Gardening success…a phrase that makes me happy just saying it. 2022 was a successful year in the garden and as we head further into autumn, life in our little garden is slowing down. Soon it will be dormant. It’s the perfect time then to reflect on the gardening year just past and to plan for the year ahead.
A year of abundance
So, what went well? Actually, quite a lot. 2022 was undoubtedly my most successful year so far in gardening terms. My theme for this year was abundance and I threw myself wholeheartedly into sowing seeds to create a cut flower patch in one of our raised beds. From March onwards, I had propagators on the kitchen windowsill, full of cosmos, sunflower, rudbeckia, nasturtium, cornflower and sweet pea seeds and not forgetting, of course, love in a mist. Propagation success was pretty high and before too long I had healthy seedlings on the go which then got transplanted outside when the weather warmed up.
A year of joy
The cosmos grew to three, almost four feet tall and I was able to cut flowers to fill vases around the house all summer long. As I write, the cosmos are in fact still going. The rudbeckia have been the most gorgeous shades of yellow, brown and burnt orange while the nasturtiums cascaded over the edge of the raised bed in sunny shades of coral and apricot. And the sweet pea…wow…they were slow to flower at first but once they got going, I was able to pick little posies time and time again to fill the bedroom with the most wonderful scent.
It was my first time with ranunculus – rather strange looking corms when I planted them which transformed into delightful frills of pink that contrasted rather well with the deep blue cornflowers. I grew dahlias in pots for the first time too. They proved to be a lesson in patience but when the gorgeous big blooms of Dahlia Cafe au Lait made their first appearance, I could not believe my luck.
And what did not work so well? I guess, not really expecting that everything would do so well, I planted seedlings too close together and could have done more to support them properly. With some summer nights being seriously wet and windy, I was almost afraid to look outside the following morning to see if the flowers had survived. Thankfully they did but yes, definitely more structure and support are needed for next year. And I should pay more attention to colour combinations to get more rounded bouquets of flowers.
Plans for next year
Overall, though, I really threw myself into gardening this year. It has brought me so much joy and has really helped to lift my mood when I have felt a little low. It was a pleasure too to be able to just pop out into the garden and photograph beautiful flowers.
In preparation for next year, I have bought lots of new seeds and have just finished planting all the narcissi and daffodil bulbs I bought from Farmer Gracy. With the existing pots I already had, the total is now around twenty pots of bulbs which should make for a lovely display of yellow gorgeousness come spring. All that remains is to mulch the garden and plant up the tulip bulbs and on some wet soggy morning in winter, I will grab a cuppa and take the time to clean down the gardening tools and tidy up, ready to begin again in the new year. I can hardly wait!
How did your garden do this year? I’d love to hear from you…
Wishing you all a lovely Sunday,
Paula x
Useful Links
https://www.budtoseed.co.uk/bud-to-seed-shop/p/the-flower-garden
Gardening is so good for mental health; nurturing plants, gentle exercise and connecting with nature, it just ticks all the boxes. 😊 I’ve never tried growing cosmos, but they look lovely. I’ve been filling my garden with perennials, my favourites are hardy Geraniums, but my most successful annuals were calendula (though bright orange is probably not to everyone’s tastes) and Nasturtiums, which are just great for suppressing weeds. X
I love geraniums too..they are very reliable and bloom for ages. You should definitely give cosmos a go…very easy to grow and the bees love them. Hope you and yours are keeping well x
So lovely…can’t wait to see next years!! 💞
Thank you pals xx
What beautiful flowers! And that seat looks like a lovely place to sit and enjoy them!
That’s very kind of you…thank you!
Congratulations on your success! A few years ago I potted lots of calendula seeds, which I nurtured first indoors, then outdoors in a cold frame and potted on a couple of times before planting out. As an experiment, I also put some of the same seeds directly into the ground, with no special preparation and covering them with a couple of millimetres of poor soil. They performed just as well as those they had the luxury treatment, so from then on I sowed calendula directly into the soil, freeing up space in the propagators for other, less robust, seeds. Similarly, I’ve found that nasturtiums and nigella thrive when sown direct: my nasturtiums are rampant and need to be controlled to stop them self-seeding everywhere! Like you, I sow annually in propogators both cosmos and rudbeckia; they are so reliable and last so long; both are still flowering now. This year I sowed foxglove seeds for the first time. The plants have been in the ground since September and will die back over winter, hopefully to emerge in all their glory in early spring. Another first for me I 2023 will be sowing honesty seeds, mainly because I find the seed heads so attractive. It’s always so exciting when the seedlings emerge with the promise of wonderful displays to come.
I must try direct sowing..its just the constant rain here puts me off ! The seed heads of honestly are so beautiful ..I hope you have lots of success growing them !
Thank you, I hope so too. We also have a lot of rain here in the north west of England, but both calendula and nasturtiums are very robust. Might be worth directly sowing just a few calendula for comparison, as I did. You might be surprised. I sow in April. I suggest Keeping a close eye on nasturtiums, as they are as rampant as mint and seed everywhere. As gorgeous as they are, they can suffocate neighbouring plants. I have some trailing nasturtium seeds which I hope to try in hanging baskets next year, though I’ll still be checking regularly for those seeds falling to the ground.
Yes I saw trailing nasturtiums in hanging baskets over the summer and I definitely want to try that too!