New Year Resolutions
- or "Great Expectations"
Time to wipe the slate clean, and start again. A new beginning for all of us. A new year, we can start again with new resolve, which brings me to a common thread between my garden, the contents of my purse and my refrigerator door, and their relationship to the tidiness of life, and the degree of organization in my brain at any given time. These things are indicators of sort. When I can recap the events of the past 6 months by reviewing the evidence- scraps of paper, receipts, notices of plant sales and flyers found magneted to the refrigerator door, or dredged from the bottom of my ever bulging purse, it's time for some resolutions- it must be January. Remnants of the past year lay withering on brown mushy tomato vines, and cucumbers that were too bitter for any human consumption still lie there like swollen baseball bats in the garden soil. Oh, yuck! When my garden is a mess- so am I- so I resolve to do all of the things I resolved to do last year- only this year, I really mean it.
First, I will plant the containers of plants I have left in their black pots on the driveway, since September.
I will put a drip emitter on any new plant I put in and not trust myself to water by hand- I know better than to believe me on that one.
I will go find all of my tools lying around the yard, and bring them in, sharpen blades and oil them.
I will plant bulbs when they are intended, and not when I notice everyone else's are already in bloom.
I will add more compost to my soil, and plant a cover crop.
I will spend more time in my garden, and covet and protect that time from erosion by millions of other things that need to be done.
I will learn more about Salvias this year, and Hellebores and Fuchsia, and apple trees, and old roses.
I will prune my roses this month and spray dormant spray.
I will reline my water garden with EPDM and divide my water Calla lily.
I will grow vegetables all year long, and even harvest them when they are ready.
I will move plants that are not thriving where they are placed, and remove sick and spindly plants.
I will over seed my lawn and aerate it this summer.
I will enjoy what I have done and not dwell on what is not done, except at resolution time.
I will plant from fall to spring, and leave the summer for the enjoying of my work.
I will start more plants from seeds and cuttings, and not let them die in a forgetful moment.
I will not forget to raise my head from the microcosm of my world to the greater garden horizons.
I will have a hose on every hosebib, and I will roll them up when I am done.
I will visit more botanical gardens and public gardens this year.
I will smile more often and not sweat the small stuff.
I will continue to use safe garden products, I will invite ladybugs and mantis and lacewings into my garden and not greet them with a toxic spray.
As I clear out the garden, so do I clear away daily burdens, aggravations and disappointments, and erase what was and make ready for what will be. January, becomes one of the pauses we take, a deep breath, before we move on.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson said it all when he wrote, "Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring out the false, ring in the true." He must have been looking at his garden, certainly not his refrigerator door or the bottom of his purse when he gave the old year the heave-ho. We've made it past the darkest and shortest day of the year, and daylight soon will fill our evenings once again. Enjoy a few days poring through seed catalogs planning, and dreaming, then get on to the four "P"s of January- Planning your garden strategy, Pruning roses and deciduous trees and shrubs, Planting bareroot roses, trees and strawberries, and Protecting plants from weather and animals.
Resolutions made, I think I'll put a copy on my refrigerator door and one in my purse so I will be reminded of them every day. Happy new gardening year, may all of your flowers bloom.
Carol de Maintenon is a member of Garden Writers of America and owner of Benicia Garden & Nursery.
