Gardening in 2024 — Larkspur Landscaping

Loré Pemberton illustration — The Winter Gardener by Loré Pemberton

“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul” -Alfred Austin

As Larkspur enters its fourth season, we're excited to continue refining our mission and vision. A heartfelt thank you to all our clients, past and present, for allowing us to create spaces that bring joy to your lives.

With January's crisp, fresh air comes a chance for renewal. As garden designers, this is a time for reflection and planning, imagining how we'll spend our time in the garden and experimenting to further refine our skills and vision.

One of our core values is sharing our love for gardening, plants, and the soil. We're thrilled to see this passion flourish in your texts, Instagram posts, emails, and cards – please keep them coming; they're a source of great happiness for us!

To start the 2024 gardening season, we're eager to share insights and inspirations that guide us at the start of each new year. Let's embark on this gardening journey together!

Garden Planning

Now is the time to begin dreaming. Embarking on our design process starts with sketching out a rough plan. We ensure areas that people will visit most are closest to the center of operations. Much of garden design is based on common sense. Close your eyes and imagine walking out to your garden. What are your hopes? Be flexible while planning and be open to changing this plan over time.

No matter what type of gardening you enjoy, biodiversity is essential. At Larkspur, we love dreaming up new combinations of color palettes. Still, we also think of how each plant supports its surrounding plants. Think basil next to tomatoes, catmint next to roses. Think through what and how much you’ll plant. In your first season, don’t get overwhelmed. Think small.

Spring Cleaning

We love leaving (disease-free) plants in the ground over winter. Roots of annuals biodegrade and help feed the soil. We never leave the earth bare over the winter. Spring is the perfect time to cut back perennials. Leaving them primarily intact helps protect the roots.

When Can You Begin Planting?

Not soon enough, am I right? Our garden zone is 5B, and YES, you can start seeds in January if you’d like. Start herbs like basil, oregano, thyme, chives, and parsley. Onions, cauliflower, and leeks can get a headstart in addition to pansies, snapdragons, and delphiniums.

Starting lettuce now helps us have fresh salads from the garden by early April. Spinach and swiss chard are hardy, but if you plant spinach, be gentle when transplanting; they aren’t a fan. If you’ve never been a fan of kale, try growing it earlier in the season when the cold temperatures enhance the sweetness.

We place our seedlings in a south-facing window, turn them regularly, and ensure they get the moisture they need. They need constant tending, so it is a big lift, but watching the magic of seed to plant is incredibly gratifying.

The days are getting longer and we’ll be back in the garden in no time. For those of you still in hibernation mode, enjoy the peace of beauty of this season. Rest and recharge. We are thankful for you and love watching each client’s garden journey unfold.

Happy New Year and happy dreaming!