How to Assess Your Garden’s Strengths and Weaknesses

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🌿A Soulful Check-In Before Summer Hits Full Swing

There’s something sacred about this moment in the garden—when the spring sowing is mostly done, the first fruits are beginning to ripen, and the long days of summer stretch out ahead. It’s not quite harvest time, not quite planting time. It’s a pause.

And that’s exactly why now is the perfect time to take stock.

We often rush into June without looking back at what May has taught us. But every garden—no matter how small or wild—is quietly full of lessons. This gentle check-in will help you celebrate what’s going well, notice what needs adjusting, and step into summer with renewed purpose and joy.

🪴 Why Take Time to Reflect?

We tend to think of gardens as places of action—sow, weed, water, repeat. But a flourishing garden begins with observation.

Assessing your garden’s strengths and weaknesses helps you:

• Prevent problems from repeating (hello, mystery wilting spot 👀)
• Celebrate your progress (you planted all those beds—go you!)
• Make better plans for June, July, and even next season

It’s not about perfection. It’s about being present.

📓 Grab a Journal or Garden Notebook

Whether you keep a full-blown garden journal or just jot notes on the back of a seed packet, now’s the time to reflect with intention.

I like to pour a glass of iced tea, sit in a shady corner, and just walk through these prompts with an open heart.

🌞 Garden Strengths & Weaknesses Assessment

Use the prompts below to guide your thinking. You can jot these into your notebook, print a copy (see CTA below), or simply use them as conversation starters if you garden with a spouse, child, or friend.

🌼 Strengths – What’s Working?

• Which crops are thriving with little effort?
• Where is your soil rich, dark, and crumbly?
• Which areas have healthy pest resistance or strong pollinator traffic?
• What brought you the most joy this month?
• What layout or companion plantings are working better than expected?

🎉 Celebrate your wins! They’re often hard-earned and easily overlooked.

🌿 Weaknesses – What Needs Attention?

• Which beds or containers are underperforming?
• Where are plants looking stressed—yellowing, wilting, stunted?
• Which areas dry out too quickly or stay too soggy?
• Are there places with poor sunlight or airflow?
• What pest pressures feel persistent despite treatment?

💡 Be kind here—weaknesses aren’t failures. They’re invitations to learn.

🛠️ Adjusting Your Plan

Once you’ve reflected, it’s time for action—but not a massive overhaul. A few small tweaks can make a big difference.

Here are some gentle adjustments you might make:

• Add mulch to sun-baked beds
• Pull struggling crops and direct sow new heat-lovers (like okra or amaranth)
• Shift shade cloths or trellises for better airflow
• Install a drip line in beds that dry out too quickly
• Companion plant near struggling crops for pest control or pollination

✨ Use what’s working to lift up what’s not.

🖨️ Free Printable: Garden Strength & Weakness Reflection Sheet

Want to take this to the next level? I made a printable worksheet to guide your mid-season check-in. Keep it tucked in your garden journal, binder, or even your Bible study notebook.

It includes space to:

• List strengths and weaknesses
• Jot seasonal observations
• Track action steps for June

💛 A Gentle Word to Close

If your garden doesn’t look the way you hoped yet—that’s okay. The work you’re doing matters. Every weed pulled, every seed sown, every moment spent paying attention is planting something deeper in your heart too.

Gardening teaches us that growth isn’t instant. That beauty can spring up in hard places. That with the Lord, seasons of lack can still be full of grace.

“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
—Galatians 6:9

Your summer garden starts with your presence today.
Take a moment, breathe in the scent of tomatoes and mulch, and smile. You’re doing wonderfully.

And pin this!