A real-life garden reflection on what worked in 2025, including my favorite plants, systems worth repeating, and lessons shaping next year’s garden.
What These Garden Notes Are (and Why I’m Sharing Them)
This post is part of my ongoing NQH Garden Notes series: a personal, end‑of‑season record of what actually worked in my garden.
Not a how‑to guide or perfectly executed garden plan. Just honest reflections on what earned its space, what failed, and what I’m changing as I grow a garden that fits my needs. I write these notes mostly for myself, tbh, but I share them because I know how helpful it is to learn from someone else’s real-life garden.
Think of this as a walk through the garden at the end of the year, Notes app out, talking through what we’d do again and what we wouldn’t.
What I’m Planting Again (Because It Earned Its Spot)
These are the plants that proved themselves this year. My ride-or-dies.
The Year of the Cucumber
2025 was the year of the cucumber. I planted two Silver Slicer and two Suyo Long cucumbers on a trellis using saved seed, and for the first time since 2021, everything clicked. Consistent watering (thank you, sprinkler timer), cooperative weather, and growing upwards on a trellis made all the difference.
We had so many cucumbers that by August we were heartily sick of them. Not a bad problem to have. I canned a few quarts of pickles, then started juicing the rest with green apples and fresh mint just to keep up. Tuck my recipe for Cucumber Apple Juice with Mint into your back pocket for your next cucumber glut.
It’s winter now, and the kids still talk about those cucumbers. That tells me everything I need to know. Silver Slicer is officially a forever grow, and Suyo Long is staying right alongside it.
Key Takeaway: When a crop does well, pay attention to why. It could be the variety, or the weather, but often it’s how it was grown.
The Broccoli I Didn’t Plan On Growing
On a whim, I grabbed a six‑pack of broccoli seedlings at Lowe’s while I was out there buying pansies. I hadn’t grown broccoli in a couple of seasons, (been liking cabbage instead) but these plants surprised me.
They survived two tornado watches, a light freeze, and relentless wind, and still produced the most beautiful heads I’ve ever grown.
Now if I could just remember the name of it…
Note: Leave room for spur-of-the-moment plants. They may surprise you!
Sugar Rush Peach Habanero (Finally Figured Out How to Use It)
I grew Sugar Rush Peach Habaneros again after a two‑year break, and this was the year I finally figured out how to use them.
They’re too sweet for salsa and too spicy for kids.
BUT paired with our bumper peach harvest, they became the best hot sauce I’ve ever canned. I only managed to make three half‑pints, which tells me exactly what to do next year: grow more.
They’re also incredible dried. The sweetness intensifies, and I’ve been using them crushed as pepper flakes all winter. These peppers are featured in my post on how to dry peppers.
Key Takeaway: Sometimes it’s not the plant… the missing piece is how you use it.
Read More: In the Gardener’s Kitchen: Ways to Actually Eat What You Grow
Dahlias That Earned a Second Year
A mislabeled tuber turned into one of my favorite surprises of 2025. What I thought was Penhill Watermelon bloomed as what I’m fairly certain is Bahama Mama instead.
They were prolific, easy to cut, and paired beautifully with Oklahoma Salmon and other soft pink zinnias. I saved the tubers and will absolutely grow them again.
See them in action in this post on making a peachy pink bouquet color palette.
Another standout dahlia was Breakout. Peachy pink and stunning, she took my breath away the first time I saw her.
I hope to propagate more of these dahlias with cuttings next year.
Other Standout Plants I’m Growing Again in 2026
- King of the North Bell Pepper – Reliable, productive, and now I’ve got my own saved strain of seeds
- Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans – I keep trying others and coming back to this one
- Everleaf Emerald Towers Basil – Bushy, slow to flower, perfect for pesto
- Climax Marigold – The exact shade of yellow I loved in bouquets
- Fama Deep Blue Scabiosa – Perennial, large blooms, gorgeous periwinkle color
- Summer Savory – Useful, beautiful, and a favorite in wreaths and bouquets
What’s one thing from this season you’d happily grow again?
