The Healing Power of Flowers (and Also, My Ability to Leave something behind in the field each night)

Gardening as Therapy… and Also an Excuse to Ignore My Messy House

Stock planting Day 4/3

Some people do yoga to clear their minds. Others journal or go for a run. Me? I bury my hands in soil, tend to delicate seedlings with complete reckless abandon (toughen up, ya babies!), and accept that my house is in a state of mild disaster.

Truly, nothing soothes the soul like nurturing tiny green things—except for the part where I immediately lose track of them. Somewhere out there, a tray of larkspur has taken up residence in the middle of my farm field, and I can only assume they’re thriving in their newfound freedom. Meanwhile, my kitchen counters are covered in seed packets, half-drunk coffee/green drinks/preworkout, and the vague hope that I’ll eventually tidy up. (Spoiler: I won’t. I’ll start to. I won’t acheive that dream.)

Stock: Smells Like Peace, Tricks People Into Thinking I’m Organized

2024 Stock - first year growing - a unique look and smell. Smell like cloves!

Stock is one of my first spring transplants, and I love it because it smells like spicy cloves (despite looking super floral and fancy) and makes me feel like a real, functioning adult. That is, until I step inside my house and remember that my living room currently looks like a tornado of sheepdogs, muddy boots, and watering cans waiting to come or go.

Stock is low-maintenance, unlike my to-do list. It doesn’t ask for much, just a little cool weather and some decent soil. I, on the other hand, ask for things like “more time in the day” and “the ability to transplant seedlings without getting hyperfocused on picking all of the rocks out of the dirt.”

Snapdragons: More Reliable Than My Ability to Keep Track of My Stuff

Snapdragons are sturdy, beautiful, and transplant well—which is more than I can say for certain other flowers (cough larkspur cough). They’re one of the few plants that seem to thrive despite my tendency to misplace things, which is lucky for them.

Last week, I carefully organized my snapdragon trays in order of which had been outside getting used to the elements (hardening off) the longest. Then, I reorganized them, and now it is just a guessing game. They’ve all been out there at least a week. They will all, inevitably, get some level of sunburn when I plant them out. Some will not make it. But some will. So, we will focus on that.

Foxglove: Looks Like a Cottage Garden Dream, Distracts Me From My Ever-Growing Laundry Pile

Foxglove is absolutely gorgeous—tall, dreamy, and a little bit toxic, which makes it my floral soulmate.

It takes its time growing and I must have convinced myself that the advice I read on the internet to start it 8-10 weeks before last frost was sound and accurate because I planted a BUNCH of it in late February. Every time I look at my beautifully growing foxglove, I think, Wow, nature is amazing. And then I remember the actual truth that larkspur does not like to be transplanted and I am terrified to try and to kill them all. Oh well. Being careful with roots when transplanting has not been my previous specialty. Perhaps I will find a new talent. Some luck? I want those tall spiky flowers.

Sweet Peas: Beautiful, High-Maintenance, and Great at Distracting Me From My Filthy Kitchen

Sweet peas require trellising. You’d think I’d remember this before they become a tangled mess, but you’d be wrong. Every year, I get caught up in their beauty and let them sprawl wildly, much like the unopened mail on my kitchen table.

But they bloom despite my negligence, which is comforting. I must admit that I often have the best ideas and intentions. I get so scared of failing that sometimes (most times) I avoid making my ideas a reality. Last year I failed BIG TIME with my vision of a trellis. It blew over many times and was quite an eye sore, but we still had sweet peas!

This year, I used my son’s (and I believe my brother’s before that) old day bed frame to construct something prettier and sturdier (albeit shorter and maybe not quite right either) trellis for the sweet peas. They’re already climbing and I am super excited to get more transplanted in the ground in the next few weeks.

Will I be brave enough to try planting some directly by seed outside? Likely, no. I’ll think about it a lot.

Larkspur: The Plant That Taught Me a Harsh Lesson About Life (and Transplanting)

You know what hates being transplanted? Larkspur.
You know what I lovingly started indoors and now am dreading transplanting into the garden? Larkspur.

They are sure to punish me with a slow, passive-aggressive decline. The real lesson here? Some things are meant to grow where they belong, and forcing them into new places just because I had a "plan" doesn’t always work.

(Am I still talking about flowers? Unclear.)

Conclusion: I’ll Clean the House in June. (and other lies I tell myself)

Gardening is supposed to be about patience, resilience, and connection to the earth. And it is. It’s also about my ability to ignore household chores in favor of staring blankly at tiny plants.

Despite my best efforts at disorganization, misplaced seedlings, and a complete lack of indoor tidying, the flowers still bloom. And honestly, isn’t that all that really matters?

Oh, and if anyone sees my abandoned tray of larkspur, living its best life in the field this weekend…Carry on & mind your business. Perhaps divert your attention to the asparagus…it should be peeking out very very soon!