It’s that time of year to make New Year’s resolutions, or at least consider some lofty goals for 2010.

Some years, that’s as far as I get. Other times, I recycle an old resolution that still has merit. But if you think about it, the garden is the place to make New Year’s resolutions really stick. In the garden, simple changes can make a big difference over a long time.

Here are a few of mine for this year:

- I will pay more attention to the size to which plants grow and believe the tag when it says “spreading habit.”

- I will weed regularly — not wait until they’re so tall that they swallow up my gardening tools when I lay them down.

- I will make entries in my garden journal starting in January, instead of waiting until March and then trying to remember the weather and blooming dates.

- I will not buy a new flower, shrub or tree until I have a plan for it in the garden.

- I will sharpen and clean my garden tools so they look spiffy and work better.

- I will sit in my garden and enjoy it and not jump up to rearrange containers.

- I will wear sunscreen.

- I will start a worm bin with my kitchen scraps and a compost pile for leaves and plant debris.

- I will use more pollen-producing flowering plants to attract beneficial insects. That way, I’ll keep the good guys around longer to eat the bad bugs and pollinate plants.

- I will learn what all the good guys look like.

- I will accept a few holes in my plants but tour the garden regularly to identify if a problem is getting out of control and I need to break out an organic pesticide.

- I will apply to make my little garden a certified wildlife habitat with the National Wildlife Federation by making sure I provide animals with food sources, water, cover and places to raise young, as well as using sustainable gardening techniques.

- I will prune my maples, transplant my overgrown container plants and divide my perennials when I’m supposed to.

- I will fertilize more than once a year. My rationalization — that since organic fertilizers are slow-release, they last forever — makes some of my plants cry abuse.

- I will plant more things to eat. Edibles anywhere in the garden feed the body and the soul.

- I will stop rationalizing that my plant habit is better than gambling, clothes shopping or smoking.

- I will practice what I preach in this column.

Happy New Year from the Mountain Gardener!

Jan Nelson, a California certified nursery professional at Plant Works in Ben Lomond, will answer questions about gardening in the Santa Cruz Mountains. E-mail her at janis001@aol.com.