New Year, New Me? How About a New Garden-Centered Year?

Ever since the pandemic, it's felt like a big deal to make it to the end of the year, am I right? I mean, you should absolutely give yourself a huge high five or hug.

And now, it's time to look forward to the new year, and if you're anything like me, you're looking for ways to make this a healthier year than ever. If you've got a garden or are looking to start gardening, that's a great place to focus your New Year's resolutions to have a healthier and happier year.

(Prefer to listen? Check out episode 50 of the Grow Your Self podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or iHeartRadio.)

My Favorite Garden-Themed New Year's Resolution Ideas

A lot of times when people think about taking up gardening, they believe the garden has to become the center of their life, that they have to live and breathe to garden. But that doesn't have to be the case.

I created Gardenary to making gardening ordinary again (garden + ordinary = Gardenary). My wish is for gardening to become a small but ordinary part of your everyday life. We're not looking for you to live to garden—we're looking for all of us to garden in order to live better. 

I created these New Year's resolution ideas from the things that have helped me grow myself in all kinds of great ways. It's incredible how when I live with a little more intention and purpose in the garden, the benefits trickle into all areas of my life.

There are three sections to my garden-themed resolutions: goals that focus on your thoughts and internal well being, goals that focus on spending time outdoors and embracing physical activity, and lastly, goals that focus on forming a little gardening community. Because part of the magic of the garden is the way it pulls us together with other people.

Why Have Garden-Themed New Year's Resolutions?

From middle school all the way through my early 20s, I turned to food in an unhealthy way. Food was my way of numbing myself to life and all its little challenges. Gardening and feeling more connected to the food I put in my body helped to change my relationship with food for the better.

Recently while researching ways to encourage myself to maintain a steadier exercise routine without overdoing it, I came across this great article that wrote about how, for thousands of years, people lived garden-centered lives.

In order to eat, humans had to step outside every single day and harvest plants or hunt pray or gather firewood to cook on that particular day. For the majority of our existence as a species, we relied on physical activity tied to nature in order to eat and survive. 

Over the last century, that's shifted, obviously, and all we have to do now is walk two steps to the pantry and boom! You’ve got food. (I am, of course, speaking about those of us who are fortunate enough to be food-secure.) While that's certainly convenient, it's not really serving us. Sure, there's comfort and stability in knowing we have something to eat, but our bodies didn't evolve to eat this way.

Our bodies are meant to move physically, to step outside, to work, and to watch the seed become food before we can eat. Understanding this has been a huge part of my healing from food addiction and a huge reason why I'm so passionate about the garden (and why I started Rooted Garden in 2015 and Gardenary in 2017). 

Our own survival and the continued existence of our species no longer depends on kitchen gardens, but I still feel strongly we should all garden a little bit in order to live better.

With that in mind, let me introduce you to the 12 goals that we can all strive toward to live a more garden-centered life.

Garden-Themed New Year Activities and Goals

Inside Goals

• Take time to plan your garden
• Make learning and discovering new things in the garden the objective
• Take time to rest
• Spend time on reflection

Outside Goals

• Create something for the garden
• Move your body
• Spend time outside
• Fill up on plants

Our Collective Goals

• Live more sustainably
• Connect with farmers and local growers
• Share a harvest, seeds, or gardening knowledge with others
• Celebrate every harvest

ONE: Take Time to Plan Your Garden

The secret to success is getting the timing right. For gardeners, that means having your seeds and supplies ready to go when the weather says yes. Farmers who procrastinate are not farmers for very long.

I don't know about you, but I struggle with procrastinating. To overcome this, we can make sure to plan out our work, our schedules, and the good things we want to do with our family and friends. For the garden, start with planning the next 90 days.

As I've grown my business and worked with clients, I've learned the beauty of working with quarters, both in the garden and in our everyday goal setting. So set a 90-day goal in the garden, plan out each month, and then break it down into simple steps you can take each and every day.

