2024 Garden Year In Review + My 2025 Garden Resolutions🪴🍾

[@ChicagoGardener]

I forgot some other incredible things! I got to appear on MeTV back in February and become a contributor on Epic Gardening videos!!

[@GardenGrown]

Wow that is amazing!!! Major goals!

[@tracythomas343]

It made me smile when you said the cats ran out at you, knowing how much you love cats. ❤️🐈

[@ChicagoGardener]

I have so many photos and videos of them!

[@lauraw.1289]

I loved this video! It was nice to hear someone else who has the same gardening "issues" lol. I still am not sure I can turn away free plants or limit the number of pots I plant up. Your gardens are amazing and inspirational too. Happy New Year!

[@ChicagoGardener]

Every winter I tell myself I will give away plants and not use small pots and yet every spring it happens!

[@tmbrye2]

You're an amazing gardener! Love that field of hydrangea you ran through and the kittens! Wishing you an awesome 2025! Can't wait to see your new garden!

[@ChicagoGardener]

Wishing you an amazing 2025 as well!!

[@debbyL2210]

I loved this video and am new to your channel this past year. You are quite the successful rooftop gardener. Happy 2025! I’m making my garden resolutions and writing them down today and tomorrow. You’ve inspired me! ❤

[@ChicagoGardener]

I’m so happy to hear that!! I love writing them down and then looking back at the end of each year.

[@blynbb]

I’d love to see more tours of rooftop deck gardens!

[@ChicagoGardener]

I have a playlist of tours on my channel! I’d recommend July or August to see the garden at its peak!

[@MarianneHuff]

Happy New Year ! Can’t wait to see your gardens in 2025.

[@ChicagoGardener]

Happy New Year! I'm so excited for next year.

[@lyndamello8857]

Good video recap of 2024. I am so sorry for your loss! I know how you feel. I can’t wait to see what is in store for you in 2025. See you next year! 🎉 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@ChicagoGardener]

Thank you. I hope you have a wonderful New Year!

[@douellette7960]

I think you'll find blueberries and figs (and strawberries of course) grow really well in containers. Blueberries are beautiful in bloom and also have great fall color most years. Your birds might enjoy the fruit too. Figs will probably produce fruit the first year and have cool looking leaves but would need winter protection. Happy New Year!

[@ChicagoGardener]

Do you have any tips of blueberries not getting blight? I’ve tried a few plants and they do well all year but they all got blight the following spring and died 😩

[@douellette7960]

@@ChicagoGardener yes Botrytis blight on blueberries can be a problem but don't give up yet. Their flowers are most susceptible when it's cool and wet for a few days. Pruning out any dead wood, no matter how small, before bloom helps. Spores can def blow in from nearby infected plants (eg strawberries). Keeping foliage dry during bloom would help too. Some highbush varieties are less prone to Botrytis and other types of blight so might be worth checking that out.

[@therealsoutherngarden]

I’m looking forward to seeing you fill up the deck with gorgeous plants!! Happy New Year Bethany!!💚💚

[@ChicagoGardener]

Happy New Year!

[@primadonna1208]

Totally unrelated, but you look lovely!

[@ChicagoGardener]

Thank you so much!!

[@lisajelle714]

Fun video, very inspiring! Congrats on your new garden space- it looks lovely. From the video, I wasn’t sure, but it looks almost completely covered? What will the sun level be like for growing fruiting plants? Happy 2025 to you, your husband, and all of your viewers!🎉

[@ChicagoGardener]

Yes! I'm so excited to have an outdoor area with some shade. The slats on the covering can be opened or closed completely. I'm going to go for more part sun or shade plants. If I'm not on the deck, I plan to keep the slats open, but when I am I'll close them if it's hot!

[@estreetangel]

You really accomplished a lot in 2024. I've really enjoyed it all, especially your garden travels. I was so jealous of you being ambushed by kittens. lol You forgot to mention being on METV, or was that a 2023 thing? I'm very confused about your house. I can't wrap my head around how the rooms/floors are configured, like having your kitchen on the 2nd floor.

