Well, autumn absolutely flew by. I had anticipated writing about all of my fall gardening adventures, but then, somehow, it was already December 30th. A yearly wrap up post seems more fitting at this point. So, here we go.

2022 was a bit of an adventure. The year started with Master Gardener classes and a whole lot of seed-starting. I had a successful time with some native seeds, winter sowing in recycled milk jugs on the deck. And indoors, I was able to start a variety of plants. I added a slew of green residents to my indoor plant collection. I also planned a few expansion projects for the backyard, hoping to increase our native plant numbers and lure in more wildlife.

Springtime saw lots of visits to community gardens and green spaces around the county, as I worked on my Master Gardener certification. The husband and I were able to rip out some invasive amur honeysuckle and multiflora rose from just behind our fence, and while rainy, our spring weather was fairly mild. I significantly expanded the garden around our wildlife pond. And, some of my favorite native springtime wildflowers flowered in our garden for the first time, like Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria).

By summer, temps were soaring. We had weeks with no rain, and days with a few inches of it at a time. The native plants in the garden didn’t bat an eye at the extremes, but the plants I grew out in the raised beds and deck pots weren’t quite as thrilled. I did not have much luck with my tomatoes, and the potatoes and peppers faired only slightly better. The cucumbers wilted. A few of the herbs I’d started from seed bit the dust by mid-summer, and I struggled to keep up with watering the crops.

The summer months also saw quite a few visitors to the garden, some more welcome than others. We had more birds this year than ever, and a huge group of pollinators, from bees and moths, to beetles and butterflies. While we didn’t have a lot of monarch butterflies, the garden was visited by quite a few black swallowtail butterflies, who really seemed to enjoy the parsley crop (it’s one of their host plants) and the collection of zinnias. Some of the natives I grew from seed in years past flowered for the first time this year as well, like the wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) and swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). These drew in even more pollinators, including a rare American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus).

One of the less exciting visitors was a racoon (I think it was just one, though given the havoc they were able to wreck upon the garden, it could have been a whole party of the little striped bandits). They reorganized the rock border around the pond, removed the bubbler from the water, rearranged some pots on the deck, and enjoyed our crop of pumpkins, watermelon, cantaloupe, black swallowtail caterpillars, mums (which I think are poisonous?!?), and a few peppers. The peppers were quickly discarded after the critters had bitten off the bottoms. Too spicy, perhaps? Anyway, I was less than thrilled with their shenanigans, and am still feeling a little salty about those caterpillars.

So, by the height of summer, I was a little wiped out. The weather was extremely hot and humid, and my natural inclination to laze about won out more evenings than not. The weeds had a free-for-all, and I wished for cooler days. Finally, fall arrived. We had a nice little harvest of a few squash, leeks, and onions, and the vibrant colors of the aster and goldenrod arrived. I tidied up a few things (like the hosta leaves, which just get slimy in the cold), and put the garden to bed for the year.

Then, one afternoon, I found some bulbs that I must have purchased a bit earlier in the year. And then I spotted some more pots on the deck that needed to come in for the year. A tree needed a nice haircut. Some truly mild, fall days led to a bit more planting and plotting for gardening days to come. Finally, one of the internet companies came and ripped up quite a large space in one of the backyard gardens, so after I got over my initial outrage, I started some plans for a new pollinator bed, with some larger native shrubs.

Fall turned into winter, which took off with a winter storm that saw our largest temperature drop in a 12-hour span in local history. It’s almost 70 degrees today, but at this time last week, it was -10, with a -30 wind chill. Weather in Ohio always bounces around a lot, and we know these extreme temperature swings and wild precipitation are becoming our “new normal.” Next years plans are going to continue to rely more on plants that don’t require extra watering or maintenance (I’m looking at you, native plants!), which will be better for the local wildlife, our water bills, and my attitude.

The seed catalogs are already arriving and I feel like a kid, circling my favorite items (though, it’s from Botanical Interests now, not Toys ‘R Us). I learned a lot this year in the garden, and fell in love with all of my plants all over again (well, everything except the Creeping Jenny- that stuff is an invasive menace!). I’m looking forward to a few months of planning and trips to the greenhouse on cold days.

Wishing you lots of joy and happiness in 2023, in the garden, and beyond!