TWO: Make Continual Learning the Objective

The second aspect of an internal garden-centered life is learning. One of my favorite parts of gardening is always learning something new. I didn't grow up gardening. My parents instilled in us a good work ethic by expecting us to do yard work every Saturday, but when my mom first asked me to help her weed, I intentionally yanked up her nice plants so she wouldn't ask me to help again. It wasn't until I was an adult that I dug in and learned how to garden. You'd think now that I know how to grow the things I want to eat, I'd get bored. But that's not the case at all.

I think adults can feel bummed out that all their big decisions and new experiences are behind them: who they'll marry, whether they'll have kids, what career they'll pursue, where they'll live. The garden can counteract this feeling by reminding you there's always more to learn and discover.

My grandfather was the Head of Horticulture at Mississippi State, and I can remember him in his seventies walking us around the campus and telling us there's always more to learn about gardening. After he retired, he even worked with gardeners at Alcorn State University on grafting peach trees, just to learn more.

Once you know how to grow the things you want to eat, you can study composting and soil building or master starting seeds indoors. You could read a book on eating more locally and seasonally. You could try to go zero waste in your garden. Pick a couple books on gardening to read throughout the year and jot down what you learn in a little notebook. One of my first clients, Risa, showed me her notebook from her first year in her kitchen garden, and it was the perfect example of how the garden is an endless teacher for adults, no matter your age or education level.

THREE: Take Time to Rest

The third part of our inside change is resting. 

My nickname in college was Go-Go Girl. I would wake up early and go, go, go, go. I was the president of the student government and flitted between meetings, acting all important. Then, I would fall asleep with the lights on at 10 pm while my roommate was having a party in our room. I need to rest more, I'm assuming you need to rest more, and our gardens need to rest too. 

Choose some hours when you're going to be online. Set the hours you're going to be working and when you're going to be doing stuff just for you. When you log off, put your phone away.

A great way to start is by creating waking up and shutting down routines that don't involve your phone. I don't actually know how to do yoga, but I pretend I do. I go through what I call my "fake yogi routine" at night—basically it's five stretches—before I crawl into bed. It's so soothing to have a little shutting down routine that doesn't involve my iPhone.

FOUR: Take Time for Reflection

Someone recently told me the value of recording what you've gotten done, so I started writing lists of the things I accomplished, instead of just endless lists of things I need to do. Even when I don't get to all my items on my to-do list for the day, seeing what I did do makes me feel pretty good.

It's important to have gratitude, to look back on things that have happened, and to look forward, as well.

Take 10 minutes a day to reflect and write down things you're thankful for, things you appreciate, things that happened that you weren't expecting, those little magic moments. Look out a window or take a walk and observe what you see. Note the season you're in and spend a moment just being present in it.

Earlier this week, I took a longer-than-usual run early in the morning and ended up at a little lake in our town. It was cold, and there were geese everywhere. I'd just read the poem "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver, and I had this magic moment to just pause and to breathe in the change of the season. Winter is here, and the geese will be leaving very soon. Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees, and the water is still but not covered in ice yet. It was a wonderful moment of reflection.

The garden is also a great place to slow down and fill ourselves up with gratitude. Like I tell my kids, when you slow down to reflect on something and be thankful for it, you get to enjoy it twice.

Now let's look at our outside goals, the things your neighbors will actually see you doing.

ONE: Create

Creating is simply taking action, putting your hands in the dirt, and going for it. 

A couple of things that this could entail for you would be planning out, buying the materials, and building a new addition to your garden. Maybe you build a raised bed for the first time. Maybe you add a raised bed or some window boxes. Maybe you install a new trellis. Maybe you put together a compost bin. Maybe you just start a tray of microgreens.

What can you add to your garden this year?

TWO: Move Your Body

Shake off the stress. Raise your heart rate. Stretch. Just get moving!

Whether it's an Apple watch or a good ol' fashioned piece of paper, track your movement every day. Make a point to stand up regularly. I made movement this last year a non-negotiable, and I could feel my energy change right away. I said I would move my body at least 30 minutes a day, and that has looked different every day. Sometimes it's a slow jog, sometimes it's a long stretch. No matter what it is, I go for it, and that makes all the difference.

