Christina Tyzzer is sharing a look back at the gardening year with us as we move into fall.

We garden in Indiana in Zone 6a. It has been a hot, dry year, and so a bit challenging, but we learn so much through these challenges. Here is a look at our 2022 garden.

The vegetable garden is promising a great harvest in a few short months! We did learn that the tomatoes cannot be tied to our 6-foot fence next year, as those red globes are just too enticing to the chickens! They got all of the first fruit by pecking through the fence.

The ‘Queen Lime’ zinnias (Zinnia elegans ‘Queen Lime’, annual) bring in plenty of pollinators and beneficial insects . . .

. . . and make beautiful bouquets to drool over.

The dahlias (Dahlia variabilis, Zones 8–10 or as tender bulbs) provided the biggest challenge, with many days over 90°F.

This praying mantis on a “Brown Sugar” dahlia didn’t mind the heat.

And now that this long, hot season is drawing to a close, we are so thankful for what the garden has given us. It continues to provide for the winter table and to give us delightful (albeit spooky) fall decorations with beautifully delicious winter squash (Waltham butternut, spaghetti, and Musque de Provence pumpkins). I am now ready for the cleanup to begin, and I have many improvements planned for the 2023 season!

If you are looking back on the spring and summer of gardening as we move into fall, we’d love to see pictures of what worked (or didn’t) in your garden. Send them in to the GPOD!

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

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