Sit & Enjoy Your 2010 Successes (With A 2011 Plant Catalog on Your Lap!)

As more snow blankets the landscape and we start to wonder how long this winter will last, do spend time to sit down, relax and mull over your successes and failures out in the garden. I feel it is important to look back and assess what worked in terms of plantings, soil improvements, container arrangements, tool selection, etc. I used to rely on my memory but find myself taking lots of pictures and jotting down notes on an always handy notepad. I've been going thru my digital photographs from this year and it's nice to remember destinations, plants, combination ideas, etc. These pictures also remind me about those areas (both at work and at home) that really worked out nicely as well as those that might need a bit more attention. I took over 7,000 photos in 2010. As I sort them, over 2,000 will be discarded but the others get filed under various categories for easy retrieval in the future. When I see one that I want to keep fresh in mind (for any reason), I'll print it out. The Grumpies are always wary when I come in to the break room with more pictures as it usually means a new project of some sort; bench style, raised bed, smooth stacked rock on a steel rod (more on that later, top secret...), etc. Some gardeners keep more detailed notebooks, journals or binders with plant labels, sketches, notes, pictures, etc. This approach will vary for everyone but my overall comment is the garden and its successes are meant to be enjoyed. So many times we hear (or say), "I'd enjoy my garden more if I wasn't gardening so much." Take that time.

Our Holiday Lights Show has run five nights now and the crowds have been fairly steady. Last night was light on attendance as it was foggy and quite warm (33 degrees F). With all of that moisture, I had some difficulty with the power and roughly 10% of the show was off. Visitors, though warned of the outages, were understanding and hardly noticed those areas that were "touchy." We've been amazed by the number of attendees new to this event but are glad that we're bringing in a new crowd that will hopefully go home with tales of a winter wonderland. There are still eight more nights of the show and we hope to get some large crowds. Yesterday, Bill, Larry, Marv and Bob C. did a nice job clearing snow. We also saw Dr. Gredler, Dr. Yahr, Big John, Maury, Del, Jean, Cora, Barb, Tim and many others. I'm technically "off" until Jan. 3rd but will follow the advice given in the title of this blog. I'll enjoy the successes but have my 2011 catalogs ready to roll.

As a side note, the pictures in this blog represent just some of the variability afforded by garden furniture out in the gardens. Remember that seating is vital but the actual seating elements can be stylish, colorful and certainly a viable component in the landscape.