Every year I feel the wheel of time spins faster – and every time I mention that to a particular friend of mine, he responds with, ‘time is the same as always.’ Well, the speed at which this year passed amazed me. Maybe it just depends on one’s perspective!

It has been a big year, crammed full of activity. We had our biannual catalogue mailout this year and the interest it sparked overwhelmed us. We truly felt thankful that we have a loyal customer base that has supported us over the years. The continued steady growth of Gardenware has meant that we have been able to continue as a business for 12 years now.

Learning through our business has been stressful at times . I have been doing our UK orders for about 18 months now and it has been a steep learning curve. Dealing with customs being the major example of this. Our last two containers from the UK have both been nightmares. However, I have learnt from my mistakes. I also feel that the learning came from taking responsibility for my decisions and taking action.

This year I also started my horticultural studies as TAFE. This had been a dream of mine for a few years, so it has been awesome to be able to start that dream. There was a hiccup, as the TAFE campus I was studying at closed their horticultural studies mid year. However, I was fortunate that a horticultural teacher from another campus stepped in to allow us to complete our studies. Formally studying horticulture this year renewed my passion for gardening. I had been focused on business learning for a while, so it was refreshing to be learning about gardening again.

 

 

My garden also continued to be a great teacher in 2014. The lesson I learnt from my nature strip veggie patch was that a little bit of planning does not go astray. My garden has taught me commitment. It has taught me that I need to follow through with my ideas if they are going to be fruitful 🙂 .

In this era of instant gratification, my garden has taught me patience. With the 12 mth old potted lemonade tree – I had thought, beauty! I’m going to have loads of lemonade fruit when I saw them all develop then learnt that you need to pinch these fruit out for the first few years to let the tree develop a strong trunk to support an abundant crop. If that doesn’t teach you patience and commitment, I don’t know what will!

Recently, we had a part of our front garden uprooted to replace our faulty wastewater treatment system. It reminded me of when we had our sheds built in our front yard. All the existing vegetation had to be removed including a banana tree that had sentimental value. Looking at this bare patch of earth reminded me to be flexible with what life can throw at you. We didn’t anticipate a costly removal of a faulty wastewater treatment system but it happened. I was able to transplant some Christmas bushes and Box bushes back to their previous spots and hope they will grow again.

Writing about 2014 has been a beautiful way to close the year. My reflections contribute to my gratitude around the life that I’m living. I love having a business that allows me to interact with down to earth customers and to  learn about gardening tips. I appreciate that if the kids drama classes start at 3.30pm I can leave work early and drive them there.  I love having a garden space that is unique to me and provides me with a sense of serenity. I’m not into formal meditation (I have tried it and just can’t do it), but what I have realised is that my garden is where I meditate. It is where I switch off and live in the moment – whether it’s appreciating the first zucchini flower, noticing the pesky asparagus fern that pops up, saving tiny seed from dried mizuna plants or doing the 101 gardening tasks that are there to be done!

So goodbye 2014 and hello 2015.

I hope that you all have a prosperous and happy new year. May your garden continue to delight and provide happiness.

If you would like to share your reflections on 2014, please do so in the comments below. We would love to hear them!