Heirloombulbgirl

Tag: flowers

  • The Little Garden That Could

    In three days, the Texas Horticultural Society will be touring my humble little studio during their 2024 Conference. Needless to say, I have a lot of work to do. In fact, I am reminded about it every time someone hears about the distinguished guests coming for a visit. My family and friends all appear to have the same movie script.

    ”Do you understand what a big deal this is?? Keenan, you have A LOT OF WORK TO DO!”

    It’s always the same facial expression as well. Eyes bugged out of their heads as they look at the overwhelming amount of poppies that need to be dried, wildflower herds that need to be thinned, weed seeds that need to be cut, hay and mulch needs to be spread, dried bulb foliage that looks scrappy and the half painted barn that I decided to repaint because I don’t have enough to do. But hey, I’ve got this! Gardens always rise to the occasion.

    This past week, my Uncle-in-Law and his lovely wife Brenda brought the 150 year old picket fencing from the original Higginbothom mansion in Dublin, Texas. The house no longer exists, but the fencing had been salvaged yeas ago. When Brenda and Uncle Don heard about the special garden tour, they felt the fencing belonged at the studio. The fencing arrived on Tuesday, and gave them a quick tour of the gardens. Uncle Don’s facial expression was basically the same as all the others as he looked at me and said (in his matter-of-fact way) “Seven days? You’ve got a lot of work to do!”

    Don’t worry everyone! I’ve got this!

    Heres a little reminder of the past history of Agape Haus Studio and Garden, just to remember how far the little garden has come…

    *Purchased for $25K in 2014. Holes in walls were no extra charge.
    *Barn restored and chicken coop created.

    *Ratty chain link fencing torn down around beautiful Live Oak Tree and first garden planted.

    *Purchased the drug house next door for $15K and tore the thing down in between violin lessons. Found a falling down shed shell and had it moved by a neighbor and a bunch of football dudes. The wood used on the Potting shed was salvaged from the old tear down.

    *Llano Flood in 2018. All bulbs were moved from our flooded house to the studio grounds. Dug bulbs every day for much needed soul therapy. Remember, never leave your bulb babies behind.

    *Covid 2020. My Covid isolation project was eliminating the sticker-heaven in the back lot, while restoring the land. I pulled a large bucket of stickers every day, while digging out rock to create a path through the native garden, which was created in 2022.

    *The last chickens to survive the predator attacks were given away to a dear friend, and the coops were turned into potting sheds in 2023. Land began to restore and wildflowers began to bloom.

    *Two years back to back hard freezes, hard droughts and record-breaking temperatures. All Antique Roses were lost, and the gardens suffered. A dear friend stepped in a got Agape Haus a solar-paneled well storage tank. What a game changer!

    *Finally, Five large Invasive trees were removed last year (thanks to my hubs and son), the Veggie Garden established, the Large back Live Oak garden established, the Cut flower Garden created, Luciano’s meadow was created, and finally….I followed a landscaping company that had an enormous truckload of good dirt, and had it dumped to create the Lavender Garden….all in the last 2 years.

    *April 21-28….Do the Hustle! Fencing, snail-picking, Iris-planting, Weed-pulling, Prickly Poppy-cutting, Goldfish brought in, Lavender planting, and paint mishaps….all in a week.
    Thanks to my amazing friends and family who have supported me in this adventure.
    I’m truly excited to see what the little garden will look like in 3 more days. As always, it is only by the grace of the Lord and His guidance that any of this is made possible. It makes no sense. Honestly, how can a little violinist tear down a house? The Lord simply enables ordinary people to do extraordinary things. This garden is nothing without Him….I am nothing without Him. It is the Lord who whispers quietly “Just keep digging “, and so I do.

