A Year in My Garden

The cyclical nature of a garden's seasons provides a continuous canvas for reflection, a journey marked by growth, adaptation, and change. Each season unfolds like chapters in a book, revealing the intricacies of patience and the inevitability of occasional mistakes. Spring ushers in the promise of new beginnings, the tender shoots breaking through the soil mirroring the anticipation of personal growth. Summer demands diligent care, mirroring life's need for consistent effort. Autumn's reflective hues symbolize the wisdom acquired through challenges and the beauty of transformation. As winter descends, the garden rests, and we, too, pause to contemplate the lessons learned.

Throughout this ever-revolving cycle, the ultimate aspiration is a harvest, a testament to resilience, dedication, and hope. A bountiful yield not only satisfies personal joy but becomes a gift to share, fostering a sense of interconnectedness with others and nature's rhythms. In the ebb and flow of seasons, the garden becomes a metaphor for life's journey—a continuous evolution toward beauty, nourishment, and the joy of shared abundance. This has been my experience as a new gardener, and what a joy and blessing it has been to be the caretaker of this bit of earth!

I started this garden back in the Spring of 2021 when we first moved into this property, there was not much here but dying grass and oddly placed bamboo and pampas grass (both were removed in that first year). In winter I spend much of the time planning and dreaming of the Spring and Summer garden. The greenhouse got a much needed tidying up, by mid February I started seedlings for new additions to the garden, and in the end of February we got a bit of a nasty surprise when unexpected snow fell after weeks of fairly mild winter weather.

Many of the flowers grown in my garden were started as seedlings by myself (aside from bulbs). There was quite a bit of trial and error and I can honestly say, starting anything from a seed is a true practice in patience. Whenever I would come home from work, especially on a sunny day, I would race to the greenhouse and check under the domes and glass cloches to see any growth progress on my seedlings. 

Things seemed rather slow moving in the garden until about mid to late April, then it seemed as if in two weeks the garden went from dormant winter to blooming spring. I was so excited to see things blooming and growing, I often walked out in sundresses barefoot imagining the weather was 15 degrees warmer than it actually was. We went on a trip to visit family in the beginning of May and when we returned the garden had completely transformed itself.

By mid-May and beginning of June, my garden was shining like a jewel. It brought me an immense amount of joy to sit out there and have my coffee in the morning, then come home and wander about talking to all the flowers. Once in a while, I would sit at a little table and sketch designs for Atèlette, dreaming of breezy dresses and billowy tops I would want to be wearing right in that moment.

In June the garden felt transformed. I was in a swoon all season over my foxgloves and all of the new color additions to the garden (gold, sunset reds, deep burgundy) were such a lovely contrast to the soft pinks and lavenders I had planted in the year before. My garden in summer was truly beautiful and brought so much joy.

Summer was a glorious time in the garden and I could barely keep up with the daily clippings and cuttings. Eventually I gave up and just let the garden grow as much as she wanted to and I sat back and savored her beauty.

By late summer I had realized that I had not planted anything to bloom for Autumn, so some late additions of sunflowers, rudebeckias, and zinnias were added. Alas, I was a bit too late and was only able to get a few cuttings before the season gave way. I turned my attentions instead to seed preserving and dried flower crafting.

This year I did not plan for Autumn blooms, so by this time, many of my Spring and Summer flowers had put forth their last display and I started the task of saving and storing the seeds for starts for the following year. 

Thank you for taking a tour through memory lane in my garden. I hope my photos have inspired you to start your own garden projects and to dream up your own little green haven to care and tend to.