The No Effort Spring Cutting Garden: Flowers that Don't Need You

Herbert Wilson Foster, 1846–1929

Ain't nobody got time for that.

MS. SWEET BROWN

To be honest, I haven't been very enthusiastic about the garden.  All my hopes of planning the perfect vegetable garden stopped when Mr. Peasant injured his IT band. My garden dreaming was derailed by life which is exactly how life goes. I still did my have to do's. This would be the minimums. I started my tomato, pepper, and eggplant seeds indoors. I also started some sweet potato slips. 

I've been labeling, watering, and planning. Some seeds sprouted and others were duds. The past few months, God has given me comfort through flowers coming up in the yard. These are flowers that I have done NOTHING to help grow. NO watering, NO planning. Life indoors has been colored gray by Mr. Peasant's painful recovery that seems never ending. Having beautiful flowers indoors has brought joy to both Mr. Peasant and I. Best of all, I didn't have to do anything. These are literally no work, no hassle flowers. So, for all the regular ladies out there who love the dreamy English country cutting gardens but don't have the energy or the hired gardener, there is hope. I have been cutting spring flowers from the yard, and I didn't do anything. Here is a love note to the cutting flowers that don't need you--daffodils, azaleas, and irises. With an honorable mention to purple salvia as a great filler. Our purple saliva has been blooming since March here in South Carolina (zone 8).  

Walter Grane, 1902 From the book Flora's Feast

DAFFODILS

First week in March, the very first flower to come out was the small 'Tete-a-Tete' Daffodils, and then the Slim Whitman.

First week in April, we have the Yellow Cheerfulness Daffodil. The Cheerfulness Daffodil is my first scented daffodil. I didn't know what to expect. These smell light and green exactly like walking into a florist shop. They are not sweet smelling but have a little note of spice. The smell is not strong. so I have to put my nose right in there.

AZALEAS

These came with the house, I don't know the names. I never thought of Azaleas as cut flowers before this year. I actually was considering removing the bushes because I thought trimming them after bloom was too much work. I never trim them properly, and they still always bloom. I love them. They last 5 days in the vase. Cut a small branch off and watch it slowly unfold into blooms. It's like a firework show. One bloom will fall and another will open. It's lovely. And the leaves round out the bouquet perfectly, so that one cutting feels complete. I even like just one azalea flower in the bathroom.

IRISES

These came with the house. I do not know the name. Our iris is a show stopper. The coloring is a homage to God's attention to detail and beauty. These are elegant. The color shimmers, and they have a smell similar to a Stargazer Lilly. I don't do anything to help them outside. She just has a will to live. 

I hope this inspires you to consider adding some easy no work flowers for cutting and enjoying. I think loveliness doesn't have to be so hard. I always appreciate you stopping by. Thank you for reading and God bless you. 

Consider How the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin.

Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor 

was dressed like one of these. 

LUKE 12:27

Francesco Saverio Altamura, Young Lady with Boquet of Flowers 1891

Mr. Peasant On Suffering

Karl Julius von Leypold - Wanderer in the storm 1835

If God sends you many sufferings, it is a sign that He has great plans for you and certainly wants to make you a saint.

SAINT IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA

Epicurus is the philosopher of the quiet life. Despite all associations with the philosophy of hedonism, Epicurus argued and demonstrated that the most tranquil life you can have is a quiet life in your garden. For Epicurus, hedonism was not a matter of increasing pleasure but reducing pain and suffering. His lifestyle demonstrated that you didn't need a lot of money to find this pain reduction.

Much of what Epicurus taught can be found in the proverbs of the Old Testament, the sage advice of Saint Paul in the New Testament to live a quiet life, and in the example of the hidden life of Jesus and the Holy Family. The simple life is the best life and the most pleasant life. It should be our aim in this life.

The downside of all of this is that a pain free life is impossible. You can reduce suffering by the elimination of needless things. But you can never escape suffering in this life. It will find you despite your best efforts.

Suffering came to Epicurus at the end of his life. The philosopher developed a painful kidney stone that ended up killing him. The man died in agony. Despite his best efforts, pain and suffering found Epicurus.

Roman Catholics know that suffering is an essential part of life especially the life of a saint. We should strive to live in peace and tranquility, but we should never be surprised when we encounter adversity and suffering in this life. This is very important when considering the domestic utopia of the quiet life.

You cannot make heaven on earth. What you can achieve is an oasis of rest in the harsh desert of this world of tears. If we cannot have the hedonism of endless pleasures, we certainly should not have the masochism of endless suffering. At the end of the day, we must take the good with the bad. We must enjoy life without attachment, and we must endure life without despair. These are good lessons to remember in this season of Lent.

I hope this post finds you in a pleasant spot in life. Thank you for reading.

Christ in the Wilderness, Ivan Kramskoy 1872