Let’s Make Resolutions We Can Follow: Garden!

By Karolyn Gephart

It is that time of year to make New Year’s Resolutions as each of us tries to plan the perfect way to have 2025 be a wonderful year for getting things done and doing what we want to be doing. This year, consider making your resolutions about gardening. You might find that these resolutions will be fun and easy, making your gardening pursuits successful.

Let’s start with 10 and work our way down.

10. Use a pesticide only when absolutely necessary. Use Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Chemical control is used only as a last resort. Be sure to follow the instructions and not veer from the suggested mixing amounts.

9. Weave native plants into your garden. You are helping plants through pollination, which helps bees, butterflies, and other pollinators find food. In Friendswood, we are fortunate to have native plants available through Garden Emporium, and a Native Plant Society of Clear Lake is available for valuable education and sales.

8. Do not water the lawn in the middle of the day, and will only water when it needs it. Especially in summer, water is available before 10 am and after 5 pm. Water deeply so roots will be able to absorb the water. Lawns need an inch of water during warm summers twice a week.

7. Wear gloves when working in soil beds. Make this a habit, as fungal annoyances such as ringworms and others live in the soil. Gloves protect you from them.

6. Create a container garden on your balcony or patio. In our plant zone (9b), we can grow herbs, vegetables, flowers, fruit trees, dwarf trees, and more in containers. Just remember they are ‘captive’ and depend on YOU to keep them watered and fertilized. Vary the sizes of pots, patterns, and colors for a great patio look.

5. Propagate plants and share with others. (Coleus is a great one for this) You can get a wide variety of plants with a plant swap between friends.

4. Mulch all flower and shrub beds to conserve water and prevent weeds. Purchase quality mulch to ensure great wood pieces.

3. Plant at least one vegetable or herb crop in my garden (i.e., green beans, a cherry tomato, bell peppers, a row of corn, basil, mint (in a pot), rosemary…). You will be surprised how much fun serving your fresh harvest can be.

2. Invest in quality gardening tools and learn what they do. After using, wash off the tools and wipe with a diluted bleach mix to remove unwanted items such as weed seeds, bacteria, and soil remains.

1. Plant a tree.

But we are not finished. There are always the inevitable resolutions we make each year, and then we find them hard to follow, but with the above gardening resolutions, look how you have solved the problem.

Fitness/Exercise…..Pull weeds 10 minutes a day, 5 times a week.

Diet…..grow something I can eat and share with others.

Healthy Habits…..sit and enjoy the outdoors, the garden, the yard. Breathe deeply and listen as if you could hear seeds growing.

Purpose……keep a garden journal & be amazed at what you have done in a year. (also, you will REMEMBER WHAT plants are where!)

It’s a new year. Let’s GARDEN!