Not in 2026! Which Garden Updates Will You Make in the New Year?

I have New Year’s resolutions in mind. I bet you do too. In 2026, I resolve to wear gloves when gardening rather than spend time cleaning dirt out from under my nails. I resolve to water my orchids less and water my other houseplants just right. But what I really want is a fresh start in the garden. New Year, new “you”, new garden beds, new landscape layouts. I’m ready to change things in a big way. Are you?

Garden layout can become a sentimental thing. We either inherit a landscape we like, or we create it with some (usually significant) level of effort. We remember our first look at the landscape; we remember the work we put into it. And we get sentimental about our gardens, our foundation plantings, and the overall look of things. This is the case for me, at least. But I know that prevents me from enjoying new sights, adding new and exciting touches here and there, and falling in love with my landscape anew.

So, in 2026: Heave-ho, dig, lift, transport, transplant. I’m going to change some things up… start fresh with my landscape.

Are the borders of your garden beds curved or straight? I talk about the former, but I live with the latter. My beds are edged in straight lines… frankly, dull. They didn’t start out that way, as I was creative at first. But over time and as more plants moved in, the borders straightened, with one edge of my garden running parallel to a fence, another running parallel to a row of privacy hedges. Hey, it happens. But not in 2026!

Do the colors in your landscape appear in sizable swaths, or are they dotted, confetti style? I love the former, but my garden beds are now sneaking toward the latter style… puny pops of color. As more and more plants have become irresistible to me, I have snuck them in where they fit best but not generally according to a pre-planned design. Confetti has emerged. Hey, it happens. But not in 2026!

Does your landscape erupt in blooms in a nice sequence, with flowers appearing through spring, summer, and early fall, or do some areas bloom heavily and then peter out? I have tried to achieve the former in my current landscape, and I did have some success with it at a past home. But life got in the way of planning, and the bloom sequence fell off my radar. Hey, it happens. But not in 2026! 

Is your landscape filled with vital bushes, healthy shrubs, and beautifully performing perennials, or do some of your plantings look ultra-mature (read, way too “long in the tooth”)? I find that I cannot get rid of any plant that is living, so I dig things up and transplant them. But honestly, some should be discarded: case in point, and on a large scale, my rhododendrons. These can be beautiful foundation plantings, but they can also become woody space taker-uppers. Hey, it happens. It has happened to me. But not in 2026!

Truth is, I have ushered in a lot of new years by now. I feel grateful for what each one has brought me. I know a lot about myself by now. I know that I don’t keep resolutions very well; I probably will never wear gloves in the garden; and getting into a good groove with the timing for watering orchids is not exactly “my thing”. But I can keep at least one resolution: I am going to view my yard as a fresh slate this new year, 2026, and I am going to not just freshen up but truly re-do my landscape. Dig, discard, re-think, transplant… I might not complete all the work I want to out there, but I will create some new sights to draw me in.

Will my landscape be a familiar old friend in the new year, but a friend who is looking quite a bit older and more than a little worse for the wear? Not in 2026! Fresh start, garden facelift… and new reasons to love my landscape.

Have a wonderful New Year ahead! Let’s get to work… in 2026!

(If you feel like sharing your plans for garden work this year, include them in a comment. I’d love to read some of your ideas for big changes or little ones you plan to make.)