The Good Gardener Retrospective

Decide what to plant, tend and harvest next

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Sow

What should we start or experiment with?

We could try pair programming to share knowledge more effectively
I'd like to experiment with weekly tech sharing sessions
Maybe we could start rotating the Scrum Master role
Grow

What do we want to continue investing in?

Our daily stand-ups are working well, but we can make them even better
The code review process is improving, so let's keep refining it
Our documentation efforts are starting to pay off
Harvest

What have we gained?

Our new deployment process has reduced errors by 50%
Team morale has significantly improved since our last retrospective
We've successfully onboarded three new team members

What is the Good Gardener Retrospective?

The Good Gardener Retrospective uses the planting cycle to look at your team's work. The board has three columns: Sow for new ideas and experiments you want to start, Grow for practices already underway that need more care, and Harvest for the results you've already gained. Thinking in seasons suits teams working on longer-term improvement. Not every idea pays off within a sprint, and the Grow column gives you a place to keep backing something that's showing promise before it has results to point to. It also makes it easier to admit that some seeds won't come up. Because the columns run from first idea to finished result, the conversation covers both where the team is investing its effort and what that effort has returned. That helps when the team feels busy but can't say what it has to show for it.

Good Gardener Retrospective Format

Sow

What should we start or experiment with?

This column is for new ideas and experiments the team wants to start. Ask what each one would need, such as time, tools or support, and remind people that new ideas take a while to show results.

Grow

What do we want to continue investing in?

Focus on practices or initiatives already underway that are showing promise. Ask what they need to keep improving, and be honest about any that get attention without moving forward.

Harvest

What have we gained?

This column is for results: the wins and outcomes the team's work has produced. Celebrate them, then ask which ones came from earlier experiments so you know what's worth planting again.

When to use this retrospective

  • When you want to talk about longer-term improvement, not only the last sprint
  • During organizational change, when you need to balance new initiatives against work already underway
  • When the team needs a fresh way to look at its progress
  • When you have several experiments running and need to decide which ones to keep backing

Suggested icebreaker questions

  • If your team were a garden, what kind of plant would each person be and why?
  • What's your favorite season, and how does it reflect your approach to work?

Want a warm-up your team plays, not just answers out loud? Browse free icebreakers →

Ideas and tips for your retrospective meeting

  • Explain the three stages with a quick gardening example so everyone knows what belongs in each column
  • For each Sow item, ask what it needs to take root, whether that's time, people or tools
  • Give Grow items more than one sprint before you judge them. Some take longer to show results
  • If your team's work has seasons, such as a release cycle or a busy quarter, use them to decide when to sow and when to harvest
  • Accept that some seeds won't grow. A dropped experiment still taught the team something

Frequently asked questions

What is the Good Gardener Retrospective?
It's a three-column retrospective based on gardening: Sow (what to start or try), Grow (what to keep investing in) and Harvest (what you've gained). It helps your team see its work as a cycle from new idea to result.
How do you run a Good Gardener Retrospective?
Introduce the three columns, then give everyone a few minutes to add notes privately. Start the discussion with Harvest to recognize results, move on to Grow and Sow, and finish by agreeing which seeds to plant and who will tend them.
When should you use the Good Gardener Retrospective?
Use it when your team is working on improvements that take more than one sprint to pay off, or when you want to review a quarter of experiments and decide which to keep.
How is Good Gardener different from Start Stop Continue?
Both ask what to start and what to keep going. Good Gardener has no Stop column and adds Harvest, so the team also looks at the results its earlier work produced.
How long does the Good Gardener Retrospective take?
With only three columns, it fits comfortably in 45–60 minutes.

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