    The Little Gardens that Could. And I am so humbled and proud to be a part of the Texas Horticultural Society garden tour. Happy Gardening, my friends! Love, Keenan @Heirloombulbgirl


  • A View From the Gardens

    A place of renewal. The gardens at Agape Haus Studio and Gardem, LLC, are a labor of love. This adventure started with a delapitated old farmhouse, a drug house, ratty chain link fences, weeds and stickers, terrible rocky soil and garbage throughout the grounds. In between a full time music studio, an entire drug house was torn down, weeds were pulled, rocks were removed, gardens were planted and thousands of rescued Heirloom Bulbs were planted. The potting shed was made out of the reclaimed wood from the old farmhouse, 150 year old stained glass windows salvaged from a church and the tin was used from the old drug house.
    The Lord’s hand has been ever present in this project. Many days, my hands are so sore from utter exhaustion, but the Lord gently knudges, with a still, small voice…. “Just Keep Digging.”
    So I do.
    Please enjoy a simple picturesque walk-through the beauty of complete land and soul redemption. These gardens are old-fashioned, wild cottage gardens…100% organic. I am always happy to share, so come for a visit.
    Happy Gardening, my friends!
    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • Coming Soon, To a Garden Near You!

    A few years ago, I saw the cutest plant stand while on vacation in Colorado. I thought the idea of “plants by donation” was totally charming. I had an old picnic table and an old farm door, and with the help of some teenagers, put together my first plant stand. It was blown over within a week. Wind and storms in Texas can get brutal! I nursed the poor little plant stand for a few months until it completely fell apart….then I was on to another project. It has been about five years since the original “plants by donation” idea was pressed upon my heart. Now the idea is back in full force, thanks to my husband.

    My husband and I rebuilt and moved one of the compost piles in front of the studio driveway. I’d actually love to close off the driveway completely, and let it be a shaded picnic area under the large old Live Oaks, but that’s for another day. Anyhow, the ugly compost heap got a nice new face lift with some very old 12 foot long carriage house doors that serve as the backdrop for the compost. I put a potting table on one side of the compost, just because it looks so cool. I stacked a lot of the old terracotta pots on top of the table, and Voila! just like that, I saw my future *unbreakable* plant stand! My children and husband had built a cutting garden last year at the studio. I’m thrilled to get some bouquets available for unsuspecting music students. I’ve also been moving Paperwhites to the cut flower garden, so the entire bed won’t be so lonely when all the flowers die back. This week I plan to seed all the Zinnias and other cut flowers. I will also offer heirloom flower bulbs in adorable vintage china teacups and vintage bowls.


    Our small little town does not have a garden shop. Gardeners have to drive for 45 minutes to get to the nearest organic garden shop. Our grocery store carries seasonal veggies and annuals, but nothing really interesting for the garden. There is a non-profit in the works called Keep Llano Beautiful. The plant stand should serve this noble endeavor well. I’m hoping gardeners from all over will add their extra plant babies as well. Take a bulb, leave a bulb. Pass-Along plants for everyone!

    I’m going to get to work on potting up some Heirloom Iris, Oxblood Lilies, Spiderwort, Texas Naives and other hard to find plants. Hopefully, “if the Lord is willing and the creek doesn’t rise”, the little plant stand will be open by the end of April. I will keep you posted.
    Happy Gardening, my friends!
    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • 50 Shades of Iris

    Few words are needed to describe the sheer enthusiasm Iris brings to the garden. Iris stands tall, announcing loudly to all the world (or at least the rest of the block) that Spring has sprung. Iris come in every color of the rainbow, except gray. Naturally, I am particularly fond of pale or muted shades of Heirloom varieties. My husband’s Grandmother had a beautiful two-toned pale yellows Iris that blooms later in the Spring. I absolutely adore those lovely Iris.

    Iris are extremely tough old gals, surviving natural disasters and neglectful gardeners. I once dug up some Iris, got distracted, and after a few seasons of harsh weather, the Iris bloomed the following year….still in the dug-up clump where I left it. Oops. I’m glad my flowers outlive my stupidity. Maybe that’s why Iris are also known as Cemetery Iris or “Flags” (as the non-Iris collecting commoners call them). True Cemetary Iris are typically white or purple, and can still be found growing in cemeteries throughout the South. All Iris seem to have stories to tell, and many have traveled far and wide to land humbly in my gardens.

