I love Christmas songs—and frankly, with the year we’ve had, I think we could all use the extra joy that a good old-fashioned Christmas carol brings. Although not really a Christmas song, “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music has somehow worked its way into standard radio Christmas repertoire, and hearing it lately has gotten me to think of some of my favorite things in gardening over the past year. So, here are my top five.

    1. Hellebores. I know, I just mentioned them last month, but their cheerful blooms are a welcome ray of sunshine in our otherwise-dreary Pacific Northwest winters. With thick evergreen leaves and tolerant of shade or partial sun, hellebores are easy to grow and don’t need a lot of tending. Looking back as recently as eight or ten years ago, hellebores were yawn-inducing plants that tended toward the downright ugly side of things with spindly, drab foliage and droopy flowers, but today’s varieties have beautiful upright-facing blooms in a variety of colors set above richly hued foliage.
    2. Echinacea. Also commonly called coneflowers, these perennials are great for color in the garden beginning in mid-summer and lasting through early autumn, and they come in a wide array of colors. The echinacea in my garden typically starts blooming in mid-July and continues to put out fresh blooms until October. Few other perennials can boast of blooming so long. And they’re about as care-free as you can hope for with few insect or disease problems.The biggest issues you’ll run into with echinacea in our area both pertain to our wet winters. One, they don’t like wet feet—plant echinacea in poorly-drained soils and they’ll rot over winter. And two, don’t prune your echinacea back in fall or you’ll risk rain water penetrating through the hollowed out remnants of stems into the base of the plant over winter, also causing rot. Rather, it’s best to wait until early spring to prune echinacea back, and in the meantime, birds can enjoy the seeds in the dried flower heads over winter.
    3. Container gardens. I’m not talking so much about vegetable gardens here as flowers—think hanging baskets and patio pots—although I’ll get to vegetables next! Whether you have an expansive yard or just a balcony outside your apartment, anyone can enjoy the beauty that container gardens bring. Water daily and fertilize weekly and your hanging baskets or pots will bloom freely all summer. Add to that the fact that so many of today’s plants for hanging baskets are self-deadheading and you’ve found one more reason to love these flowers.
    4. Fresh vegetables from the garden. I love America’s farmers and the hard work they do to put food on our tables, but is there anything that tastes as good as produce that traveled mere feet from garden to table? I think not—and my kids agree. It’s rare for my first crop of sugar snap peas to even make it into the house before they’re devoured, and I count myself blessed to eat fresh lettuce salads, cucumbers, green beans and more all through summer and into autumn.
    5. New gardeners. In this crazy year, I’m thankful that so many people discovered or rediscovered the joy of gardening. Whether motivated by a real desire to grow something for their family or simply the sheer boredom of being stuck at home this spring with nothing to do but work in the yard, I was encouraged to see so many people getting their hands in the dirt this year. Gardening is good for body and soul, and I hope that if you were new to the hobby this year you found success in your efforts and value in continuing the pursuit of growing something beautiful or delicious.

As Christmas draws near, may you find joy in reflecting on a few of your favorite things, and more importantly, may you find joy in the real reason for the season—our Savior’s birth!