Looking Back and Moving Forward

Christmas always seems like the final stop at the end of a long trip through the fall. On the other hand, New Year's Day feels more like a precipice. The end of the year is a long way off and the journey is full of unknowns. Anything could happen in 2018...

Time marches on so efficiently on the internet! Bloggers, who focus on decorating and had their trees up in early November, already had their decorations down and packed away by the end of Boxing Day. Food and recipe sites seemed to have switched overnight from appetizers, party drinks and decadent desserts to detox salads and healthy, low-carb meals. For lifestyle websites and blogs, the new year is all about getting organized, setting goals and making resolutions.

To me, this all feels a bit too fast. It's a little a bit like sitting down to an amazing meal and then rushing to the bathroom to brush your teeth. I find that I want to savour the holidays just a wee bit longer. I prefer to linger at the dinner table and have a second cup of coffee after my meal.

Our Christmas tree is still up and won't come down until next weekend.

But I am slowly shifting my mindset to the new year. This week I will start to rough in an editorial calendar for the blog. 

Part of determining a direction to move this blog forward is taking a critical look back at the journey already taken. What worked? What didn't and fell flat with readers? 

Here's a quick look at some of the posts readers seemed to enjoy the most.

The Little Blue House on the Corner

Candace's vibrant blue house and charming cottage garden was a huge reader favourite. The first of two posts featured the shady area toward the front of the property with a small waterfall and pond. 

A Natural Shade Garden in Summer

Coming in second is this amazing garden in Mississauga. 

Years ago when Jamie first set out as a novice gardener to create the front garden of her dreams an old-growth forest, which were once part of a large estate, made the task seem daunting. Foot by foot she transformed the space. Now over a decade later, Jamie's front yard is a fabulous example of the many possibilities for gardening in shade.

The Little Stonehouse Garden

Two gardens tie for third place. The Little Stonehouse Garden had plenty of container magic and flowerbeds that mixed perennials with an abundance of annuals. 

Equally popular was the garden of a regular reader. Teresa is a passionate gardener who has managed to fit a wide array of plants, trees and shrubs in a very modest sized urban garden. She invited me over to see her garden last July.  Filled with pretty vignettes, it was a pleasure to spend the morning with Teresa and photograph her garden.

How I Eliminated Goutweed from my Front Garden

In the "how-to" category, this post on eliminating goutweed attracted a big audience. So many gardeners, myself included, have unwittingly invited a plant home that spreads aggressively. 

Getting rid of a problem plant can be a Herculean task. In the third in the series of posts I wrote on invasive plants, I shared the method I used to eliminate goutweed from my front flower bed. Here are the three posts in order: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3: How I Eliminated Goutweed from my Front Garden.

Creating an Ornamental Herb Garden

I am proud to report that the little fairy garden I did for a post on Creating an Ornamental Herb Garden held up really well all summer. Count on more herb-themed posts in the new year.

Echinacea: Plant them for the Bees and Butterflies

Posts on specific plants also did very well, so I plan to do more plant profiles in 2018. This post on Echinacea was a bit too long (even by my standards), but it certainly covered the subject well. 

A post on hardy hibiscus performed equally well.

Hardy Hibiscus

A Dive into the Deep End

To be honest, the popularity of this next blog post took me a bit by surprise. 

Swimming pools are a nice luxury, but it can be a challenge to incorporate them tastefully into a garden.  So I took a look at some of the many ways a pool can be integrated nicely into a backyard space. 

The positive response was much appreciated. It took me literally years to find enough good examples for a post.

The Lucy Maud Montgomery Garden: A Children's Garden of the Senses

In terms of public gardens, the blog post on the redesign of the Lucy Maud Montgomery garden in Norval, Ontario had lots of readers interested. 

It usually comes as a surprise to many fans of the classic Anne of Green Gables books that the author herself had a rather difficult, lonely life. Somehow out of hardship the beloved character of Anne Shirley was born.

A Visit to Willow Farm Grasses

I don't often get a chance to visit specialist nurseries, but this August my husband and I took a weekend and drove up to Willow Farm Grasses. I came away inspired by all the different ornamental grasses and I think readers did as well.

In the fall of 2017, my husband and I tackled a number of new projects. We laid out the foundation for a new stream and pond, added a big, new flowerbed and even did some preliminary work on a small thyme lawn. 

From here on in the garden won't get any bigger, but there are still lots of refinements I wish to make. I hope readers will continue to stick with me and follow along with my garden's evolution.

Sometimes I am a little slow in replying to comments, but I read and value everyone. Positive feedback keeps me going. 

I'd love to hear if there is a subject or plant you'd like to know more about. Perhaps there is a style of garden you want to see more of? Is there a challenge or a problem you're struggling with? I appreciate any help you can give me with making this blog better in 2018.

Thanks again for following along. I wish you all the best for the new year!

P. S. I am extending the deadline for a chance to win a copy of Pretty Tough Plants so people who were busy over the holidays have a chance to win. Draw closes this Sunday, Jan7th.