Etter hvert som vekstsesongen går, blir hageparsellen grønnere.

Etter hvert som is a fixed expression meaning as, as time goes on, or gradually as something develops.

In this sentence, it introduces a change that happens progressively over time:

Etter hvert som vekstsesongen går = as the growing season goes on / as the growing season progresses

A useful way to think of it is:

• etter hvert = gradually / little by little
• som = as

Together, they often introduce a clause showing gradual change over time.

Because etter hvert som functions as a set phrase introducing a subordinate clause.

You usually need the whole expression:

• Etter hvert som våren kom, ble det varmere.
• Etter hvert som barna ble eldre, fikk de mer ansvar.

If you say only etter hvert, that usually means gradually or eventually, but it does not work the same way grammatically.

Compare:

• Etter hvert ble hagen grønnere. = Gradually, the garden became greener.
• Etter hvert som sesongen går, blir hagen grønnere. = As the season goes on, the garden becomes greener.

So som is needed because a full clause follows.

In Norwegian, gå is often used more broadly than go in English. It can describe time passing, progress, or the course of an event.

So:

• dagen går = the day passes / goes by
• tiden går = time passes
• sesongen går = the season goes on / progresses

In this sentence, vekstsesongen går means the growing season is continuing or unfolding over time.

This is completely natural in Norwegian, even if English would often prefer passes, progresses, or goes on.

Because blir shows change, while er usually shows a state.

• er grønn = is green
• blir grønnere = becomes greener

The sentence is about the garden plot changing over time, not just describing its condition at one moment. So blir is the natural choice.

Compare:

• Hageparsellen er grønn. = The garden plot is green.
• Hageparsellen blir grønnere. = The garden plot is becoming greener.

Grønnere is the comparative form of grønn:

• grønn = green
• grønnere = greener
• grønnest = greenest

For many short adjectives, Norwegian forms the comparative by adding -ere, just like English often adds -er.

So:

• stor → større
• liten → mindre
• grønn → grønnere

You would normally say grønnere, not mer grønn, in ordinary usage. Using mer + adjective is more common with longer adjectives or in special stylistic cases.

Because Norwegian usually marks definiteness by adding an ending to the noun.

• en hageparsell = a garden plot
• hageparsellen = the garden plot

Here the sentence is talking about a specific garden plot, so the definite form is used.

This is one of the biggest differences from English: instead of putting the before the noun, Norwegian often adds definiteness at the end.

Hageparsell is a common-gender noun in Bokmål, so its forms are:

• en hageparsell = a garden plot
• hageparsellen = the garden plot
• hageparseller = garden plots
• hageparsellene = the garden plots

So hageparsellen is formed by taking the singular noun and adding the definite ending -en.

Also, hageparsell is a compound noun:

• hage = garden
• parsell = plot / parcel

Together: hageparsell = a garden plot, often an allotment-style plot.

This is because Norwegian follows the V2 rule in main clauses: the finite verb normally comes in the second position.

The clause Etter hvert som vekstsesongen går comes first as an introductory subordinate clause. After that, in the main clause, the verb must come before the subject:

• Etter hvert som vekstsesongen går, blir hageparsellen grønnere.

If there were no introductory clause, the normal order would be:

• Hageparsellen blir grønnere.

So the subject has not disappeared; it just comes after the verb because something else has been placed first.

In this sentence, the standard spelling is etter hvert as two words.

So write:

• Etter hvert som ...

Historically, you may sometimes encounter etterhvert, but in modern standard Bokmål, etter hvert is the normal form.

A useful rule for learners is simply:

• use etter hvert
• use etter hvert som for as / gradually as

Yes. Norwegian very often forms compound nouns as a single word.

Here:

• vekst = growth
• sesong = season
• vekstsesong = growing season
• vekstsesongen = the growing season

English often writes similar expressions as two words, but Norwegian usually joins them into one compound noun.

This is very common:

• sommerferie = summer holiday
• vinterdekk = winter tires
• hagearbeid = garden work

So vekstsesongen is exactly what you would expect in Norwegian.

No, that would not be correct.

The natural structure is:

• Etter hvert som + clause

So you need:

• Etter hvert som vekstsesongen går ...

Without som, the phrase does not work as a conjunction introducing a clause.

If you want to avoid som, you would need a different structure altogether, for example:

• Etter hvert blir hageparsellen grønnere.
• Når vekstsesongen går fremover, blir hageparsellen grønnere.
  (less idiomatic than the original)

The original sentence is the most natural version.

The comma separates the introductory subordinate clause from the main clause:

• Etter hvert som vekstsesongen går, = subordinate clause
• blir hageparsellen grønnere. = main clause

This kind of comma is very common in Norwegian when a subordinate clause comes first.

It helps the reader see the structure clearly, and it also matches the pause you would often hear in speech.

It can be understood as a general statement about what happens during the growing season.

The present tense in Norwegian often covers both:

• something happening now
• something that generally happens

So blir hageparsellen grønnere can mean:

• the garden plot is becoming greener
• the garden plot gets greener as the season progresses

In context, it usually sounds like a general, natural development rather than a one-time dramatic event.