2014 Gardening resolutions

Hydrangea, dried

I’ve been thinking of some gardening resolutions I need to adopt for 2014. There are things that I have neglected over the last few years and I have been meaning to do things properly.

I have a tendency to purchase plants either on a whim, or after reading about it I rush out and make the purchase, find the perfect place in the yard for it, plant it, water it and after a few weeks I forget what the name of the plant is, or at the very least the cultivar name.

For example, I just purchased 2 new Japanese Maples from HD that were on clearance. Not my favorite versions of JMs, but I couldn’t pass up the $2.67 clearance price so I got the last 2 they had. I was even tempted to drive to all the different HDs around town, scooping up all the deals. But I have no idea where to put them, and they are basic big box cultivars of Crimson Queen. Nothing special. I didn’t take the tags off this time, and will most definitely start my gardening notebook with this purchase. But I might put them in planters and treat them as potted show pieces. I’ll wait until spring to decide, meanwhile they will be snug up against the side of the house until I do.

So first order of business for 2014 is to document all of the plants, versions and placement in the yard. Not an easy task. This is something I should have done early on, when all I had was grass, and I could mulch the extent of my flower beds with only 10 bags of store bought mulch. Since 2008, we’ve added, divided, moved and expanded growing beds so much, that it now takes 13 cubic yards of mulch hauled in by a very large dump truck.

The other resolution is to document everything I do, not only with words, but with before and after photos. I usually forget to take the “before” photos, while I’m not as bad with the after photos. This will not only help keep a record of what was done, but provide my blog with the necessary documentation to help others.

Happy New Year to all my readers. May your gardens bring you as much peace and satisfaction as mine does me.