COLUMNIST: KAREN STEWART-RUSSELL
A few years ago, I began garden journaling and using the time at the end of the year to reflect on my gardening year before embarking on the new year ahead. Eventually, I started to journal throughout the year as and when I noticed things in the garden, and it is never too late to start one to ponder and plan for, or in, the garden.
A great starting off point is looking through your camera roll, my phone organises photographs into months which is very useful. In a busy year, sometimes there are not as many dedicated garden shots but I can still see the borders as they provide the backdrop for many occasions and memories.
When looking at my pictures month by month I make notes on any gaps, plants that do not look happy, and anything that looks out of place or needs some sort of attention. If I recall having any strong feelings about a border and how it looked, I also write about that in as much detail as possible.
When my month by month analysis is done, the whole year overview starts. When looking at my garden in its entirety over the year, I consider whether or not I had colour for as many months as possible. If there was a steady flow of flowers to cut and bring inside or gift. And whether or not I had plenty of flowers and foliage for any shows I like to enter.
All of this information is incredibly useful when planning bulb, seed, and plant orders. Reflection and planning definitely helps to reign my spending in and make best use of available funds. Plants thrive now they are carefully placed and I no longer forget what was already in the garden and where changes needed to be made.
It is not an entirely sterile and analytical process, it is also my time to dream, wish, and hope. There is something intoxicating about searching for the perfect plant to make a border complete and finally tracking down something I have daydreamed of is euphoric.
My own garden fell a little short last year and so I have spent extra time looking back at it throughout the year and identifying what makes me feel that way, whilst making plans to improve. A garden is a constantly evolving thing, a living painting that sometimes needs touching up. Last year’s weather meant I had longer gaps between flowers than I would like and I found my colour scheme too one dimensional, so these are my areas of focus.
I get very easily bored and melancholic if I am inside too much over winter, so I have already been out adding depth to the borders and reshaping some of them. Our puppy has been busily “pruning” so I have a few gaps to fill, which is a great opportunity for me to switch the borders up a bit. Some of the garden is fairly established but I am keen to continue to make it our own. What a wonderful time of year for us gardeners as the best is still to come!
Karen Stewart-Russell lives in the heart of rural Fife. Passionate about the mental health benefits of gardening, she loves to share the joy of growing through her garden wall seed, plant, and book library. Karen has a relaxed, wildlife friendly garden, full of flowers, and is a huge fan of roses. Her latest project is an apothecary garden as her enthusiasm for utilising herbs and useful flowers grows. Follow her on Instagram, or tune in to the Scotland Grows Show to hear more from Karen.