2007: A Retrospective

2007: April through December

Every year, I try to keep track of what the garden looked like from month to month, and compile a photo montage for my own reference. Next year, I need to start doing this for all three of the major gardens-- this one plus the veggie plot out back and the cutting garden.

One thing I notice is that the garden doesn't seem as colorful this year as it did in 2006, when the front bed was dominated by zinnias, nasturtiums, gem marigolds, and dahlias. In future years, I will have to make sure to put more flowers into the front berm.

Structurally, this year I lengthened the center bed and added the trellis in the front bed. That trellis worked wonderfully and wasn't much trouble to build-- next year I think I may make one or two more.

The bare earth in the first photo reminds me that spring is around the corner! Last spring seems so far away now-- where did I find the time to start all those seeds? Next year will present new challenges, in any case-- I've lost use of the south-facing windowsills that I usually use to grow seedlings, and will have to resort to experimental methods. It's going to be an interesting seed-starting season.

All told, though, I'm feeling relatively optimistic where the garden is concerned. Winter sowing is coming up! And the approaching solstice means that we're almost halfway through the season of darkness. I will be thrilled to get some daylight back!

Looking back on things, 2007 was a good year for the garden. But with a little luck, 2008 will be even better.

To compare montages from previous years, click here.

Catalog season

Catalogs

We're all inundated with catalogs at this time of the year, right? Since the start of November, it seems like I've received holiday mailings from every company I've bought or received gifts through in the past five years. Most of them go straight into the recycle bin with a disdainful huff, but when it comes to the new season's seed catalogs, my attitude takes a complete 360.

I'm sure that seed companies know that by sending catalogs out in winter, they're hitting home gardeners up at our most vulnerable hour, when we're tired of ice and bare branches and desperately craving thoughts of warmer and more bountiful days to come. To be honest, I have enough seed stored away for a few years' worth of crops, but when the catalogs arrive, I can never resist treating myself to a few new varieties.

My favorite catalogs have tons of information on germination and cultivation of different crops-- after I'm done shopping from them, I keep them around as reference material and find myself turning to them at various stages throughout the growing season. I like colorful plant pictures as much as the next gardener, but I've come to be suspicious of catalogs with a photo-to-text ratio of less than fifty percent. I mean, they say that a picture's worth a thousand words, but unless those thousand words include germination instructions, dates-to-harvest, disease resistances, and so forth, I'd might as well be staring at photos of brightly-wrapped paperweights.

If you were thinking about giving your favorite urban gardener one of those gift paperweights, by the way, you might want to take a look at the You Grow Girl 2008 calendar instead. It is informational, beautifully designed, and full of fabulous photography. I've ordered mine! Admittedly, I don't know your favorite gardener personally, and it may well be that they really want a gift paperweight. (I suppose). I'm just making the suggestion.

By the way, a few posts back I mentioned Folia, a garden journal/community website that's in beta testing at the moment. At the time, there was a waiting list for new accounts, but there's a membership drive going on at the moment such that existing members can give out instant-access invitations to other gardeners. If you're reading this and interested in trying it out, leave a comment. I'm really excited to be able to share the opportunity, so don't be shy! I'm generally awful about replying to comments, but this is one thing that I can promise I'll get back to you about quickly.

That said, as this might well be my last post of the year-- happy holidays, everyone! See you in 2008!