    Many of my white Iris are from my In-Law’s farm in East Texas. The Iris are remnants of the German homesteaders that originally lived on the land in the early 1900’s. The only evidence of the old German house is the Iris border in the middle of a horse pasture. Once I discovered the house location, I went on a digging frenzy, locating countless pieces of cool old pieces of china to make mosaics. The beautiful Iris receive no care or attention, except from passing horses or cows. The Iris have bloomed faithfully for over 150 years. White Iris are extremely common, but the stories behind the Iris are unique and dear to my heart….making each plain white Iris a special addition to the garden. I think that every garden should tell a story.

    Some of my favorite purple Iris (not yet in bloom) came to Texas from England in the 1880’s. Few cherished items were allowed on the long journey overseas. Mrs. Franklin chose a corset, a few homemaking necessities and a purple Iris. Their Texas homestead was extremely rough terrain, drastically different from the gardens of England. In fact, the last Comanche Indian raid in Texas was not far from their homestead. My dear friend, the Great-Granddaughter of the Franklins (of the Franklin ranch) gave me a few Iris from the original Franklin ranch house. It is mind boggling to imagine all that the little Iris survived through….droughts, floods, Indian raids, World Wars and The Great Depression. Somehow, surviving it all. The Franklin Iris are bold annd strappy, multiplying readily. These Iris are the “alpha” of my collection, eating small plants and other pests that get in their way.

    I have beautiful yellow, blue and magenta Iris gifted to me from flower friends, some who I’ve never even met. My daughters and their friends began to also have a love affair with Iris, trading my flowers for their own Iris collection. My daughter Hollie once received an Apricot -shaded Iris that she stuck in my garden with rocks around it, keeping *her Iris* segregated from the rest of the rabble that I grew. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed old-fashioned flower swaps with these true “pass-along” flowers. Many Iris come from house tear-downs that I chronicled through the years on my original website blog, which unfortunately is having some technical issues. Hopefully, the stories of these great old gardens will someday be readable again. Until then, I close my eyes and still see the century old beauty. Treasured gardens of Miss Margaret and Eugenia are now long gone, existing only in my mind and in all their flower bulbs that were salvaged.

    I am always happy to share these old flowers with you. The best part of preserving heirloom bulbs is getting these old gals into the hands of gardeners who will love them. Sharing and trading flowers is such a joy, keeping the spirit of Old-Fashioned gardening with Pass-Along plants close to the heart. It’s exactly what Miss Margaret and Eugenia would’ve done. Happy Gardening, my friends!
    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • The Garden of Givers

    They say it takes thirteen years to establish a garden. Yes, you read that correct…..thirteen years. Establishing a garden isn’t just the fun purchase of your favorite new flower. To establish something is purposeful, hoping for permanence. The established garden is not a man-made forced moment of flower-perfection, but a beautiful habitat for all natural things, blooming for generations to come. These old gardens are givers. The heirloom plants are in it for the long haul. Many of the Heirloom bulbs I salvage are from homesteads that date back to the mid 1800’s. Can you imagine tearing down and ripping out those old gardens?!
    Tasha Tudor’s gardens are beautiful examples of an established garden. I long to see a day when my young little fledgling-of-a-garden begins to take off and fly on its own. I love to visit old homesteads that are preserved, and I marvel at the old rose varieties and the heirloom beauty that keeps on giving.


    Established plants within those old gardens behave differently than modern store-bought varieties. Take, for instance, the “Queen’s Wreath” Coral Vine, an old Southern favorite. Many gardeners (including my Mother-in-Law) have tried to get this beautiful vine to establish, with little to no success. This particular vine comes to mind because I recently relocated a very old clump that I salvaged years ago. The vine was easily 50 years old. While I dug, I discovered bulbs attached to the roots. I had no idea that Coral Vine was a bulb! After researching, I discovered that in order for a Coral Vine to establish, a bulb is necessary for the vine to survive. The bulb becomes the life line to the old vine….a giver. I find this extremely fascinating. Unfortunately, many old varieties of plants, including Queen’s Wreath, are lost with the modern “progress” of house tear-downs.
    *Side-note*……I’m curious to know if the vine can be split with multiple bulbs, but I’m not brave enough to try. If any of you know the answer, please let me know. 🙂