What I’m Rethinking or Letting Go
Not everything deserves an encore, and that’s ok. It’s part of growing as a gardener.
Amsterdam Cutting Celery
Leaf celery sounded promising, but I grew far too much and didn’t enjoy it enough to justify the space. I dried a lot for seasoning and used many of the fresh stems and leaves to flavor my Instant-Pot Chicken Bone Broth like in this recipe. But it was still too much. Not a good use of limited bed space.
In a small or full garden, space matters, and and this one didn’t earn its keep.
How I Prune Tomatoes
I’m officially done pruning tomatoes to a single leader.
It worked when I wanted to grow tons of varieties with close spacing, but lately I’ve appreciated growing fewer plants and just letting them grow bushier. It’s less work.
I’ll still prune for airflow, remove lower leaves, and all that. But next year, I’m switching fully to cages and simpler management.
Note: If you don’t enjoy maintaining a system, it’s more than okay to change it.
Determined to Grow Determinate Tomatoes
I grew determinate tomatoes for the first time and loved having more tomatoes in fewer harvests.
Fewer, larger canning sessions made sauce season feel manageable instead of endless. These will stay in my rotation.
Helping My Clematis Reach Her Full Potential
I’ve got two Sweet Summer Love clematis growing in a corner by the patio for years…. without a proper trellis. That changes in 2026.
I’m moving both plants to an arch trellis in the raised bed garden where they can finally reach their full 15‑foot potential. By July, I’m imagining the entire trellis covered in tiny wine‑colored blooms.
I can’t wait.
Another Dahlia Storage Experiment
This winter, I stored all my dahlia tubers unwashed, in clumps, packed in vermiculite. I tested this method on one clump last year with great success (though I did wash the dirt off before storing) and this year I committed fully.
They’re resting in the garage now. I’m trying not to peek.
See how I’ve been storing and overwintering dahlias in this post.
Small Changes That Made a Big Difference
Automated Watering
This is our second year using an overhead sprinkler system on a timer. It runs every three days at 4 a.m. for an hour. We increase it to every two days during heat waves, and I turn it off when rain does the job for us.
It’s removed a huge mental burden—and the garden is healthier for it.
Adding Vertical Structure
For Christmas my in-law’s gifted us some beautiful obelisks that they’d built. These towers were exactly the thing to pull our raised bed and in-ground beds together visually. Plus, they supported vining and leaning crops like tomatoes, cosmos, and dahlias. Beautiful and practical.
Succession Planting That Worked
One of my best moves of the year was following Napa and green cabbages with King of the North bell peppers. I planted the peppers in between as the cabbages finished up and left the cabbage roots in place to feed the soil.
The peppers had room to take off just as the cabbage was ready for harvest.
Lesson Learned: Choosing Simplicity in 2026
Next year, I’m ready to simplify. Grow fewer varieties; try fewer new things. Not because I’m done experimenting, but because I finally know my favorites.
Mental load matters. And sometimes the most productive garden is the one you enjoy planning for, too.
What I’d Recommend to a Beginner (Based on This Year)
If I were starting over, here’s a snapshot of the advice I’d give myself.
- Focus on plants you love to use, not just what’s popular
- Automate watering early if you can
- Build one strong habit (mine is “Fertilizer Friday”; or choose from other habits like these)
- Give yourself permission to change your garden
Your garden exists for you. Make it something you want to show up for.
If you’re starting a garden this year, here are some of my best posts for beginners.
How to Plan a Vegetable Garden for Beginners
How to Start the Cut Flower Garden of Your Dreams
About NQH Garden Notes
Gardening is a lifelong practice. One that changes as we do.
NQH Garden Notes are my seasonal and yearly reflections on what actually works in my garden. Plants, combinations, systems—everything I don’t want to forget. They aren’t meant to be perfect plans or rules, just notes from a real garden, shared so you can borrow what works.
If you enjoy this kind of reflective, real-life gardening, you can find all of my Garden Notes here.