Week 1

I love that transition from the past year to the new year. The garden work is done, and the holidays are over. I am overcome with sensations of calm and slowness. This is a time for me to regenerate, read, cook, and plan/start new projects. And, like always, I find myself working through feelings of regret for not doing more to close out the year. I've used the last week of the year to tidy up and close out my digital clutter in the past years. Downloading and organizing photos to my hard drive. Cleaning out my email, filing into folders, and completing the flagged ones. Unsubscribing from newsletters that no longer serve me and marketing ones I never signed up for. Compiling all my garden data and documenting loose plant tags, notes, and photos into files and spreadsheets. This gives me a sense of close-out and freshness for the new year.

I like having a plan of action to start, day 1, 2 or 3. But I sit here writing with no goal in mind. There are no new resolutions or projects to take action on. I have nothing prepared or at the forefront of my mind to change. I'm missing that ready-to-start with-a-fresh-start feeling. Part of me feels I should move ahead with new plans and ideas to stay in strict line with the calendar, but I think that's because I've always done it this way. Maybe this is a change I need to move slowly into the new year rather than having it all happen before. Perhaps I will take this month to reflect instead of moving forward.

Week 52 blooms:

• Chrysanthemums
• Ivory Feather
• Holly's

Week 52 recap:

• Christmas
• Staycation
• Crafts
• Finished spring bulb plantings, Allium, Ranunculus, Scabiosa, and Tulips.
• New Year's Eve Celebrations

Week 1 plans:

• Compile the 2023 garden notes.
• Organize photos.
• Reflect on the past year.