Plant & Garden Resolutions

What resolutions should plant people make, for a New Year without so much garden heartache?

Should they be about spacing the plants far apart? Or keeping on top of the weeds from the start?

Maybe resolve not to bring extra plants home, or to examine the soil, be it sand, clay or loam.

Remembering last year, starting seeds early spring, and they grew big so quickly…vowing delay is the thing.

Resolve being patient and try every tactic, for nursing sick plants, and growth more climactic?

We’ve the best of intentions, but are these resolutions important? Aren’t there always alternatives, and opinions discordant?

Nature grows plants chock-a-block all the time, and letting weeds linger is surely no crime.

So what if we purchase more plants than we need? They bring us such pleasure, of that we’ve agreed.

Our soil is our soil, we’ll not worry if it’s friable, we’ll add compost and know that it’s certainly viable.

If our spring-planted seedlings flop down to the floor, because we started too early, we’ll just start some more.

And if some plants die, and have to be tossed, they’ll enrich our compost so nothing is lost.

Yes, in 2024, mistakes might be made. We’ll plant shade plants in sun and light-lovers in shade.

We may use too much water, or not nearly enough, and we’ll tolerate rabbits, although we’ve vowed to get tough.

We’ll plant many tomatoes, even given the blight, since growing doesn’t mean getting everything right.

Our gardens keep us flexible, and offer surprise. They are so life-affirming, the lows and the highs.

Plants prompt us to learn and keep our minds snappy. Being in gardens makes everyone happy.

So, a toast to our houseplants! To cacti and pines! To turf grasses, ground covers, bushes and vines!

Our New Year’s resolution is to plant with delight, and grow with the life forms that make food from light.