It seems that every year I have a major garden design project or two under way, and despite my many good intentions, garden maintenance seems to fall to the back burner. Well, I’ve promised myself that 2010 will, for me, be the ‘Year Of The Maintenance’. While I have a few small projects already planned for next year, we luckily are not planning any big changes that will take up more time than I always seem to allow. That means, that I am hoping to come close to the holy grail of gardening next year — a well maintained garden.

I have already gotten a head start on some of my spring activities. In fact, I was out during the Christmas holidays pruning back some of the perennials I did not get to last fall like peonies and daylily scapes.

While I’m not striving for a perfect garden, I really hope next year to focus on the little things, and enjoy spending some time caring for what I have built.