    As I dug the Coral Vine, I stumbled upon a little clump of bulbs near the Coral Vine. When bulbs are damaged during a house teardown, I stick them in any open spot in the garden, and simply hope for the best. If an Oxblood Lily is damaged, the bulb will actually revive itself through creating baby bulbs in it’s place. The parent bulb becomes “a giver” to preserve the bulb’s heritage. In this case, 15 tiny little baby Oxbloods. I love it. I love the fact that even plants take care of their own. I love the fact that old heritage bulbs will outlive you and I, and the beauty of the established flower garden keeps on giving. I love the fact that the preservation of these heirloom beauties is never in vain. When I’m long gone, these flower bulbs will remain, blooming happily for generations to come.
    Deep down, I think that most gardeners are givers, just like the Oxblood Lily, pouring themselves into the next generation of flower lovers. What a great legacy you are leaving. Keep on giving and sowing seeds of beauty.
    Happy Gardening, my friends.

    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • Snowflakes in the Garden


    A few days ago, the delicate blooms of Summer Snowflakes began to appear. A nice part about present is the ability to see subtle changes throughout the garden. Bulb gardens are one of God’s little ways to keep our eyes fixed and focused on things that truly matter. If we get too busy in day-to-day life, we might miss a flower bulb that blooms just once a year. Imagine if you miss it! This moment by moment journey of a bulb gardener resembles what God desires from each one of us…..to be truly present, with our eyes fixed on Him. What a beautiful allegory.

    I received my first Summer Snowflake bulbs from a dear friend. Mia lived down the street from our family in a cozy little “Leave it to Beaver” kind of neighborhood. Our children grew up together, playing endlessly. The kids ran back and forth between houses, enjoying the natural world of a lovely tree-lined street with beautiful gardens everywhere. Mia was from Sweden and our parenting styles were very similar….natural. We had many bulb swaps and old-fashioned pass-along plant exchanges. Our little street was filled with elderly couples who raised their own children in the small 1950s cottages. It was a quaint and humble street. Mia and I were privileged to get to know the older generations on the block, and we enjoyed learning life wisdom from their unique perspectives. We sadly watched our cherished neighbors pass on, and the little cottages turn into McMansions. I truly cherish my memory-filled Summer Snowflakes from Mia, and think of those early-childhood days each time the Snowflakes bloom.

    My second batch of Snowflakes came from a much different set of circumstances. A moment of sheer motivation and determination to salvage beautiful bulbs from their unfortunate ratty existence. I think the thought in my brain was “Omygosh! I *NEED those bulbs!” and I quickly flipped a quick U-turn on the highway. My husband says that my “super-human power” is to be able to spot bulb foliage in random places while driving 80 mph. Yet, most days I can’t even find my car keys. Go figure!
    The bulbs were on the side of the highway, in front of a junky old fence. The owner was thrilled to give me a shovel and a bag to remove “the weeds” from his yard.

    ”Sir, those aren’t weeds. Those are bulbs.”
    “Whatever they are, just dig ‘em up!”

    So I did. Quite happily. It’s always nice to help someone out….AND salvage some Heirloom Bulbs!

    The Summer Snowflake bulbs happily resided in the gardens at the flooded house, nestled comfortably under large pecan trees. After the flood, all bulbs came to the studio, being dumped anywhere an open space existed. The poor Snowflakes ended up in a full-sun, barren piece of yuk. Needless to say, I had been too busy in my own frantic world to notice (or nurture anything) in the garden. I tried to be present, but I was still on “salvage mode”, a necessary place to be but not a good place to stay. We all have those “salvage” moments, whether by a rescued flower bulb or stray dog, a time-consuming casserole that burnt to a crisp (or in my case, blew up), a failed exam, or a family situation that is simply falling apart. We turn our brains into “salvage mode”, to save what we can.
    After a salvage, nurturing begins….and boy did my little Snowflake Bulbs need some love. A few weeks back, I dug up all the Snowflakes and relocated the bulbs to their “forever hone”. The bulbs now have morning sun with afternoon shade, avoiding the full heat of summer. The ground also has nice, rich soil that I have tended to for quite a while. A beautiful spot for Snowflakes in the garden.

