At the beginning of a new year, we often come up with resolutions to help us focus on what we most want to accomplish. Here are a few suggested gardening resolutions for 2026 to get you started.
1. SEEK OUT AND USE only gardening information that is appropriate for Louisiana. A lot of information available online is unsuitable for our area. This makes it easy to get confused about what plants will grow well here and the timing of gardening activities. Always look for gardening information focused on the unique climate of the Gulf Coastal area in hardiness zones 8 and 9.
The LSU Ag Center’s lawn and garden calendar offers Louisiana-specific information.
For accurate information on a wide variety of garden topics specifically prepared for Louisiana gardeners, check out the LSU AgCenter website at lsuagcenter.com. Click on “Lawn & Garden” for information on vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs, pests and more.
Want to ask local experts a specific question about gardening, such as identifying insect, weed or disease problems, plant recommendations or proper plant care? Email your LSU AgCenter extension horticulturist — there is one assigned to every parish. To find out who your extension horticulturist is and how to reach them, click on “Find Your Agent.”
2. CREATE A LOW-MAINTENANCE LANDSCAPE that doesn’t demand more time than you have to give it. Having a landscape that becomes a burden takes all the fun out of gardening. Regulate the number of flowerbeds and the size of your vegetable garden, as these areas have higher maintenance requirements.
3. KEEP WEEDS UNDER CONTROL before they become a major problem. Dealing with weeds is an unavoidable part of landscape maintenance. Landscapes where weeds are regularly dealt with tend to have less severe problems than those that are regularly allowed to get out of hand before control efforts are made.
4. USE MULCHES IN FLOWER BEDS, vegetable gardens, around shrubs and other appropriate areas. Most of us use organic mulches, such as pine straw, leaves, ground bark and processed wood products. Mulches are our best first line of defense in controlling weeds. They also conserve soil moisture and so reduce watering, look attractive, prevent soil compaction and moderate soil temperatures. There are few things we do as gardeners that are more beneficial than mulching.
Resolve to cut more flowers and bring them inside to enjoy.
PHOTO BY HEATHER KIRK-BALLARD
5. PICK MORE GARDEN FLOWERS. Most of us are loath to remove color from our landscapes by cutting flowers. But think of the brief moments you actually get to appreciate those flowers outside. Cut a few here and there, fill a vase and enjoy seeing the flowers up close every time you walk by inside.
6. VISIT AT LEAST ONE of the outstanding public gardens in south Louisiana. Besides the pleasure of appreciating their beauty, there are also lessons to learn about garden design and great plants that are well-adapted to our climate.
New Orleans City Park is home to a 10-acre Botanical Garden, the city’s first public classical garden. It’s one of a number of beautiful gardens in the area open for viewing.
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PROVIDED PHOTO FROM CITY PARK
In New Orleans, the Botanical Garden and Longue Vue House and Gardens come to mind. In Baton Rouge, the LSU AgCenter Botanic Garden at Burden and the Botanic Gardens in Independence Park are worth visiting.
Many plantations, such as Houmas House, Laura and Rosedown, have grounds illustrating classical antebellum landscaping. And Rip Van Winkle Gardens near New Iberia is well worth a visit.
7. GROW SOMETHING YOU CAN EAT. Gardening did not start out to create beautiful ornamental plants. The first gardens were utilitarian and provided food and medicines. There is still a special satisfaction that comes from producing food for your family from the garden.
8. TAKE BETTER CARE OF GARDEN TOOLS. I must admit, I’m truly the worst at taking care of my tools. Good-quality garden tools should last for many years. There are three important points: Clean and put your tools away when you finish using them, keep them sharpened, and occasionally apply a coat of oil.
9. TRY A FEW NEW PLANTS in the garden. Although you should expect some failures, this is how we find new and wonderful plants.
10. DON’T ADD UP THE REAL COSTS of growing tomatoes. When you add up materials such as organic matter, tools, fertilizer and pesticides along with time preparing beds, weeding, watering and harvesting, it’s a lot. But homegrown tomatoes are worth the effort.
Dump leaves, grass clippings and other yard waste into a compost pile.
By JILL PICKETT | Staff photographer
11. RECYCLE YARD WASTE in a compost pile. Composting is not complicated and may involve nothing more than piling up grass clippings, leaves and other landscape waste in an out-of-the-way area and allowing it to naturally decay. Homemade compost is the best thing we can add to the soil during bed preparation.
12. CORRECT LANDSCAPE PROBLEMS that you’ve just been living with: For instance, you may remove shrubs that are too large and require constant pruning and replace them with something smaller-growing. You know the kind of problems I’m talking about — deal with them.
Spend some time appreciating your garden and enjoying the results of your labors.
STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER
13. SPEND MORE TIME ENJOYING your garden. Sometimes, I will simply meander through my landscape, touching leaves and smelling flowers and appreciate what I have created. Relax — the garden does not always have to look like the cover of a magazine.
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