Six years ago, when I started my first really garden, it never occurred to me that what I was planting would change my life. At first, the biggest change was in my mental health. It was the beginning of the pandemic, we had moved across the country and I didn’t know anyone except family, and I needed a hip replacement. It wasn’t an easy time, but planting corms and tubers and tending to them as they grew gave me a new sense of purpose and helped to lift me out of the ever present sadness I felt at the time.

The holidays have come and gone, and my garden is dried and brown; looking like it will never come back. I used to dread these long, cold winter months, but after I read a wonderful book about trees ("The Overstory") and the need for all of Nature to take time for rest, I realized that this time of year should be savored, even treasured.

Books about flowers and gardening are especially treasured this time of year because now is when all the grand plans for next years garden are in full swing. I rely on my favorite flower authors to spark my imagination, answer my questions and inspire me to have a bigger, healthier and more spectacular garden every year. Here are a few of my very favorites.

Personal gifts and cards are more appreciated then ever these days. Here’s a simple way to create a lovely card or piece of small art that would make anyone smile.

•Start by taking some close up photos (your phone is perfect for this) of flowers in your garden, a park or even a garden center store. Make sure to get as close up as you can, and in good light (shade that isn’t too dark). Try shooting some leaves that you find interesting as well.

Welcome to my new flower-filled world! The redesign of KareyBancroft.com has been a labor of love and I’m so excited to share it.

I like to think of my brand as a lovely “luxury picnic” with all the flowers I love to grow combined with the happy checks, dots, plaids and stripes that help create the whimsical style I love. Now I’m not only making art, but have designed fun new products that feature my collages.

I’ve had a camera in my hand since I was 8. My dad bought my sisters and I each our own Kodak Instamatic camera; a decision he came to regret when we would shoot hundreds, maybe thousands, of pictures of our cat Butterscotch and then hand him the film to get developed. I still have a photo album from 5th grade filled with black and white shots of school field trips, family vacations, and the cat.