Planning Next Years Flower Gardens

I can’t believe we’ve already been out here on the farm for six months. Time really does fly! We managed to get our first garden in this year, and despite the craziness of selling our old house and getting kids off to college, it actually did pretty well. The flower beds around the house haven’t been started yet—that’s next on the list.

This post includes affiliate links. Some products were received to facilitate this post.

Planning Next Year’s Flower Gardens

Saving Seeds for Next Season

As I always do, I have been gathering seeds from my favorite flowers so I’ll be ready for spring. Zinnias and marigolds are already set aside for planting beside the okra. I love the idea of mixing flowers and vegetables together—it not only looks pretty, but hopefully it will also discourage the deer who discovered my okra toward the end of the season.

I’ve also saved seeds from coneflowers and black-eyed Susans. Those are the kind of plants that love being tucked into the soil in the fall, then left alone until spring. It feels good to already have a head start on next year’s garden.

I took this picture last week with the last of the garden vegetables and flowers. This is to remind me that all the work I do now to get ready for next year will be worth it!

---

Tackling the Slope

One of the challenges here on the farm is our hillside. It’s not fun to mow, and I don’t want to spend the summer constantly weeding it. My idea is to build up the base with landscape timbers or logs, then fill it with composted manure that’s been sitting in the barn for years. (I need to clean that barn out this winter anyway—perfect timing!) That way, I can turn a hard-to-mow patch of ground into a colorful flower slope instead.

Learning as I Go

I’ve got some great gardening resources stacked up for inspiration and planning. When the evenings get dark earlier, I plan on sitting on the back porch with a candle and my porch light, soaking up wisdom from these books:

• Essential Guide to Perennial Gardening – This book from the American Horticultural Society is packed with practical advice. It covers more than 150 perennial plant profiles, including many North American natives. I love that it also explains the “how” behind planting, pruning, dividing, and keeping a perennial garden low-maintenance but still beautiful.
• The Vintage Farmhouse Garden – This one is a blend of farmhouse charm and gardening know-how. It’s all about creating spaces that look like they’ve been there forever—timeless, inviting, and filled with blooms. Perfect inspiration for turning our hillside into something that feels both practical and pretty.
• A Year of Garden-Inspired Livinhttps://amzn.to/3Wgalueg by Linda Vater – This book isn’t just about planting, it’s about living seasonally and enjoying what the garden brings all year long. I love her ideas for making the garden a true extension of home life, season by season.

One of my personal goals for this year is to read more. I recently heard someone say the best way to improve your life is simply to read more books—he suggested 100 a year! I don’t think I’ll make it that far, but I’d love to aim for 1–2 a month.

Looking Ahead

It’s exciting to think about how much potential this farm has. We’re still at the beginning stages, but little by little, it’s starting to take shape. Next year’s garden will hopefully be even more colorful, practical, and fun than the first.

Do you save seeds from your garden or start fresh each year? I’d love to hear what’s worked for you.