The things I always forget about the garden (every single spring)

Flower bed in garden against wooden fence, packed with flowering plants — (Image credit: Lara Winter)

Home decorator Lara Winter is one of Ideal Home's Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on revamping a 200 year old cottage to make it right for modern family life. See the rest of her articles here.

Every year, without fail, I head into spring feeling quietly confident. “This is the year I’ll be organised. Thoughtful. Strategic, even. I’ll remember what I planted, where things are coming up, and I’ll definitely stay on top of everything.”

And then… within about a week, it all unravels. Because it turns out, there are a few things I forget every single year.

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1. I forget how much compost I’ll need

I never buy enough. Not even close.

I’ll pick up a few bags thinking, that should do it, and then halfway through planting I’m scraping the bottom of the last one, realising I’ve messed up again. Which usually means you will find me digging holes somewhere behind the house, trying to get a bit of weed-free soil to fill the gaps.

Every. Single. Year.

You would think I’d learn, but no. I always underestimate just how much compost you get through when you’re topping up beds, planting new things, filling pots… it disappears alarmingly quickly.

What I’ve learned: Buy more than you think you need. Then add another bag. You will use it.

Flower bed beside wooden fence, dug up ready for planting

2. I forget what’s already underground

This one is particularly painful.

Every spring, I spot a gap in a flowerbed and think, perfect, I’ll just pop something in there. Out comes the trowel…and within seconds I hear that awful crunch. Yep. Straight through a bulb I’d completely forgotten about.

It’s like a slightly chaotic game of gardening roulette, except the bulbs never win.

What I’ve learned: If you planted bulbs in autumn, assume they are everywhere. That “empty” space probably isn’t empty.

Woman holding spade, standing on stone wall

3. I forget how expensive plants are

There’s always a moment where I wander into a garden centre, full of good intentions and then immediately start doing mental maths that I don’t enjoy.

How is one small plant…that much? I’d love to fill every bed in one go, but realistically, it adds up very quickly. So I’ve learned to be a bit more strategic. Supermarket plants, reduced sections, end-of-season bargains – that’s where you’ll find me. I recently found some beautiful terracotta pots for 50% off, which felt like a genuine win.

What I’ve learned: You don’t have to do it all at once. A garden can build slowly and bargains make it far more enjoyable.

Trolley full of pots, plants and compost

4. I forget what’s a weed (and what isn’t)

This one is less “oops” and more…oh no.

At the start of the season, everything looks vaguely similar. Tiny green shoots popping up everywhere, all full of potential. Some of them are weeds. Some of them are things I planted. Some of them are self-seeded surprises.

Do I always know which is which? I absolutely do not. There have been multiple occasions where I’ve confidently cleared a patch, only to realise later that I’ve just removed something I actually wanted to keep.

What I’ve learned: If in doubt, wait. It’s much easier to pull something out later than it is to undo an over-enthusiastic clear-out.

Raised planter with stone border in garden, in front of wooden fenced off field with two horses

5. I forget that it’s all a bit of a process

I think this might be the biggest one.

Every spring, I expect everything to happen quickly. For the garden to fill out, for the beds to look lush, for everything to just…come together.

But it never works like that. Some plants thrive, some don’t. Some areas look amazing, others feel a bit unfinished. And a lot of it is just figuring things out as you go.

Again and again.

View of child playhouse in garden with backdrop of rolling hilly fields

The bit I’m trying to remember

Despite all of this – the compost shortages, the accidental bulb massacres, the mystery weeds – I still love this time of year.

Because there’s something quite reassuring about starting again. About not getting it perfectly right. About slowly building something that changes every year.

So yes, I’ll probably forget all of this again next spring. But maybe that’s part of the charm.

A slightly chaotic garden…for a slightly chaotic life.

Lara is originally from Germany, where she studied Special Educational Needs before moving to England in 2016. She now runs the instagram account What A View Cottage which has over 240,000 followers, who tune in to be inspired by her modern take on rustic style.

Lara has always had a creative streak and the urge to experiment with colours and different layouts made her rearrange the furniture of her childhood bedroom constantly. These days she lives with her husband, their two sons and their fluffy, ginger cat Gizmo in a modern cottage in Wiltshire. She loves to create cosy, lived in spaces with lots of texture and the use of colour. Her specialty is to give rooms that cottage feel with a modern and sometimes unexpected twist and she's not afraid to mix interior styles.