Summer has officially ended. The days of our vegetable and herb garden are numbered. Around this time year, some of our plants seem to be in a race to finish what they wanted to get done before the weather overrules them. For example, our tomato plants appear to grow at an accelerated pace in September – we ask them where were you, you precious heirloom, grape, and cherry tomatoes, all summer long when we anxiously and patiently waited your arrival? The gorgeous Mexican sage has a crescendo-like finale in September when its most gorgeous soft purple flowers appear. These are worth waiting all summer for. Our garden, like all great projects, requires honest reflection and analysis. What worked, what did not, and what should we do differently next time around? What improvements need to be made? What grade would we assign each component? Gardens are an investment of time, physical energy, yard space, and finances. Can we invest more wisely next year? Can we tempt fate to repeat our successes next summer? It is a lot to process but we have the fall and winter to re-review and refine our analysis.

Creating order in nature can feel like a fool’s errand. The best made plans can turn into total destruction when they collide with wind, critters, invasive species, and scorching temperatures. Our hope that somehow, magically, things will be different next summer stays with us through the winter, although this naïveté has dimmed through the years of garden-growing. The reality has proven that growing a garden is darn hard work AND a lot of good luck. If you do not have great soil and/or if it does not rain for weeks or months on end, it is even harder.

Based on our analysis, our top successes were:

• Basil.  We grew a sweet basil plant in a whiskey barrel container. We give this plant a Grade A+++. We made pesto galore with all the basil we grew from just one plant, approximately ten cups of pesto and two of which are in the freezer for the winter! There was still extra basil for tomato sauce, meatballs, basil butter, herb crackers, pizza, and caprese salad. We also grew Thai basil, variegated basil and boxwood basil and they did well but not in the same league as the sweet basil plant.

• Lovage, parsley, French sorrel, red vein sorrel, kale, lemon grass and Swiss chard. What we refer to as our “greens” section of the garden. They get a solid Grade A+. The Swiss chard had moments of tasting bitter, but otherwise they were dependable stars of the garden and a must for next year.

• Mexican butterfly plant. This gorgeous plant attracts butterflies and other insects, and has tiny orange, pink, red and yellow flowers which bloom ALL SUMMER LONG. This plant is a short-term (2 – 3 years) perennial. It brought radiant color and height to our garden and we are giving it a Grade A+++.

• Bay leaf. This is a must plant every summer. We will use the bay leaves all fall and winter in soups and sauces. We give this a solid Grade A+.

• Rosemary, lavender, marjoram, savory, sage and thyme plants. Solid Grade A across the board. 

• Nasturtium. These are such fun to grow and they did well despite the lack of rain. The delicious leaves can be used in cooking and salads and the brilliant orange and yellow flowers are stunning garnishes for anything you are serving. We planted two packets of nasturtium seeds, and they were in almost every corner of our garden! To be repeated next year. Grade A+.

• Fish Peppers. These are a staple for us every year. This pepper plant needs to stay hydrated and required a lot of hose watering on the days / weeks / months that it did not rain. But they are worth growing in your home garden because this pepper is not sold at many farmers markets, local farm stores or grocery stores. The only place you can get these just might be your garden! Grade A+++. They will be used in our homemade hot sauce.

• Edible Geraniums. These hardy plants, we grew both yellow and gold varieties, struggled mightily with the lack of rain but are wonderful to have in the garden. You can smell their aroma from several feet away, and we love edible flowers. Love. These are a must have for next year. Grade A+.

• Container Planting. These worked better than growing plants in the ground. Next year, we will create more space between the containers, and arrange them by plant height and color. Less crowded. A few more whiskey barrels are on the must-buy list. This receives a solid Grade A.

Some of our defeats:

• Peppers (we tried to grow several types). Except for our fish peppers, all our other pepper plants were very poor doers or no doers at all! Unfortunately, they get a Grade D-minus. Needless to say, VERY disappointing. Who cannot grow peppers? Us, evidently. Bah-humbug.

• Eggplant. One tiny eggplant grew but then stopped growing. This gets a Grade D. Very unfortunate situation.

• Rhubarb plant. Our treasured rhubarb plant that has produced mounds of rhubarb every year finally gave up. The heat and lack of rain were just too much for it and it is now a shell of its former glorious self. The new rhubarb plant that we bought fared the same and our hopes for a resurgence in 2025 are pretty much dashed. Grade: D.

• Mint. It took over the garden. We will need to pull most of it and replant it next year in containers. Grade D.

• Hibiscus Plants. The blossoms fell off the plant almost as soon as they opened, and they only blossoms lasted a short time (two weeks). This plant is a perennial and will stay in the garden; hopefully next year it will do better, but we are not hopeful. Grade: C-minus.

• Cala Lilly Plants. Our plants started strong, but they could not take the heat and lack of rain. One day, we went to the garden and the Lillies were gone – they had completely blended / been dissolved and reincorporated back into the soil. The only trace of them was in our memory. Grade C-minus.

• The Soil. The rock-hard clay soil seems to be getting worse every year. Could this be possible? The hardness and crust-like aspect could be due to the lack of rain. This gets a double F-minus Grade!

At the top of the list of successes I should have put learning about nature, being patient and not giving up. Our garden teaches me all of these. I wish for so many things for the garden and I know that not all of it will happen. But there are things I never thought about or knew about and when they happen in the garden I feel that I have received a gift. The miracle of nature is beyond words. I am very grateful.

Pixie Millet (Sep. 2024)