    Spring is a time for renewal, and I pray that your eyes may stay focused on what truly matters. If you are in “salvage mode”, I pray that you may see the beauty that awaits on the other side.
    “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore, my heart is glad…” -Psalm 16:8

    Happy Gardening, my friends!
    Love, Keenan @heirloombulbgirl

  • The First Daffodil of Spring

    New life.
    New beginnings.

    I love Spring.

    Last year, Spring was engulfed by hard, late freezes that froze everything back, plunging the gardens into triple digit temperatures. The plants and bulbs had little time to recover from the stress of the freeze, and immediately were taxed by the extreme early heat of summer. The heat was enough to do the gardens in, but then came the drought. I think I complained daily…..just ask my husband.
    Every Single Day… “Why do we have to live in a desert where nothing grows?!” (Human nature is to play a blame game the minute life gets hard, and boy did I play it! Why is it so easy to forget about the wonderfully beautiful moments in life when we are in a drought?)

    But, as always, the rain did finally come, and the Oxblood Lilies bloomed. The promise of the cooler temperatures of Fall makes every gardener ecstatic….kind of like way we all feel when Spring finally arrives.

    I don’t know about you, but every day I’m out on my hands and knees looking for new life. Yesterday I spotted blooms of Golden Crocus, Grape Hyacinth, Oxalis and the first purple bloom of Spiderwort. Foliage of countless bulbs are hinting that this Spring will be spectacular. Three years is a long time to wait for anything, let alone Spring blooms!

    A wonderful part of this year’s Spring is the undergrowth of weeds. I know that sounds bizarre, and it probably is, but stay with me. Non-seeding weeds are actually a benefit to your soil. Pull them up and simply create piles of rotting goodness where the weeds used to be. The nutrient-rich piles will deter future weeds from taking over, while the rotting process will encourage microorganisms to find a nice habitat to live in. Worms in the soil will enjoy the incredible benefits of the entire process, while your soil is kept insulated and protected from the elements. Last year, there was no undergrowth due to the drought. My gardens started off the drought with bare soil. I was scraping together any organic material I could find to pile on the earth….Live Oak branches from neighbors’ brush piles, hay, newspaper and cardboard and leaves from empty lots. I even went as far as taking my little lawn mower to an open field with Live Oaks, and mowing to collect the fallen leaf debris. Like I’ve said many times, the soil at my studio is AWFUL….but this Spring, I have hope in all new beginnings. I have found earthworms for the first time in some places, and the mere fact that I have an undergrowth of healthy, non-thorny stickers is a huge step into the land of a healthy garden.
    They say it takes 13 years to establish a garden. In some parts of my garden, I am on year two. But then, combine that with the lack of good soil and mathematically, I am x=13-2ps+kw(5th). That is, 13 years-2 years, subtract the years of poor soil, but adding Keenan’s work to the 5th power. In other words, I have a lot to do.

    Spring.
    New Beginnings. New blooms. Every single new beautiful day is worthy of rejoicing.
    Happy Gardening, my garden friends!

    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • An Oxblood Lily from Miss Margaret’s Garden

    I spent the last few days moving Oxblood Lilies. Typically when I salvage bulbs from a tear-down, I stick them anywhere I can find an open spot in the garden. Later, I might go back to “decorate” the garden landscape with the bulbs in their “forever homes” (or at least, their home until I get bored). Each clump of Oxbloods is unique due to the age of the bulb or the growing conditions. One particular clump of Oxbloods caught my eye. The original parent bulb was in the middle, warmly surrounded by a beautiful family of healthy bulbs….nine offshoot bulbs, to be exact. Some clumps look like the bulbs are being suffocated….but not this clump. It looked perfectly happy to share its life with the offshoots, and all 10 bulbs were happy and healthy.

