Getting a Fresh Start: A gardener’s dozen of New Year’s resolutions

The end of the year is the time that most of us associate with turning over a new leaf, making plans, and evaluating. Taking it one step further is territory where resolutions and goals follow. Hmm, I’ve learned (often the hard way) that if you don’t have a goal to shoot for, you’re more likely to miss the target.
“Honey, if you don’t try,” Mom would tell me, “the answer is always no.” So here goes…
1) To spend as much time in the garden as I do reading, writing and talking about it.
2) To donate more vegetables to the local food bank.
3) To grow something new from seed. For instant inspiration, head over to Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Fedco Seeds.
4) To introduce at least one person to gardening. Getting your hands in the dirt is a good habit to develop in 2012.
5) To plant more flowers for bees and other beneficial insects.
6) To sniff more flowers with my nose and camera lens.
7) To try at least one natural pest control that I’ve never used.
8) To have more faith in plants. “Plants want to survive and live,” reminds Amy Pennington, author of Apartment Gardening. “They will go to great lengths to make sure their genetic strain lives on. They don’t need constant monitoring—they just need a helper.”
9) To take better care of my indoor plants. It’s the least I can do for those who brighten my interiorscape.
10) To learn the names of (and photograph) more local wildflowers. Mid-June to mid-July is the best time to get out and botanize around Kodiak island. Once you’ve hung around wildflowers for a while, your garden varieties seem, well, tame.
11) To set the timer when I head outside to do some weeding. It’s easy to get distracted with all that cries for attention.
12) To learn or improve on some garden techniques like pruning, composting, or grafting.
13) To keep the wonder of plants, flowers, and nature in my heart, realizing, as the saying goes: “I am not the doer; I am a mere instrument in His hand.”
With blessings, here’s to a glorious year!

More resources you might enjoy:
You can find dozens of articles, tips, recipes and essays by Marion on her original PlanTea.com website.
To enjoy more of Marion’s photographs (or to order canvas prints, mouse pads–you name it–using Marion’s photographs), please visit www.MarionOwenPhotography.com.