As 2025 comes to a close, many Seattle homeowners can take time to reflect on their landscape. This is the perfect opportunity to celebrate what worked well in your outdoor spaces while also learning from the challenges. By reviewing your garden now, you can set realistic and inspiring goals for the year ahead.
Why Reflect
Seattle’s unique climate, with wet winters, mild summers, and shifting weather patterns, makes landscaping both rewarding and demanding. As a result, assessing successes and setbacks each year is crucial. In addition, reflection helps identify which plants thrived, which projects stalled, and what adjustments are needed for 2026.
Celebrate Your Landscape’s Successes
Look back on the highlights of your garden this year. For example, perhaps your dahlias bloomed longer than expected, or your patio upgrades created more space for entertaining. Moreover, successful lawn care or well-placed evergreens may have kept your yard looking vibrant even during the gray winter months. Recognizing these wins builds confidence and momentum.
Acknowledge Challenges Honestly
Every landscape comes with obstacles. However, Seattle’s heavy rains or unexpected dry spells may have made gardening more difficult. Consequently, drainage issues, pests, or underperforming plants could be areas that need attention. Meanwhile, budget or time constraints might have delayed certain hardscape projects. By naming these challenges, you create a clear picture of what to improve.
Planning Ahead for 2026
Reflection should always lead to action. Therefore, use your review to draft a plan for the coming year. Consider soil improvements, better plant selections, or more efficient irrigation systems. Additionally, scheduling larger projects like retaining walls or pathways in advance ensures smoother execution. In fact, winter is the best season in Seattle to start planning for spring upgrades.
The Takeaway
Reflecting on your landscape’s successes and challenges in 2025 is more than just an end-of-year exercise. Ultimately, it’s the key to creating thriving, resilient, and beautiful outdoor spaces in Seattle. In the end, your honest review will help you celebrate achievements, address weaknesses, and step into 2026 with confidence and fresh ideas for your garden.
