Brittany’s Reviews > Seed to Dust: A Gardener's Story > Status Update

December - Centered on rest and restraint. The garden is dormant, and Hamer shifts to observation and planning. There’s little to do, and that’s the point. As he notes, “Winter asks for patience,” reinforcing the value of pause and preparation.

October & November - The heart of autumn. October watches the garden settle down. Colors fade, pace slows, and Hamer’s work shifts to clearing, composting, and wrapping up what the season leaves behind. November is even quieter. Jobs are simple and steady, focused on protecting what will carry through winter. Together, these months are grounding.

September - Hamer focuses on the practical shift from growth to maintenance. The garden slows, and his attention turns to tidying, harvesting, and preparing for colder days. There’s less urgency and more reflection as he accepts the natural decline of the season. September is tricky, it requires knowing both when to work and when to let things rest.

July & August - These 2 months rushed by in a blur, much like the gardens Hamer describes; full, demanding, and alive with activity. July, he details the wild abundance of the season, growth outpaces control and the gardener learns to step back. August brings heat and heaviness, when tending becomes steady work and both plants and people feel the strain. This is the heart of the season and summer is all consuming.

May - The garden is alive and demanding—everything is growing fast, and there’s a sense of barely keeping up. Hamer reflects on this tension, reminding us that nature moves at its own pace, and our job is to meet it with care, not control. His observations connect the cycles of the garden to the rhythms of life and aging. May feels like a celebration of growth, beauty, and the privilege of tending to both.

April - “Gardening is not a duty, it is a love affair. You do not have to garden, you get to garden.” As buds swell and birds return, Hamer’s narrative emphasizes the need for patience and attentiveness to nature. His writing is calm and thoughtful, mixed with gardening advice and personal stories. Gardening is something to be grateful for, not just a chore.

March - As winter recedes, Hamer reflects on the quiet yet powerful shifts in nature, as the first signs of spring emerge. March is filled with observations of growth and decay, emphasizing themes of patience and renewal. Hamer’s writing is contemplative and reminded me to slow down and appreciate the small but significant rhythms of life.

February - Hamer captures the quiet tension between the dormant winter and the promise of spring. While the garden has not yet woken, he observes its subtle changes—the hidden stirrings beneath the surface, the silent transitions that mark time in ways that often go unnoticed. He acknowledges the quiet, often overlooked work of a gardener—the waiting, the planning, the patience before nature can take its course.

January - Hamer beautifully captures the stillness of winter. His poetic reflections on the dormant garden and the passage of time offer a meditative look at patience, aging, and nature’s rhythms. Through gentle prose, Hamer reminds us that even in the quiet months, there’s beauty and potential waiting to unfold. A perfect read to begin the year with mindfulness and appreciation for life’s simpler moments.