Here are our top submissions, plus some amazing pictures of the gorgeous greenery that our followers grew in 2021.
As we enter 2022 and start planning out our spring planting game plans, we’ve been reflecting on some of our favorite gardening memories and big wins from the previous year. We asked our followers to submit their biggest gardening triumphs and success stories from the past year, and you all certainly delivered! We loved reading your responses and browsing through all the fantastic pictures of your plants and flowers! Pat yourselves on the back for an excellent 2021 gardening and planting season. You have certainly earned your fair share of bragging rights with all the amazing things you grew last year! We have a feeling this year will be the best one yet. Take a look at these awesome success stories from fellow Iowa gardeners—they’re giving us plenty of inspiration and motivation to get busy planting!
Planting a Legacy
“It may not be the biggest garden Dad has ever had, but quite an accomplishment. He can still plant and tend to his garden while living at an assisted living facility at 91 years old. With his Love of gardening he has grown everything from horseradish to sweet corn.” – Charlotte Richard
If At First You Don’t Succeed…
“I started my tomato and broccoli seeds inside for the first time this last year! The tomatoes did great! The broccoli died the first round, but they grew into nice plants the second time around!” – Savanna Bachus
A New Planting Companion
“My gardening win: finding a fellow gardener between the corn, tomatoes, onions, and weeds, then getting to keep her!!!” – Jackie Thurman
Planting Wild!
“I put in a "pocket prairie" in my vegetable garden. Drew in a lot of beneficials, and pest damage was minimal.” – Sarah Kimm
The Bigger, the Better
“My friend gave me 8 cherry tomato plants that she started from seed, and they went absolutely crazy in my raised garden bed! For reference as to how tall they are in this photo, I am just over 5 feet tall.” – Megan Alvarado
“My dinner plate lily came out as big as my granddaughter's pretty head.” – Margaret Montgomery
“My fiddle leaf fig is still alive! I love the height.” – Anita Michaels
“Our Sweet Candy Hybrid onions from Omaha, Texas… really produced!” – Rich Simmon
“One single cherry tomato that was pruned, caged, and made us sick of cherry tomatoes.” – Robbie Rowland Smith
Pajama Party in the Pumpkin Patch
“We had lots of fun times in the garden this year, but I think picking pumpkins (some of us in our pajamas) was our favorite!” – Stephanie Haycraft Boeding
Planting for the People
“I made a victory garden! My goal is to make a community garden that my whole neighborhood can use.” – Tyra Reaves
Catch a Wave
“My thriller, filler, and spiller—wave petunias gone wild! I sure didn’t want the flower season to end. Looking forward to spring already!” – Kathy Menz Leffler
Shoutouts To Our Favorite Planting Projects
“My one and only sunflower.” – Jeanine Riley Ingalls
“My indoor garden.” – Sarah Mueller “
The tomatoes I started from seed were the pride n’ joy of my garden.” – Cathy Clark
“New growth on my first rubber plant!” – Julie Grady
Planting a garden is such a rewarding experience. It truly is a form of meditation and mindfulness, connecting us to nature and improving our health and wellness. If you haven’t tried planting vegetables yet, now would be a perfect time to start! You’ll love the luxury of having your own fresh, local produce, ripe for the picking, right out of your backyard!
If you need any help getting all the plants, tools, and supplies to begin planting your 2022 garden, visit us at Wallace’s Garden Center! Our experts will be happy to answer any questions you may have about proper planting, and we’ve got plenty of recommendations for flowers and vegetable plants if it’s your first time planting a garden. We want nothing more than for your 2022 garden to be your most successful one yet!
