10 Things I learned in the Garden this Season.
The garden and I got really close this year. For a while, we’ve been trying to build something beautiful, productive, and useful for wildlife. A big undertaking like that would either bring you really close or you start to hate each other.
Okay, yes, there have been moments of animosity. But what relationship doesn't?
We started in 2023. This year - 2026 - was the first year that the it started to feel like it was coming together. It’s getting beautiful. It’s getting productive. And, while I have no way of getting wildlife’s opinion, I think the ‘useful for wildlife’ box might have the firmest check mark.
There’s still a ways to go. After chatting it through with the garden, here’s what we learned this year and what we plan to do differently to get more beauty and more productivity:
Prairie Bed that needs help
Gardens can be rearranged, they are not that dissimilar from living rooms in that way. I need to move the veg beds. The current location doesn’t get enough sun. Especially now, at the end of summer when the sun’s heat is absolutely key for the last dregs of harvest season. I’ll swap the raised beds with the messy bed next to it, which desperately needs an overhaul.
I have to take advantage of the new sunnier spot as much as I can. So, hell or high water, I’ll be squeezing in another raised bed. I want room for real(er) crops. Not just snacks for my kid to graze on.
Speaking of taking advantage of sunny space. There’s a reason garden arches are trending: vertical potential! I’ll be investing in one (maybe two?) for pole beans and other climbers. Despite all my positive thinking, the pole beans were not happy in part shade. They got some sad looking discoloration on the leaves that I think could have been prevented with more consistent sun. And crop production was only okay.
Think outside the garden center. Apparently Wild Kidney bean - something I’ve never seen at a nursery - might be a good option for the trellis against the north facing wall. That’s where the pole beans failed. The Wild Kidney beans are an edible vining plant that does okay in part shade.
Always do a mid-summer vegetable sowing. It’s is highly productive and extra satisfying.
The best laid (or even half-assed) garden bed plans will always need adjusting. While I’m fairly certain the new prairie bed can be called a prairie bed, I do not like how it looks. Too much spiky-ness. I added a dogwood shrub to smooth things over. But it needs more calm, and height and late summer blooming. But I must proceed with caution because this was its first full summer. Next summer, it might fill in perfectly splendidly. So for now, I will tweak, not alter. For calm, I’ll be adding in Blue False Indigo which has rounded leaves and a rounding shrub habit after it flowers. For height and late summer flower, I’ll add Cup flowers.
Brassicas (like cabbage and kale) might not be worth it. I had success with the cabbages in pots. That was about it. In future, if I decide to pursue Brassicas, proper netting will be required because the cabbage white worms and butterflies wreak havoc. And I learned about their frass (aka poop). And I learned how to get rid of it: 1. be disgusted for two minutes 2. wash the crap out of the leaves thoroughly with a hose.
Don’t sow nightshades too early. I kept seeing that tomatoes and peppers should be sown super early because they need all the time they can get. And if I had a warm growing situation (indoors or heated greenhouse) then maybe I could do that. Since I do not, I need to actually wait for some warmth.
Or, if I’m feeling impatient, I could do an early sow AND a second sowing 2-3 weeks later. This might actually help prove my theory; I’m convinced this is the reason my nightshades didn’t really take off this year. It’s like they got stuck in cold mode or something.
Don’t overcrowd the greenhouse. Seriously…do less next year. If they can’t all fit in there at once, they aren’t going to thrive. There’s only so much plant cheerleading a gardener can do before lack of growth turns into bitter resentment and tears.
Do NOT get overconfident about a Chicago spring. NO! It is not warm enough outside yet. Keep those pups in the greenhouse.
As with every year, it was one of learning among many things. So many things gave me joy and awe. Plenty of other things prompted an eye roll and an “ugh!” This is what makes a garden such a good metaphor for life. Despite and because of all that, we keep going and keep trying to make the best of it.
What did you and your garden learn this year?