It’s that time of year again when I sit and reflect on the past growing season and look forward to the next. Goals begin to emerge as I consider what I hope to accomplish in the coming year. Each new year, I set my gardening goals, which help me envision the season ahead and chart what I wish to achieve. It’s good to have goals and aspirations; they give us something to look forward to, focus on, and work towards.
Did you know this will be my sixth year posting my gardening goals here on Thistle Be the Day? It’s hard to believe I have been sharing my growing adventures on this blog for nearly six years! Looking back at all my garden goals from the previous seasons, I’m happy to report that I accomplished most of them, from staying active in my plant community and developing my bouquet skills to becoming a pollinator steward and growing my cut flower business. But I’ve also realized I fell short of other goals, like being a seed steward and making more arrangements (sadly, I made only one last season!). I’m trying to give myself grace and accept that life happens and sometimes we need to try again.
Before I can plant that first seed or harvest that first flower, I need to set my gardening goals. Some goals remain the same each year, and others change. So, here they are, my hopes and ambitions for the 2026 growing season:
Annual Goals:
Try New Varieties: With thousands of plant varieties, why wouldn’t I want to try new ones each year? Growing new varieties keeps the garden fun and exciting. This season, I’m looking forward to trying a new specialty tulip called Katinka, a beautiful double form in a light antique lavender. I’m also looking forward to seeing a new daffodil variety, named Thalia, bloom on the farm this season. Thalia is an heirloom variety that is pure white, highly fragrant, and multi-flowered. I’m also planning to grow two new phlox varieties, a new yarrow variety, and, of course, several new dahlia varieties. I can’t wait to see them all in bloom!
Keep Learning: I never want to stop learning as I grow. In the off-season, I seize every chance to take classes and read through my stockpile of garden books. This year, I’m taking an online flower-arranging course, attending a Dahlia Summit, taking several cut-flower classes, and attending a CSA Summit to learn from other growers.
Share Knowledge: I aim to continue sharing knowledge through blog posts, teaching classes, workshops, and volunteering in my gardening community. I’m presenting several classes this year, including one on drying and pressing flowers and another on creating a pollinator garden. I’m also co-planning a Pollinator Party to educate the public on how to support local pollinator populations. I love talking and collaborating with others who are enthusiastic about growing!
Advocate for Pollinators: Each year, I aim to better advocate for pollinators and share what I’ve learned to educate my community about the importance of these mighty creatures. Whether it’s planting more pollinator habitat here on the farm or organizing community events to promote pollinator education, I never want to stop advocating for pollinators!
Find Clarity in the Future: Our farm and business are constantly evolving, and I face difficult decisions each year as I look ahead. This includes deciding where and how to sell our flowers, whether to focus on specific varieties, changing the length of our growing season, and even expanding and relocating the farm. Each year, I do a lot of thinking and soul-searching to find clarity in Whistling Bee Farm’s future.
New Goals in 2026:
Focus on Soil Health: When we received our soil test results this fall, the news was discouraging. We’ve been battling the invasive Asian Jumping Worms for several seasons now, and their presence is depleting our soil’s nutrients. No treatment to date eradicates these invasive worms, so to counter their effects on our soil, we’ve had to add extra compost and other nutrients. However, these efforts have now made our soil too alkaline. While upsetting, this is manageable through additives that can help bring our soil pH back in balance. Then we received another blow when I was digging up our dahlia tubers. Many of them were deformed, and after testing, we discovered that our soil has root-knot nematodes, microscopic pests that feed on plant roots. We lost between 80-90% of our dahlia stock from root-knot nematode infection, which we believe came from contaminated compost. This diagnosis will drastically affect our plans for the upcoming season (look for another post on this soon). Soil is the building block of a garden, and without healthy soil, the quality of the plants you grow suffers, leading to more pests and disease. So, getting our soil healthy again is my top priority for the 2026 growing season.
Make More Arrangements: This was one of the 2025 garden goals I didn’t reach, and I’m bringing it back! In 2024, I made five arrangements for myself and, despite wishing to increase that number in 2025, I actually made FEWER arrangements (just one!). So, I’m doubling down on this one, and I’m determined to come through this year. I’ve been inspired by Erin Benzakein of Floret Flower Farm, who challenged herself to create one arrangement a week throughout the season, just for herself. Like me, she finds flower arranging a meditative process that brings joy to her life. I find that arranging forces me to slow down and be more thoughtful and creative with each stem, leaving me more fulfilled. While arranging once a week might be too lofty a goal for me, I’m going to try to spend more time this upcoming season working on arrangements that let me express myself. Hopefully, 2026 will be the year I achieve this goal!
Expand Our Dahlia Hybridizing Efforts: Our first dahlia introduction, Whistling Bee’s Dawn’s Early Light, was just released through the Novice Hybridizer Program at Triple Wren Farms! I can’t believe our dahlia, which we’ve been working with for the past five years, will be growing in gardens and supporting local pollinator populations across North America. Since being selected for the program, my passion for dahlia hybridizing has grown. Last season, I expanded our dahlia hybridizing efforts here on the farm by increasing the number of dahlia seedlings we grew, selecting desirable traits, making crosses, and saving seeds and tubers. In 2026, I aim to continue this expansion and create and steward seedlings that support pollinators and can be enjoyed in a vase.
Explore Farm Relocation: For the past few years, we have been discussing relocating the farm. As the business grows and I make plans to expand our dahlia hybridizing efforts, we are starting to outgrow our property. So, we have decided that this year we will seriously start looking for a new farm property. The possibility is both thrilling and terrifying. I’ve been growing on our current property for over twenty years, and the thought of starting over is daunting. But I’m also excited for all the possibilities a larger property would offer.
Document, Document, Document: More photos, more videos, more notes! I want to capture and share more “life on the farm” moments, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I already take many photographs (one of my favorite things to do in the garden!), and I’ve been much better about including myself in some of them, but I’d like to take more videos this season. From the mundane to the exciting, I want to capture it all so I can look back on these moments. I am once again inspired by Erin of Floret Flower Farm, who created a Farm Journal series last year documenting each month at their farm. At the end of each month, they shared a video compilation of the month’s events on the farm. It was inspiring and uplifting, and I want to try to create a video journal for Whistling Bee Farm, even if it’s just for my own enjoyment and records.
Spread More Kindness with Flowers: One of our missions from day one has been to spread kindness with our flowers. To accomplish this, we donate a portion of our weekly harvest to those in need during the growing season. Our donated flowers reach shelters, assisted living facilities, senior residences, and food pantries, bringing smiles to those communities. In 2026, I’d like to expand our flower donations. I was inspired by Roe and Sean of Sweet Briar Flowers, who have committed to donating a portion of their dahlia tuber sales to charities meaningful to them. I’d like to incorporate more charitable initiatives into our business model.
Stay Passionate About Growing: The challenges that growing a business alongside Mother Nature brings can be overwhelming. Sometimes the failures outweigh the triumphs, and each year, climate change is making farming more challenging. It’s easy to lose my passion and the joy of growing, the reasons I started farming in the first place. So, I’m aiming to slow down and savor every special moment throughout the season. I want my actions to be intentional, meaning making deliberate choices that align with what matters to me. And I aim to keep my actions directed towards my goals this year (I’m looking at you, flower arranging!).
Well, there you have it, my 2026 gardening goals! This year is about growing (literally and emotionally), looking towards the future, doing more of what I love, and slowing down to enjoy all that matters. What are your goals for the 2026 growing season?
THISTLE BE THE DAY 