One Year in My Garden

Fall came early this year. My oakleaf hydrangeas and dogwoods developed some lovely fall hues that weren't there when I took pictures and started my blog around this time last year. We also got an early frost a couple of weeks ago. It snuck up on me, so my husband and I found ourselves at Walmart at eleven o'clock on a Friday night buying drop cloths and duct tape to rig together some quick protection for my vegetables. It actually turned out pretty well, considering my husband put it together at midnight while I held the flashlight for him, shivering in the cold. Here's a picture I snapped the next morning:

We assembled protection from the cold for
my tender vegetable plants from bamboo
stakes, drop cloths, and duct tape.

I have been enjoying this beautiful weather, tackling lots of little projects around my garden. I planted a tiny rose plant I bought from a farmers market for $3, some leftover pansies a friend gave me, red onion sets I picked up on an impulse at Home Depot, and some parsley seeds I'd been wanting to try. I think I accidentally planted onions on top of the spinach because there's something sprouting up all around the onions, and not in the square next to it where I thought I had planted spinach. (Note to self: always label my squares when I plant seeds instead of depending on my faulty memory.) I moved some dying irises to another bed where I thought they would be happier, and replanted broccoli seeds indoors after they failed to sprout outdoors last month.

I planted irises, pansies, and a rose over the weekend.

It's hard to believe I've been working in my little garden (and blogging about it) for over a year. For how little time and money I've actually spent on it, I'm pretty proud of the progress. A year ago, some of my plants were just 4" cuttings given to me by a friend, and they've grown into small shrubs. The bareroot roses I won in a contest looked like sticks when they arrived, but they really filled out and bloomed well this year. I added new flower beds and vegetable beds in areas that were just lawn a year ago. It's not the kind of transformation you see on HGTV, but I haven't spent thousands of dollars on plants and labor, either. None of the plants are looking their best this time of year, but I wanted to take pictures anyway, to track the change from when I started. 

My yard, October 2012

My yard, October 2013

Here's a summary of what I've done to my garden in the past year:

• Removed all of the Indian hawthorn shrubs from the front of the house, and half from the back of the house
• Planted a cottage-garden-style border on the east side of the front door, and half of the border on the west side
• Added a small flower bed next to the sidewalk
• Cleared out some of the ivy next to the patio and planted a shade border
• Added a vegetable garden in a raised bed

There's an adage about new gardens that says plants sleep the first year after they're planted, creep the second year, and leap the third year. They put a lot of energy the first year into just getting established and growing their root system. I think that was somewhat true for my garden. I did enjoy some lovely blooms, but my plants seemed to spend most of their energy just filling out and growing new leaves. I can't wait to see how my garden blooms this next spring.

In the next year, my attention will shift to updating the beds behind the house and creating new beds in the back of the yard, which is mostly lawn and weeds right now. Here are a few spots I hope to improve:

I have made some improvements to the bed
next to my patio, but it still has a long way
to go.

The very back of our yard is a large stretch of weedy
lawn and untapped potential.

Gardening requires a lot of patience. Some people put their creative energy into developing an artistic talent, others into remodeling or decorating their home. For me, my masterpiece will be my garden, and in a few years, all the sweat and waiting will be worth it.