Set a goal like moving for 30 minutes or walking 10,000 steps. Moving is such a big part of a garden-centered life. Movement was connected to being able to eat food for hundreds of thousands of years, and we've got to re-train our brains to think of movement and food as connected before we can approach our diet in a better way.

THREE: Spend Time Outside

The third part of the outside is literally going outside. Oh, yes, my friends. We are going to get outside every single day of this next year. I don't care if it's cold, raining, snowing, sleeting—we're going outside.

I had four kids in four and a half years, so it was a little bit hectic and I was always looking for a way to survive the days. One thing I found to be true every single day with those babies and toddlers and preschoolers was this: Outside was magic. It didn't matter if it was freezing or burning up, things got better when I got my kids outdoors.

We're made to be outside. Sure, it's nice to be inside, all cozy with the heating or air conditioning, but there's something that our brains are craving that we can only get when we step outdoors. 

Make it a goal to be outside for at least 30 minutes a day, to really experience the seasons and to observe nature. If you need more motivation to get outside, start a journal and chart the weather each day. How many hours of sunshine did you get? What were the temps? Was it windy? How did the weather make you feel? This will quickly make you realize the connection we have to nature and how much it has to teach us.

FOUR: Fill Up on Plants

Whether or not you grow a little bit of your own food this year, try to eat more fruits and veggies. Make a game of eating plants in all colors. Drink from the garden, snack from the garden. Find as many creative ways to eat plants as you can. I call this filling up on the good stuff.

There's a great cookbook by Michael Pollan and the Pollan family called Mostly Plants. Michael Pollan is one of the leaders of the local, seasonal food movement, and I highly recommend his books. His mantra is: “Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

Instead of focusing on eating healthier, focus on eating more plants. This is a great way to be more mindful of what you eat without stumbling on the pitfalls of diet culture.

How We Can Help Each Other Lead a More Garden-Centered Life

These are the things that are going to bring us together as a community.

These are about supporting and growing our communities together in the very best way.

ONE: Live More Sustainably

We all know that our climate is in crisis. I hate saying that word, but it's true.

So friends, it is time for us to make small changes. Each little bitty step we take together can add up to huge sustainability steps for our world. We can help to regenerate and make a real difference in our gardens.

Here are a couple simple things you can start doing, if you don't already do them:

• Compost
• Reuse water from cooking
• Save water in a rain barrel
• Create a sanctuary for bees and butterflies
• Welcome birds into your yard
• Plant more native plants

There are so many simple things that each of us can do to add sustainability to our gardens, to our homes, and to our communities. 

TWO: Connect with Local Farmers and Growers

Find people in your community who are growing near you—farmers, growers, local supplies, and local gardeners. Reach out to them. Buy from local farmers at the farmers' market or join a CSA.

THREE: Share a Harvest, Seeds, or Gardening Knowledge

The third thing we want to do together is to share. 

Share a harvest, share some seeds you've saved from the garden, or share what you've learned.

There's so much you can share with your neighbors, with your friends, and with your communities that you've learned from the garden. Listen, everybody wants to garden. Most people are just afraid that it's not going to work out because we've been told we need a magical green thumb to keep plants alive. It's your job to reach out and say, “Hey, this is doable. Look, I am evidence.”

FOUR: Celebrate

Finally, and maybe most important, celebrate all the things you've accomplished and learned and created and harvested next December. Take time to reflect and be thankful. Throw yourself a big ol' party.

Celebrate throughout the year too. Take pictures of things you harvest or plants you're growing. Cook a monthly celebratory meal with something from the garden. Find ways to save and enjoy what you harvest from the garden for longer. Make the most of everything you grow.

Start Your Garden-Centered Year

Friends, that is the garden-centered year. Working on your inside, working on your outside, and working together as a community. It is going to be an incredible year, no matter what challenges come your way. By focusing on yourself and the lifestyle you want to live in and out of the garden, you'll be prepared for ups and down. You may not be excited about the downs, but you'll be ready for them if you take time to tend yourself first.

Living a garden-centered life does not mean spending the whole day in the garden. It's having these goals ingrained in you. It's looking for ways to grow your self and your plants.

I hope you have a happy New Year! Stay safe and stay well. Thanks for helping me make gardening ordinary again!