by Emilee Weaver, Therapeutic Horticulture Program Manager
Have you ever made New Year’s resolutions and goals for yourself in January and then quickly found yourself halfway through the year, not having accomplished any of them at all?
As a professional horticulturist for over 20 years, September marks a pivotal moment in the growing season for me. I think of September as “the month of greatest perspective” for a gardener. This is when you can recall how your garden responded to the spring season, observe most of your summer blooming plants in their full glory and make an educated guess about the health of your fall blooming plants that are priming themselves to pop.
I often wander my garden with pen and paper to note what I wish I had done differently and what my plan of action will be to remedy those concerns. Will I place a grow-through grid over those peonies next spring? Should I cut my mums in half at the end of June, so they don’t splay open or rob me of reliable fall blooms?
Last fall, I promised myself that I’d divide an ever-expanding cluster of echinacea and transplant the divisions throughout my garden. The spring of 2024 came and left and my stately cluster of echinacea remains undivided.
Much like those of us who create New Year resolutions for ourselves in January and only remember them when December comes, September provides a window of opportunity to reassess our own personal goals. A time where we (unfortunately!) don’t have the summer heat or a rainy spring season to blame for that mammoth cluster of undivided echinacea that have elbowed and nipped at each other for the past nine months!
In therapeutic horticulture (TH), practitioners work with clients to set personal goals at the start of the program, assess the participant’s progress, and then report and discuss the outcomes of the nature-based interventions with the participant. As a TH practitioner, I’m constantly reminded of the power of setting goals, as well as reassessing those goals throughout the growing season to make sure I can meet them by the end.
I encourage you to ponder and celebrate all the ways that your own garden and/or natural environments accompany, support, encourage, and mentor you throughout the year. What’s on your to-do list as fall quickly approaches and how might you nurture your garden, loved ones, or a New Year’s resolutions that took seed in your heart and mind in January?