    The sheer vigor and fortitude of the Heiloom Oxblood Lily is truly untouchable by other lily bulbs. Scott Ogden once said that the Oxblood is the hardiest of all Southern Bulbs, and I absolutely agree with him. I’ve seen Oxbloods grow through cement rubble of house tear-downs, compacted earth from bulldozer tracks, drought-stricken land, and the list goes on and on. Oxblood Lilies are survivors. Let’s face it….we all need survivors in our life. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot from the Oxblood Lily. Through seasons of drought, gardeners throughout the South are reminded of the redemptive beauty found after the first rain of Fall.

    Oxblood Lilies originally traveled to the United States by way of their German immigrants. These lilies can still be found growing alongside old homesteads throughout the South.
    It is simply incredible to see a flower bulb survive throughout the 1900’s. Old gardens become a direct link to the past…to the days of pass-along plants and quiet cups of tea shared among garden friends.

    This lovely Oxblood was one of the bulbs rescued from Miss Margaret’s former home in Rockdale, Texas. Years ago, I wrote an article about the house in Heirloom Gardener Magazine entitled Saving the Gardens for Miss Margaret. If I knew how to link the article, I would….but Sorry, folks. This is about as tech-savvy as I get. Needless to say, Miss Margaret’s lovely gardens are now a parking lot for the police station. The beautiful historic three story house was torn down to make way for the police station. The original stained-glass filled house was built in the 1800’s. After Miss Margaret passed, the house deteriorated beyond repair. Before the tear down, I dug countless times. I was able to preserve thousands of her treasured Heirloom Bulbs. It makes me almost physically ill to watch century old flowers like this end their beauty, trapped under cement lots. Unfortunately, that happens frequently through the modern progress of rural development. I’ve been determined to save as many Heirloom Bulbs from old homestead tear-downs as I can.

    Each Heirloom Oxblood gives redemption to the garden. If you would like to have an Oxblood Lily from Miss Margaret’s garden, please let me know. I’m happy to share with you. Or you can order flower bulbs from Heirloombulbgirl on Etsy. All proceeds go directly back into the gardens. 
    Happy Gardening, my friends!
    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • Bloom in the Freeze

    Another hard freeze came our way…just in time to wipe out all the Paperwhites that are in bloom. Nature is funny that way. If I had a dollar for every time a flower bulb was *just about to bloom* but nature stepped in and wiped it all out, I’d be rich. It’s hard to watch precious flower bulbs have set backs. It’s hard to watch people have set backs too. I suppose we all have moments in our lives when life’s uncontrollable events hinder our instinct to bloom. I read once that people are like stained glass. It is easy to be beautiful when the sun is out and everything is shining. It’s hard to actually shine in the darkness.

    For the last three years, Winter has delivered hard freezes at the exact same time my Paperwhites bloom. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that nature is trying to teach me something. This year, I got wise and covered many of the blooming bulbs with large plastic flower pots. Two days ago, I removed the covering pots to find the bulbs were happy and snuggly….blooms perfectly healthy. What I didn’t realize was that another hard freeze was scheduled that night. The freeze proceeded to wipe all the bulbs out. Nature is funny. Although the heirloom bulbs won’t die from a freeze, I lose the beautiful bloom that happens only once a year. What exactly is the moral of this story? Dig up the Paperwhites and throw them in the compost heap? Give up? Be like dingy stained glass, refusing to bloom in the freezing darkness?

    I don’t think gardeners plant flowers for the moments of perfection. I think most of us like to watch things grow. We learn about ourselves through nurturing our gardens. Our hearts delight in watching a prized cabbage rose bloom for the first time after a long battle with thrips, and our hearts break in the loss of a cherished heirloom bulb, eaten by gophers. Gardeners stay the course, for better or for worse and against all odds, simply to bring natural beauty to dark, technology-driven world. Gardeners are stained glass folks who *choose* to bloom in the darkness. Maybe that’s why I grow flower bulbs….I need to be reminded each and every day to bloom in spite of my circumstances.

    ”The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
    His mercies never come to an end.
    They are new every morning.
    Great is Thy faithfulness, oh Lord.”

