the direction I’d like to pursue in 2024. After all, one can’t help but to be happy with more bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds in the garden!

So here is to finding JOY in the garden in 2024! Happy gardening my friends!