It happens every year… a killing frost followed by winter. You can count on losing the garden when the colder weather hits. And you can feel a sense of loss during the first weeks after the end of the gardening season.

There’s still so much to do to wind up the growing season, and so we gardeners keep busy. Getting everything ready for winter takes some time and effort. There’s bed cleanup, supplies, and tools to put away, leaves to rake and so much more.

Read: Preparing Your Yard and Garden for Winter

But once we’ve finished our outdoor chores, there’s that feeling of emptiness that hangs over us. The flowers are gone, the vegetable patch is bare, and the wildlife has disappeared. If you love spending time in your garden each day, losing the garden feels like losing a friend.

So how do you get through these first few weeks when you can no longer run out to the garden to pick a bouquet or grab some herbs for dinner? Here are five ways to move past the sense of loss after the gardening season ends.

5 Things to do When the Garden’s Gone…

Reflect

Start by reflecting on what went right and wrong this year. Pull out your garden planner and dig through what happened in the garden. Now is the time to do this while everything is still fresh in your mind (especially if you don’t keep good notes).

You might find it helpful to wander through your yard and garden to get a clearer picture of what your garden areas looked like this past growing season.

What should you be looking for as you reflect on your growing year? First, separate your garden into different categories. For example… the cutting garden, the vegetable patch, your garden projects, the flower borders, and container gardens. Then ask yourself these questions for each area.

• What grew well and what didn’t?
• What would you like to grow more of or less of?
• Do you need to expand any beds or borders?
• Did you accomplish your projects? If not, why?
• What outcome did you have from your garden? Did you have enough flowers to share? Produce to spare?
• Do you want more garden containers or fewer?

As you look back on the growing season, you’ll get an overall sense of how your garden fared. How it benefited you and others. We grow our gardens for us, definitely. But many of us grow our gardens to bless others as well. We grow vegetables hoping that we’ll have extra to share with those who can’t garden. We grow a cutting garden to provide beauty for us, but also to bring a smile to others when we give away our bouquets.

Reflecting on this past growing season will give you a better idea of the pathway forward for next year. Be sure to jot down your thoughts so that next spring you’ll be well prepared for the new growing season.

Plan and Dream

After reflecting on this year’s garden, now is a good time to plan for next year. This doesn’t mean you need to plan out your garden beds. For now, you just want to use your insights from the reflection phase to outline your goals for next year.

What major changes would you like to see? More flowers and less grass? You might need to plan for some raised beds. Do you need to replace or repair any structures? Is it time for building a new fence or adding a deck? Maybe you want to add a greenhouse. It might be time to redo your sprinkler system.

This is also an opportunity to dream about what you would like to see. You can continue to fine-tune your plans for next year’s garden. But take this time to envision what your garden could look like next gardening season. Dream a little, even if your ideas seem far-fetched. For example, I would love to expand my cutting garden. If it were up to me, I would remove half the grass in our backyard and plant more flowers.

The end of the gardening season is your opportunity to imagine what can be in your garden. It costs nothing to dream, and it just might open the doors to a new adventure.

Find a Fun Indoor Activity

Part of our sense of loss is that we have more time on our hands. Most gardeners spend several hours a day enjoying and working in the garden. Fill that time with a comparable indoor activity that provides a sense of gardening.

This is a perfect time to learn a new craft that can benefit your garden. Or maybe you’ve been wanting to learn about a new plant. You have more time for research now. Maybe it’s time to get your garden supplies organized. When we’re in the middle of the gardening season, we don’t have time for these activities.

Here are some ideas to get you started…

• Put together a garden puzzle
• Organize your seeds
• Make a winter wreath
• Read a new garden book
• Clean up your garden shed
• Create a bouquet from store-bought flowers
• Make and send garden-themed cards to your friends
• Sew a garden apron
• Make a new throw to use on your porch (knit, quilt, or sew)
• Find a new recipe to make with your frozen produce
• Craft a tissue paper flower garland to hang
• Use your preserved flowers to make gifts tags for the holidays
• Add some decorative details to your favorite garden containers
• Create a winter vignette for your porch

Get Outside

Just because the garden is gone doesn’t mean you’re stuck indoors. For many of us, part of the blessing of our garden is being outdoors. And going from very active to sedentary is not healthy. Plan some regular outdoor activities in your schedule.

Try these outdoor activities…

1. Go on regular walks in your neighborhood.
2. Head to your local park for a bike ride.
3. Take a nature hike and look for natural materials to use in crafting.
4. Enjoy some local seasonal outdoor activities such as fun runs and tree lighting ceremonies.
5. Find an Arboretum or nature preserve where you can enjoy the winter plants and wildlife.

Become an Indoor Gardener

During the summer and active growing season, we rarely have time for our house plants. Now is the time to focus on improving your indoor gardening skills. If you’re a gardener you love to grow, whether indoors or out .

Use the end of the gardening season to create an indoor garden. Plants help to improve air quality and they can brighten your living areas. Here are a few indoor growing activities…

Force Bulbs

Forcing indoor bulbs such as paperwhites, amaryllis and hyacinths can provide flowers for you to enjoy all winter long. You can purchase many types of pre-chilled bulbs to plant. Plant them all at once or spread them out so you’ll have continued blooming.

Improve the Health of Your Plants

If it’s been a while since you worked with your houseplants then it might be time for a little maintenance. You might need to transplant them into larger pots. Or maybe you need to divide your plants. Consider adding some soil enhancement and fertilizer. It’s time to show these forgotten plants a little love.

Start an Herb Garden

Herbs are very easy to grow. If you use a lot of fresh herbs in cooking then this would be a great indoor garden activity. Keep in mind that your herbs will need plenty of light. To keep them from getting leggy, keep pinching them back and using them in your cooking.

Create a Terrarium

Growing a terrarium is a fun way to enjoy green plants in small spaces. There are so many options for growing plants in an enclosed environment. Terrariums also make a fun gift to share with others. These mini-gardens are a great way to enjoy some greenery. You can find the directions for making a terrarium here: 3 Indoor Winter Garden Ideas

Get a Head Start on Your Spring Flowers

With the right tools, you can start growing hardy annuals midwinter. If you have an area where you can set up a grow light you can get your seeds growing for next spring. Transplant hardy annuals into your garden about 6 weeks before the last frost. Having transplants ready to go will give you a jump on the growing season.

Read: How to Make an Amazing Garden With Hardy Annuals

You can also start cool-season vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. Growing these seeds indoors will give you larger transplants to move outdoors in the late winter. Keep in mind that having grow lights is a must. If you try to grow hardy annuals and cool-season veggies in a window, they will grow too tall and leggy. This means you won’t have sturdy plants to move into your garden next spring.

The end of the gardening season can feel like such a loss when it first happens. But you can enjoy the extra time you have when the garden season winds down.

Take the time to reflect on all the joys your garden has brought. Plan for next year’s garden. Stay active by spending time outdoors. Finally, fill your extra hours with creative garden activities that can bless you, your garden, and others.

When you follow these five steps, you can look beyond the loss. You’ll see that this time of winter is not only beneficial to your garden, but to you as well. And you’ll be more energized and motivated to start the new gardening season next year.