    This morning, the weather is in the teens. All Paperwhites have frozen back, but my heart is not defeated. My thoughts are already planning to rearrange the areas with Paperwhites, to make the covering-process more accessible. I am also gearing up for the Spring Bloom, hoping to order some more daffodils from Southern Bulb Company, and some heirloom dahlias from Old House Gardens. Life continues on and next year, I won’t be caught off guard for the surprise freeze.

    Happy Gardening. my friends! Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • To Nurture a Garden


    There are two types of gardeners in this world……organized, neat and tidy, everything-in-symmetry kind of gardeners, and then there’s everyone else. If you know me, you already know which camp of gardeners I fall into. Let me just pull back the curtain of Oz a little bit more. I have no fewer than 25 unfinished gardening projects going on at any given time. The word “frazzled” is my middle name in Greek, and it fits like a ripped up, dirt-stained glove. I am the complete opposite of any type of “garden influencer” you might read about. In fact, there’s probably a psychological study that could be done on my gardening style, but that’s beside the point. Let’s just say that I am extremely fortunate to have these beautiful Heirloom Flower Bulbs that make my gardens worthy enough to talk about. If it weren’t for the flowers, I’m afraid I’d be forced to be the world’s worst golfer. Thank goodness for the gardens!!

    In honor of the New Year, I decided to toast to the fact that I most likely will not finish my gardening “to-do” list, or any of the unfinished projects that I enjoy muddling around with. But instead, my new gardening resolution is simply to nurture what I have already accomplished.


    Nurturing is a gardening concept that is rarely allowed in the mind of a busy gardener. There are so many garden chores to do that nurturing a single flower seems like a complete waste of time. Gardeners tend to focus on “important” tasks such as flipping the compost pile or spreading cardboard upon a weed-infested area. Garden tasks give us a sense of purpose, a feeling of success and a cool “badge of honor” among our gardening friends. Our society is driven by work, and that drive to work is carried over into the garden. To nurture something feels…well, less adequate. What does “naturing” even mean?

    Nurturing becomes the quiet, still moment of committing yourself to the growth of something beyond yourself. Ralph Waldo Emerson describes success as “Leaving the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition.” True success is the ability to nurture life, and to be able to look at oneself and to see that you are connected with all of nature, including humankind.
    Nurturing a garden looks a bit different to each gardener, but the end goal is the same….to leave a little piece of the earth better than when we found it. Some gardeners focus on growing plants by nurturing seeds, while others focus on creating and nurturing a habitat for wildlife, such as Butterfly Sanctuaries. To nurture is to see beyond the hurried moment, and take the time to instill love and goodness into something with complete selflessness.

    Over the years, I have learned a lot about nurturing through rescuing flower bulbs from tear-downs. I have pulled bulbs to freedom out of rubble, and have enjoyed the redemptive process in watching each unique bulb grow strong enough to bloom. I have found chewed up remnants of bulbs, completely destroyed by their unfortunate events, redeem themselves to full beautiful glory. In fact, my favorite group of bulbs, my “survivor bulbs”, managed to grow out of the compacted ground of bulldozed flood debris. I lovingly dug out each remaining bulb from the hard earth, not for any other reason than the bulbs’ sheer will to live.

    This year, I decided to step off the hurried, frazzle-bus, and commit time each day to simply nurturing my flower bulbs. I am being intentional about where to plant flowers. Bulbs need to be visible and present while blooming, but non-invasive to the gardens when growing. That’s a lot to expect for any flower, but bulbs are worth it. Foliage can be a continued bother to many non bulb-loving folks. Lining garden paths, house foundations, driveways or creating specified areas within the garden will help bring an organized look within the carefree growing garden. Some bulbs, like Paperwhites, need a lot of water and sunlight while growing. Other bulbs, like the Oxblood Lily can flourish in any environment. Heirloom Bulbs are tough, but each variety of bulb has a different personality with different growing needs.

    Happy Gardening, my friends! May you find a beautiful balance in your garden between the moments of hard work, and the quiet, still moments to truly nurture what you love.