Monday, December 23, 2013

Looking Back

Sorry to be so quiet here on my garden blog. Like so much of the country, we've had bad winter weather already, and my garden has long since gone to sleep. And we all know how busy life can be during the holidays. So I thought I'd wrap up with the traditional "year in review" type post. Last January, there was a lot of nothing going on out in the yard. I had one lone flower to share, a petunia that I had managed to keep blooming for many months, on my kitchen windowsill.

In February, life in the garden began to slowly appear. A few bulbs peeked out, and the snow melted enough to see how pretty the Angelina sedum can be once the cold hits it. This is my absolute favorite winter interest plant. 
Now March is when the garden got down to business. The hellebores began to bloom, and the early bulbs popped out. It's enough to get a gardener all excited for the upcoming season! You might think the first bulbs would be crocus, but at my house, the first to appear is always iris reticulata.

 Ah, sweet April. This is when the bulbs came up all over the place. Daffodils, crocus, tulips, hyacinth, pansies, flowering trees, a gardener hardly knew where to look next. The weather softened, and it really started to feel like spring. 
 When May came along, it was time to get down to business in the garden. Time to plant! The best part of May is when the roses started to bloom. 
June is when everything really started to bloom. And it was all about the colors. Every flower in bloom seemed even more colorful than the one before. This past June is also when our new patio was installed, so we had some work to do getting it landscaped afterwards. Totally worth it! 
The main attractions this past July would be the appearance of the vegetables, the arrival of the butterflies, and the big blooming period for the summer annuals. 
August was the month we decided to build our tiered herb garden. All we had to go by was a picture, so it took a lot of thinking to figure out how to make it happen. We loved the results, and having herbs growing right outside the kitchen door was ever so handy. It didn't take long before these little plants grew and grew to fill the space. 

I'm pretty certain that I spent most of September dealing with my garden produce. There were lots and lots of pickles produced, and jars and jars of salsa to enjoy. This particular picture came from the day I made a lovely batch of gazpacho. I also chased countless butterflies around the yard, trying to get them to pose for me. Funny how they refused to cooperate. 
 There was still a lot of life to see in the October garden, but things quickly faded when frost threatened. The dahlias were so gorgeous this year, so one frosty night I gathered huge bouquets of them for vases all over the house. 
By November, the flowers were pretty much gone, taken down by frost. But the leaves were just as colorful as the flowers once were. 


And so we come back to December. It's been a very good year, in the garden, and otherwise. Thanks for visiting Life in Robin's Nest, and stay tuned for whatever 2014 may bring! 

14 comments:

  1. Hello Robin girl !
    I think my favorite was your new herb garden too .. such a great idea having it so close to the house ..
    I also loved those grasses you put in .. I am a grass-o'holic ! haha
    Happy Holidays to you girl !
    Joy : )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Grass-o-holic, yes, that's me too! That herb garden has been awesome, and even in winter I can scrape up a few of them. Amazing.

      Delete
  2. I enjoyed your year in review, Robin. I love the herb garden! I hope winter goes by quickly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, I love my new herb garden too. I can't believe how many more herbs I use in cooking now that it's nearby.

      Delete
  3. Nice to see you, Robin. Don't we long for the color of spring? Your garden had a good year. See you next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really was one of my best garden years ever, and I'm so appreciative. The weather cooperated for once, and it was my first year not working outside the home. I hope 2014 is just as good, if not better.

      Delete
  4. I like years in review, it reminds us that despite the white stuff outside, there will still be flowers to look at, come spring.

    Jen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The year in review post is a good reminder of what worked, and what didn't, which is appropriate for a new year beginning. Time to start plans for the new garden year!

      Delete
  5. I enjoyed the review! It is fun to see how a garden changes through the year. I love your new patio! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and I wish you the very best for 2014. Happy gardening!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Deb, I enjoy the year in review garden post so that I can plan for next year. I can't tell you how much we've already enjoyed that new patio. Money well spent.

      Delete
  6. Loved to see your great gardening year, Robin. I like your herb garden. You inspire me to do more pickling this year. Your patio is gorgeous! Hope 2014 is good to you. P. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Pam, that herb garden was certainly my favorite part of the gardening year.

      Delete
  7. You did have a good year. The garden was beautiful. We do have a few weeks of dreary winter to get through before we can start some serious gardening.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you are right and it's only a few weeks of winter, but I'm afraid it will be a few months in actuality. It's so bitter cold today that I fear for my plants. If I lose some, I guess it will give me a chance to do some editing.

      Delete

Thanks so much for commenting, I always love to hear from my readers! I'll respond by commenting back on your own blog.