Gardening during the Pandemic.

I have always loved being outside and being surrounded by nature so naturally when the quarantine orders began for us at the beginning of March 2020, I took the time to foster a deeper appreciation through gardening.

My little family and I moved into our first house in April so lawn care was a learning curve but I quickly began to visualize a sweeping and romantic garden in the back yard. Those dreams were quickly dashed as I realized just how small our back yard was but nevertheless I was excited when my father brought over two raised flower beds he built for me for Mother's Day.

There's something about physically and literally getting into the dirt that was both therapeutic and exciting. Gardening was of course a way to mange my grief and anxiety but it was also fun just doing something outdoors. Dragging the bags of soil across the yard, dumping them into the beds, and spreading it all out evenly was the best menial tasks anyone could ask for during a quarantine. Next came the sowing.

I had quite a collection of seeds already purchased from a flower farm in WA that I had been following on social media so when the time came to plant the seeds, I was ready! I planned out rows of certain species and marked them with popsicle sticks (not the BEST option but when you still have piles of art supplies from your days as an elementary art teacher you find uses for them). I planted some "cupcake" cosmos, as they are called, of blush and earl grey variety as well as hollyhocks. I also had pots of Dahlias that I had started in March that were already blooming. Mind you, some species of flowers do not grow well in certain climates so the biggest thing is making sure you're planting based on the zone you're in (they are numbered and many online websites will have that information readily available to see before purchasing) as well as the seasonal life of your choices. The seeds I chose were planted directly just before the end of May.

No one tells you the worst part of gardening is the wait. I can't tell you how many times I went out to check for any new growth in just the first week. I would go out knowing there was nothing there and still end up disappointed because I was right. The best part of gardening is when you see those little "Tommy hairs" (yes, a Rugrats reference) sticking out from the soil. The first time I saw them, I did a little jig and the dread set in. I needed to protect these babies (pun intended).

Overwatering and underwatering was the hardest thing for me to manage. I had to fight against my helicopter parenting and stuck to a watering schedule of every other day (it gets quite humid where I live and it wasn't raining as much during the summer). There were plenty of times I thought I had killed my plants before they even began to truly live. It was a sweet balancing act that I'm happy to say I managed.

Through the summer months, my plants began to grow taller and wider than expected. The first set of blooms began in late August, early September. It was a beautiful sight indeed but it wasn't until late September that the burst of blooms came spilling out from the sides of the plant bed. Looking out into my little garden, I felt like I had achieved something fantastical. Of course, once flowers bloom they begin to die and I slowly watched as the color drained from my garden until nothing was left but brown shambles.

Although there is still a little bit of winter left, I am beginning my plans for this year. Picking out seeds is a little like planning outfits and I am looking forward to filling my garden with color again after such a long winter of life.