Just as the end of the gardening year is a good time to take stock, so too is the beginning of the gardening year. For me, if there were a New Year’s Day I celebrated, it would be when my first daffodil blooms, which, where I live, is about 1-2 weeks from today.
It means it is time to start again. It is full of hope and readiness, almost an anxious feeling to get into the garden for another six to seven months and see what progress I can make. It is a time to reflect on what did I do last year? How much progress was made from one season, even sometimes one day at a time, to the next? I can look through my photographs and see weeks spin past at a blistering pace, watching the microtransactions of my gardening year add up to the possibility that stands in front of me today.
It is my moment to plan. Nothing as large a project as a garden can be pursued haphazardly with the hope of something optimal on the other side. Anything complex in life needs planning—to accommodate the nuances, the multitude of steps, and the realities of setbacks.
Do you want to be an engineer? Keep your eye on the long-term goal, but for this season, worry about doing well in Calculus I, then Calculus II. Worry about Physics I and Chemistry I, and then focus on your sophomore classes. Do you want to be a doctor? Worry about understanding your anatomy classes before you worry about your residency. Do you want to be a good parent? Do the best you can to care for them while they are one and two years old before you worry about what you will do when they are eighteen.
I am not saying not to plan. I know the final layout of my garden, just as you need to know the last act of your story, the final year of residency, or picture your little boy or girl walking down the aisle at graduation. But I plan today for this season so I can tackle it the right way.
As you clean off the cobwebs of winter and get yourself back into ready mode, enjoy your spring cleaning by planning for the year ahead.
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