New Year - New start or refine what you do?
So another old year seen off and a new one just starting. I am not a resolutions type of person - more a review type. Which of the activities, purchases or self challenges did I aim for and which did I achieve?
Do I want to plan some of them for this coming year? A plan that can be flexible - to me a resolution has more of a feeling of ‘grit my teeth and hang in there’. Sometimes that is a good thing. At other times it’s how do I feel about missing my intention? Does my resolution fizzle because I ate that chocolate - or missed the gym this week and now I feel guilty?
In the past few years I feel I have let myself down and not done as much as I intended, or struggled to even use the fair weather days when they were available. As we’re in the darkest time of year both weather and light wise looking at the garden doesn’t exactly highlight the positives that appear during the rest of the year - even on a clear sunny day. I have enjoyed taking photos of some beautiful flowers in my own and other peoples gardens that have been inspiring and are lovely to come across as memories of the year just gone as well as a reminder of what was achieved.
So reviewing and having a bit of reflection I could head down the ‘woe is me’ or ‘what did go right’ paths…
I released that along with the review and the plans, I need to look at my priorities for how I engage with my garden and alongside that what are my current priorities in life? Not an easy call.
Review
My challenge was to grow some pumpkins for the first time and I was really pleased with a crop of 3 reasonable sized Crown Prince and a couple of edible late starters. The Uchiki Kuri didn’t do so well but that could have been their position which was shadier. The added bonus was that the Crown Prince - a winter squash, gave me some good ground cover including the added bonus of an obstacle course across the path to the greenhouse
Tomatoes and cucumbers in the greenhouse - last year using more cherry type varieties and mini cucumbers. Also a welcome harvest.
Realising the constraints of our own growing year and garden space
Knee issues over the last 18 months have been problematic followed by a finger splint. So being kind to myself and my expectations needs to be taken into account.
Realising I have no control over the weather and the amount of rain. A brighter and dryer year this year helped many things succeed but increased the need to water.
I do however have control over when I take a holiday? Is there any good time in the gardening calendar? If so, answers on a postcard….
Planning my priorities
Sometimes rating things can help prioritise where to focus my time
Enjoyment of Beans for instance, considering the support required
Climbing French beans - 9/10 - best flavour and tenderness but need a climbing structure which takes time
Dwarf French beans - grown in a planter 10/10 for easy picking and clean beans.
Runner beans - 7/10
Dwarf runners 8/10
Over the past couple of years I have already started to do this with my tomatoes - cherry tomatoes ripen earlier than larger varieties but some have a tendency to split as you pick them so I have been exploring varieties and see which I prefer and that helped.
Tubs and pots for hits of seasonal flower colour positioned where I can enjoy them. From the kitchen window, as I arrive home from work, or when I sit in the garden - it’s been a bit rare the last couple of years.
What are your plans and priorities? Now is the time to work out what you like and enjoy about your garden and how you can work with nature to achieve that. May be this year is less 'new you' but more 'new variety?