Today is the winter solstice – a moment to pause and reflect on your gardening year

Depending on when you come across this, the year might have recently changed: the winter solstice in the UK occurs at 9:19 AM on Saturday, December 21. We are moving away from the darkness. There's a brief moment of stillness before the daylight begins to lengthen again. As Katherine May highlights in her well-loved book, "Wintering," both sunrise and sunset stay consistent for several days. She notes, "The original meaning comes from the Latin root of the word solstice: sol stit, which means the sun has come to a standstill."

I've always held a strong appreciation for the winter solstice, perhaps even more than for Christmas itself. Although January can feel dreary and comes with pressure to make self-improvements, there's a silver lining: the days start getting longer. With more daylight, I can spend more time in the garden, and the plants benefit from the extra light. The first signs of spring, like snowdrops, the blossoms of witch hazel, and the delightful scent of sweet box, start to emerge.

In addition to the wonderful excitement that comes with gardening, I want to take this winter solstice as a time to look back on my gardening experiences from the past year.

In December, gardening tasks are a bit scarce, much like the flowers themselves. Traditional advice often suggests organizing the shed or cleaning your tools. This is a time when you can practically forget about the garden and browse through your stack of seed catalogs. While you could rake up fallen leaves, you might also choose to let them decompose naturally, creating some rich compost with minimal effort. You could trim your rose bushes, but there’s still plenty of time to tackle that in the coming months.

Though I'll likely spend some time gardening on one of the few days with less than eight hours of daylight, my priorities are more personal. This year, I think I've spent less time in the garden than ever before. Between my job, traveling, and taking care of the little one, I've only been able to squeeze in a few moments while the toddler plays with gravel. I plan to reconnect with gardening, much like I would with old friends.

I’ll bundle up and brew some tea, set out a cushion and perhaps a blanket on my favorite spot, and soak it all in. I’ll reflect on what went well and what didn’t. I’ll remind myself to improve my staking techniques next year. More importantly, I want to fully embrace this wonderful area that I’m fortunate to possess. I’ll pay attention to how the light shines and where it lands, observe which plants have thrived without my help, notice the cobwebs hanging like holiday ornaments, and see how the plants seem to interact with each other.

The year is coming to an end, and it feels like it flew by. Now is a great chance to pause and reconnect with what's important to you.