Spring is nothing if not overwhelming, but as a rainy Memorial Day weekend gives my gardens a long-overdue drink, I’m finally pausing to reflect. The season has been a blur of encores, chasing early spring blooms across times zones, from Italy to Florida, and then back to New York.

Wishing everyone a happy return of the light! This weekend was the winter solstice and the final new moon of 2025, which means the darkest weekend of the year has passed. Just knowing that today the light starts to increase again makes me itch to get back out in the garden.

Autumn marks a turning point as our gardens wind down for the season and prepare for dormancy. And here are some tasks to help prepare your garden for slumber.

Now that it’s late summer, it’s a good time to slow down and take a deep breath, show gratitude for the warmth and light, and take stock of all we’ve done and all we still want to accomplish in the remaining growing season.