[@ChicagoGardener]

OMG I did forget MeTV!!! Our house layout is weird, especially since I'm used to surburban houses which are much wider. The new deck is on the top of the garage, which would for sure be story 2. The door from the garage to the house though does have steps, so I think technically the kitchen is floor 1.5. Then the other two gardens on both on the same level, the roof of the house, but one is on the east and one is on the west. I hope that helps!

[@RobinGardens]

Try the Socrates cucumber....an expensive hybrid, but it was wildly productive in my Chicagoland garden in 2024. Happy New Year 🎉🎆🥳🥂

[@ChicagoGardener]

Adding that to my list, thank you!

[@stanleystone49]

I love your plans for spring I would love having kitties all over me too greetings from my butterfly garden in ft Lauderdale 😊

[@ChicagoGardener]

I imagine you get to keep gardening all year long in Florida!

[@stanleystone49]

Yes it was 80 degrees today

[@lilacmile]

Surely those pigeons have a lot to do with pest control. Attracting birds [and other critters where possible and beneficial] to one’s garden is one of the most effective pest controls. The trick then becomes maintaining that balance.

[@ChicagoGardener]

Omg I didn’t even think of them as being a reason, but you’re totally right!

[@yesidtac7863]

Quedaron muy bien

[@ChicagoGardener]

Thank you!

[@aileenkoeppen4817]

I am a new subscriber. I live in the suburbs north of the city. I am so glad to find a gardening channel in my growing zone. Can you please explain what a Horticulture certification is? I became a master gardener last year. Is it similar?

[@ChicagoGardener]

It's a bit different but I think covers similar topics. My certification was from the University of Illinois and I had to take courses through their Crop Sciences department. I am not a master gardener, but I can say I have my horticulture certification! I think the master gardener programs are probably a little more specific to the area they're located in. The classes I took were a bit more general.

[@tonypena1]

Do you store some harvest of vegetables? Would like to hear about that

[@ChicagoGardener]

I don't, but only because I haven't grown enough that they don't get eaten immediately! Next year though, with more space, I might be able to store some.

[@ilonagardens]

❤👍❤

[@ilonagardens]

Happy New Year 🥳🍷🍾

[@kimredden2172]

I live in Ontario Canada and I think our climate is pretty similar. Can you grow hydrangeas in pots and leave them out over winter?

[@ChicagoGardener]

When ive left hydrangeas out before they’ve died, but it was because the soil stayed to wet and the roots rotted. I’m testing overwintering some this year in a plastic greenhouse on my deck. So it’ll still get cold but they’re covered from the rain. We’ll see in a few months if it worked!

[@kimredden2172]

@@ChicagoGardener Thankyou so much for answering me back. I do have a greenhouse but it is not heated and is pretty much the same temp as outside, I guess I could experiment as well and see how it goes.

[@Peoniesandpinks]

Come back east!

[@ChicagoGardener]

I hope to this summer!

[@MartinHouseFlowers]

Happy New Year Bethany! My husband and I went to Maine and Cape Cod for our anniversary in October, stayed in Chatham overnight and loved it! It's on my bucket list to go in June/July during the hydrangea festival. BTW I took your advice on the China Asters and ordered a few packs of seeds to add to my cut flower garden. If you're ever interested in visiting my 3 year old garden (going on 4), 1-1/2 hours southwest of Chicago, I'd love to give you a tour! I have a small KZbin garden channel and would love to meet you in person! I loved seeing you with the Grow With Me Gardening Guys and also love seeing you on Epic Gardening Videos! Thank you for all your videos! 💚🥳Anne @MartinHouseFlowers

[@ChicagoGardener]

Oh I wish we’d gotten to stay at Chatham! We just went for a day to see all the hydrangeas. Which city are you in Illinois?

[@MartinHouseFlowers]

@ I’m in north end Dekalb/Sycamore.