Well, it’s hard to believe that yet another Yates Spring Gardening Challenge has come to an end. It feels like this season has flown by.

I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you. If you are reading this blog then I am speaking to you. From memory I have been doing this challenge most years from 2015 onwards so that is going on 9 years now, and it is you that keeps bringing me back.

It’s the people that make this community the friendliest place on the net. I get excited when the Spring Challenge starts again as I know it is an opportunity to catch up with old friends from past seasons and to make new friends along the way.

There is only one you and you are pretty awesome!

I have enjoyed following all your garden journeys this year and like every year, you all have so much to offer. A year does not go by where I don’t learn something new.

It’s cool to be surrounded by positive people who spur you on when things don’t go right. People who understand the pain of losing a crop to blight and have the right words to pick you up and people who love and celebrate the things that you do, like the fluffy bum of a bumble bee poking out of foxglove or the joy a sunflower brings. We gardeners are a unique bunch, and this community is a place where we can be ourselves without being judged (well technically we are being judged for a prize but you get what I mean).

Thank you for bringing yourself to this challenge. For sharing a little bit of yourself and giving us all a window into your world. Thank you for being vulnerable at times and thank you for your can-do positive attitudes in the midst of some pretty horrible situations. It is you that makes this community what it is, whether it’s just for one year or whether you come back year on year.

This place is more than a competition for me. Quite a few years back there was this cool kid Alex who blogged and I loved reading his stuff. I was actively blogging that year and then we made a decision to sell our house so I stopped blogging as I simply didn’t have time. After a few weeks, I got a personal email from Sarah saying that she hopes I don’t mind but Alex had reached out through his mum and was worried about me and just wanted to check that I was ok. I will never forget that email and the fact that somebody halfway across the country who I had never met in person, cared enough to reach out.

To Sarah – thank you once again for all the work you do to make this place what it is. We all appreciate the encouragement and support and I’m in awe of your garden. You are far beyond a moderator or host. You are an active part of this community and make it what it is.

To Yates – thank you again for keeping this competition running. It is a special place for a lot of us and a friendly place in what can sometimes be an unfriendly world. You can be assured that you have my brand loyalty gained from being a part of this community. When I have a gardening need my first action is to buy your product and only look outside your brand if I can’t find it in your range. I think loyalty is a two-way street and I feel that as a brand you have been loyal to us gardeners for many years. I’m always promoting this challenge whenever I meet new gardeners and telling them to check it out.

Wishing you all the very best for the remainder of the season. Wishing you all a merry and safe Christmas/New Year. The blog stays open and I hope to find time to keep blogging this year so would be cool if others are still around but understand that life is busy. If you are not sticking around, hope to catch up next Spring!