“The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They are for ever planting and for ever digging up. They always look forward to doing better than they have ever done before. “Next year…” they say… Vita Sackville-West “Country Notes 1939” Next year, indeed. Next year will always be better for gardening. The spring and summer will be perfect with moderate temperatures and rainfall, low humidity, healthy soil, and an abundance of pollinators. Flowers will bloom prolifically; leaf spot will be minimal; and the Japanese beetle count will be low. Weeds will disappear, too. As Steven Tyler of Aerosmith famously sang, “Dream On.” The truth is that our temperatures and rainfall are totally unpredictable; our summer humidity is always miserably high; and plant disease, insect pests, and weeds will return with the change of season. Should we be discouraged now? We should not. We should remain hopeful because winter is the ti...