A reflection on the garden of 2012.

After a cold, windy and snowy week the sun finally came out again today.  I jumped on this opportunity to clean up the gardens and store things away until next spring.

As always, the annual clean up brings forth a reflection of the good, the bad and the ugly in my garden of 2012.  Did anything change since last year?

What I loved about my garden this year:

• The basket of pansies I had hanging on my front door.  They did amazing all season, and only needed a good trimming every few weeks.
• The bright yellow pot of begonias I had sitting on a vintage mint chair.  They really added some vibrant colour into the shady corner by the garden shed
• The super comfortable lounging chair a friend passed onto us when moving away.  This chair was my best friend all summer long - perfect for reading books and taking naps!
• My peonies bloomed for the very first time!  They are beautiful and were well worth the wait.
• My window boxes did pretty well - and I really liked the combination I used this year of bacopa, orange million bells, purple fanflower, and lime potato vines.
• My front perennial beds did quite well.  In fact, the plants are filling in and becoming really low maintenance.  Perfect!
• The apples on our tree were super tasty this year.  It's too bad we couldn't pick them all before they fell to the ground.
• I am crossing my fingers that my repotted orchid will bloom again!

Some things that I didn't like about my garden this year:

• My cat has decided to make our kitchen garden a litter box.  This has resulted in a very poor performance from all of the veggies and flowers I had planted this year.  Husband is planning on building me some raised garden beds and I want to try the lasagna method of gardening for next year.  Kingston will be shown a different spot in the yard and not be allowed into the new garden!  I never seem to have much luck with vegetable gardening.
• The weather was abnormally dry - we didn't get rain nearly all summer!  So, my containers suffered a bit.  Actually, I'd say a lot. A bit more rain would have really made a difference...or diligence in watering.
• The new perennial bed I planted last year did not survive over the winter (as we had a dry winter too!).  Over half of the plants died out, so I purchased and planted some replacements this fall.  Hopefully things will do better this winter....I have been trying to be more diligent in watering the new plants.
• The dahlias I planted in spring never bloomed.  Could be due to the dry weather?
• One of my favourite hydrangea bushes died over the winter.  I really loved it, so I think that I will buy another one in the spring.

This blog is about both my joys and my follies in gardening.

Much of what we learn is through making mistakes, and I have to say that I enjoy trying new and different things every year...even if they don't turn out!

Until next year, garden.

All photos taken by me in my 2012 garden.