Gardening Successes and Failures of 2024: Lessons from Fostering Blooms
Welcome to Fostering Blooms! I'm Shannon Foster-Boline, joined by my gardening partner, Caitlyn Blum. Today, we’re sharing our gardening journey of 2024, with all its ups and downs. Whether you’re just starting out or have years of experience, we hope our stories inspire you to embrace your garden adventures.
Shannon's Successes
1. Vegetable Garden Expansion
One of my proudest achievements this year was expanding my kitchen garden, or "potager." After moving into my new home in the summer of 2022, I set up four raised beds to cultivate vegetables. By 2024, a lucky storm provided the opportunity to enhance this area further. Between May and November, I expanded the garden, adding more plants and structures. It’s a fresh canvas for our plans in the coming year.
2. Installing the Cutting Garden
This year, I also created a cutting flower garden. In a step-down circular space, I replaced overgrown forsythia and viburnum with vibrant blooms. Despite challenging soil conditions, after solarizing, I planted seven large beds filled with celosias, zinnias, and dahlias. This transformation was intensive but immensely rewarding.
Caitlyn's Successes
1. Climbing Roses
The flourishing of my climbing roses has been a highlight. After moving into my house, these roses took to my brick railings, growing beautifully to 15 feet. Their resilience has been an ongoing joy and a testament to nurturing growth when given the right conditions.
2. Collecting Seeds
I dove into seed collecting this year, gathering seeds from a variety of blooms to use in future plantings. Each time I saved seeds, I felt a sense of excitement and accomplishment, knowing that this year's beauty could lead to new growth next season.
Shannon's Failures
1. Hosta Missteps
Not everything was rosy this year. I relocated a stunning hosta collection to a shady area but failed to install proper irrigation. A summer drought hit hard, and despite my efforts to water them manually, many didn’t survive. This taught me the importance of adequate water planning.
2. Courtyard Roses & Salvias Sudden Death
In my courtyard, a pair of white salvias inexplicably died for the second year in a row. One of the roses also suffered from disease and needed removal. This area, although beautiful, has its challenges that I’m determined to solve with soil testing and strategic planting decisions.
Caitlyn's Failures
1. Weed Explosion
Weeds became my formidable opponent, especially given my limited time for gardening. With the dry summer, they took over swiftly. Armed with new tools and plans for landscape fabric, I aim to combat them effectively in 2025.
2. Not Aggressively Removing Volunteers
I also learned the hard way about the need to manage volunteer plants. Allowing them to grow unchecked drowned out other planned cultivations. Though it’s hard to remove what seems to be thriving, it’s crucial for maintaining garden balance.
Closing Thoughts
We hope our stories of ups and downs resonate with you and encourage you to embark on or continue your gardening journey. Remember, gardening isn’t about perfection; it’s about experimenting and growing through each experience.
Join us at Fostering Blooms for more adventures with your garden besties. Like and subscribe for updates and follow us on Instagram @FosteringBlooms. We look forward to continuing our green-thumbed journey together!
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