Des de fa dos mesos, la meva mare cuida un jardí petit a casa.

It means for two months now or since two months ago.

This is a very common Catalan time expression for something that started in the past and is still continuing now:

• des de fa dos mesos = for two months
• des de fa un any = for a year
• des de fa molt de temps = for a long time

A useful contrast:

• des de
  • starting point: des de dilluns = since Monday
• des de fa
  • length of time: des de fa dos mesos = for two months

Because Catalan normally uses the present tense for an action that began in the past and still continues now, especially with expressions like des de fa.

So:

• Des de fa dos mesos, la meva mare cuida...

is the natural Catalan way to express what English often says with the present perfect continuous:

• My mother has been taking care of... for two months

This is one of the big differences between English and Catalan.

Cuida comes from cuidar, which means to take care of, to look after, or to tend.

In this sentence, it means something like:

• takes care of a small garden
• tends a small garden

With plants or a garden, cuidar suggests regular care: watering, maintaining, looking after it, etc.

In Catalan, it is very common to use the definite article with possessives:

• la meva mare = my mother
• el meu pare = my father
• la nostra casa = our house

So unlike English, Catalan often says the equivalent of the my mother.

This is normal and standard. The article is usually kept with family members and many other nouns.

Because in Catalan, adjectives often come after the noun:

• un jardí petit = a small garden
• una casa gran = a big house
• un llibre interessant = an interesting book

Putting the adjective before the noun is sometimes possible, but it can sound more literary, emphatic, or slightly different in tone. For a basic descriptive phrase, un jardí petit is the normal order.

Because un is the indefinite article: a small garden.

It suggests the garden is being mentioned as something not already identified for the listener. If you said el jardí petit, that would mean the small garden, referring to a specific one already known in the conversation.

So here:

• un jardí petit = a small garden

is the natural choice.

Here a casa means at home.

So the end of the sentence means that the garden is at home / at their home.

This is a very common expression in Catalan:

• som a casa = we are at home
• es queda a casa = he/she stays at home

Notice that Catalan often uses a casa without an article in this fixed meaning.

Not exactly.

• a casa usually means at home
• a la casa would mean at the house / in the house in a more literal, specific sense

In your sentence, a casa sounds natural because it refers to the home setting in general, not to a specific building as an object.

Yes. Catalan is fairly flexible with word order.

For example, you could also say:

• La meva mare cuida un jardí petit a casa des de fa dos mesos.

That still makes sense. But putting Des de fa dos mesos at the beginning highlights the duration right away.

So the original sentence is natural because it gives the time frame first.

Sometimes yes, but not here if you want to keep the meaning clear.

Catalan often drops subject pronouns like jo, tu, ell, etc., because the verb ending gives enough information. But la meva mare is not just a pronoun—it tells us who the person is.

If you remove it:

• Des de fa dos mesos, cuida un jardí petit a casa.

then the verb cuida only tells us he/she/it takes care, not specifically my mother.

So in this sentence, la meva mare is needed unless the subject was already understood from previous context.

Yes. A very common alternative is:

• Fa dos mesos que la meva mare cuida un jardí petit a casa.

This also means:

• My mother has been taking care of a small garden at home for two months

Both patterns are common:

• Des de fa dos mesos, ...
• Fa dos mesos que ...

They are very close in meaning, though the structure is different.