"Top 5 New Year's Gardening Resolutions for a Thriving Garden in 2025 (No Matter Your Skill Level!)"
As the new year begins, it’s the perfect time to embrace a fresh start and dive into the world of gardening. But let’s face it: if you’re anything like me, when you first imagine gardening, you’re picturing baskets overflowing with red ripe tomatoes, zucchini, beans, and melons. It’s a beautiful vision, but there’s so much that grows before those summer harvests—and if you focus only on the end goal, you might miss out on the excitement and abundance the rest of the year has to offer.
Let’s make 2025 the year you grow, step by step, just like a plant does. Here are five resolutions to help you start your gardening journey with confidence, joy, and plenty of rewards along the way.
1. Grow Like a Plant Grows
A plant doesn’t start with fruit—it begins as a sprout, puts down roots, and then matures into something that bears fruit. Your gardening journey can follow the same path.
Start with Leaf Crops: For a quick and rewarding harvest, focus on leafy greens like lettuce, kale, arugula, Swiss chard, napa cabbage, and endive. Don’t forget herbs like oregano, thyme, basil, parsley, dill, cilantro, sage, rosemary, calendula, and chamomile. These grow fast and give you an immediate sense of accomplishment.
Put Down Roots: Root crops like radishes, carrots, and beets grow quickly and are equally exciting to harvest. You don’t have to wait months for your first taste of success!
Plant for Summer Harvests: Of course, you can grow tomatoes, zucchini, beans, and peas—but give yourself permission to enjoy the earlier, simpler harvests first.
Pro Tip: If you pull just six months of salads from your garden and grow a year’s worth of herbs to enjoy fresh and store, you’ll have achieved more than enough to call it a raging success.
Resource Recommendation: For more on embracing the natural growth of plants and planning a productive garden, check out Leaves, Roots & Fruit by Nicole Johnsey Burke. This book beautifully breaks down how to grow a thriving garden while keeping things simple.
2. Don’t Start at the Hardware Store
I’ve been there. You walk into the hardware store, grab bags of soil, trays of plants, and packets of seeds, only to realize later you didn’t have a plan. I once tried planting a salsa garden—cilantro, chili peppers, and tomatoes—only to learn the hard way that cilantro bolts in the heat of summer, just as tomatoes are starting to thrive. And in Chicago, depending on the season, chili peppers might never get the hot temps need to produce.
Instead, start with knowledge, not shopping:
Understand your local growing conditions.
Learn what grows well in your season and how different plants thrive.
Plan your garden before you spend a penny.
3. Plant Seasonally and Follow the Arc of the Seasons
Gardening is most rewarding when you align with nature's rhythms. Each season offers its own bounty, and planting seasonally allows you to enjoy fresh harvests throughout the year. Start with cool-season crops like leafy greens and herbs in spring, transition to warm-season favorites like tomatoes and zucchini in summer, and finish the year with fall root vegetables and hardy greens.
Why This Matters: Seasonal planting makes the most of your garden’s potential, reducing wasted effort and increasing the chances of success. Plus, it keeps you connected to nature’s cycles, which is both grounding and restorative.
4. Follow the Intensive Planting Method (and Break a Few Rules!)
Some gardening "rules" are more like guidelines—and not all of them apply to every gardener. One method worth breaking some rules for is intensive planting: placing crops closer together than traditional spacing recommendations. This technique mimics nature, where plants grow densely to shade the soil, retain moisture, and crowd out weeds.
Why This Matters:
Less watering: Shaded soil stays moist longer.
Fewer weeds: Densely planted crops leave little room for weeds to grow.
Natural pest control: Healthy, thriving plants and biodiversity discourage pests from taking over.
Pro Tip: Consider trellising to allow additional airflow and access to sunlight for indeterminate vines. And experiment with inter-planting. For example, grow basil under tomato plants or intersperse carrots with lettuce. Nature thrives in diversity, and so can your garden.
5. Make Gardening a Daily Habit
Gardens thrive with consistent care, and you’ll enjoy the process more if you make it part of your daily routine. Spend 10–15 minutes a day watering, weeding, or just observing your plants. Gardening is not only productive but also restorative—time spent in the garden is never wasted.
Pro Tip: Use gardening as a way to unplug and connect with nature. It’s good for your plants and your soul.
Why This Year Is Different
2025 is a year like no other. More and more people are seeking to take control of their food supply. They are concerned about what has been sprayed on their foods and where it was grown. Grocery costs are through the roof, shortages are increasingly common, and recalls are frequent. Gardening gives you a way to reclaim some control, grow food you trust, and experience the satisfaction of independence.
Take the First Step Today
You don’t need a huge yard, a ton of tools, or endless hours to get started. You just need the willingness to grow. Schedule a free 15-minute garden chat to discuss your goals and create a plan tailored to your needs. Let’s make 2025 the year you grow more than just plants—you’ll grow confidence, joy, and a connection to the earth.
Join the Movement
Follow our blog for more gardening tips, inspiration, and resources to help you succeed. Together, we’ll make this your best growing season yet.
