New year’s garden resolutions for 2025
New year’s resolutions usually involve doing better or being better. But to feel better, try these garden resolutions that are easier to keep.
Does it bug you that your garden is not perfect?. That whenever you look at it, all it does is scold you for jobs not done, untidy edges and wayward plants?
Your first resolution: Don’t let the garden guilt you! Just remind yourself that the joy of a garden is being able to connect with nature, feel the ground under your feet, the breeze on your face and the sound of birdsong. The weeds can wait. Rather spend some time in awe of the beauty of a flower (even if it is the only flower) or the intricacy of a leaf.
Second resolution: get help for the tough stuff. You don’t have to do it all yourself. Outsource the mowing, weeding, sweeping, digging, and more. There are so many people looking for garden jobs that you will be helping to put bread on the table. Once a week or once every two weeks is adequate for most gardens. A living wage includes transport costs and food over and above the basic wage.
Third resolution: save water: It will reduce your costs and reduce the strain on our water supply. Invest in a rainwater tank and if you have room, opt for the 5000 litre tank that fills after one good downpour. Use household water (shower, basins, bath) to water plants. A 10 litre bucket in the shower can water up to five plants. Follow the water restrictions and only water between 6pm and 6 am, when evaporation is nil. Also, water deeply but less often rather than a little every day.
Fourth resolution: Develop a resilient garden: this is not achieved overnight but is a slow and steady project that includes heat and drought tolerant plants, recycling garden waste into compost to feed the soil whenever planting, encouraging healthy soil life through mulching and composting, and grouping plants with the same water and sunlight/shade needs so that watering becomes more effective.
Fifth resolution: Help the little guys. Opt for plants that attract butterflies and bees and even nectar loving birds. They will bring life into the garden. Easy to grow shrubs include plumbago, Cape Honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis), and wild Dagga (Leonotis Leonurus) as well as garden flowers like gaura, daisies, lavender, pelargoniums, agapanthus, alstroemeria, gazanias, salvias …the list goes on.
Sixth resolution: Keep sharp! Keep your garden tools clean and sharp. They do the job so much better and you don’t tear or damage the stems. That includes servicing the lawnmower every winter and sharpening its blades for a good clean cut of the lawn.
In the end, enjoying the garden is what it’s all about, and putting in place the basics for healthy plants that don’t require much attention.
Article and images supplied by Alice Coetzee.
For more on gardening, visit Get It Magazine.
