In the Garden | Winter Garden Ideas to Design Your Dream Space

Episode 3: Winter Garden Ideas to Design Your Dream Space featuring Yuliya Bellinger of Y Do You Garden

Welcome back to In the Garden with Flower Hill Farm, where we dig deep into the beauty, challenges, and joy of gardening! Join Nicole from Flower Hill Farm as she shares her passion for plants, flowers, and the stories that grow alongside them. Each episode is packed with inspiration, practical advice, and real talk from one of the most colorful gardens. Powered by Botanical Interests, your trusted source for exceptional seeds and gardening wisdom.

Whether you’re crafting your first garden plan or dreaming up a full landscape makeover, this show is your reminder to slow down, sketch out your ideas, and reconnect with the joy of growing.

In this episode, Nicole is joined by Yuliya Bellinger, a landscape designer and founder of a boutique design firm in Northern New Jersey. A lifelong gardener with a love for everything from houseplants and tropicals to natives and seed starting, Yuliya brings a unique blend of horticulture, art, and science to every project.

Together, Nicole and Yuliya dig into the fundamentals of landscape design and garden planning. What to think about before you start, how to bring your dream garden to life, and the practical steps that make the process feel exciting instead of overwhelming.

They also explore garden organization, chat trending color palettes, and Yuliya’s favorite ways to add color and interest to the winter garden. And just in time for the festive season, she shares creative ways to bring the outdoors in with garden-inspired holiday décor.

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Yuliya Bellinger: Landscape Designer & Founder of Y Do You Garden
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Blue Tea Butterfly Pea Seeds: https://bit.ly/3MzpyVu

[music] Hello and welcome to In the Garden with Flower Hill Farm. I'm your host Nicole Pitt. On my mind today, I am thinking about the process of planning next [music] year's garden. We are headed into a few months, at least where I live in upstate New York, of very cold temperatures [music] and several feet of snow. So, there's not much I can actually do outside. But you know what I can do? I can dream. I can dream about it and make plans for next year. And so can [music] you. We are seeing the new varieties of flowers and vegetables. Companies are launching and we are getting so excited. We are making lists. We are planning out our raised beds. And of [music] course, we are manifesting a season of success for 2026. But sometimes though, the best, most productive gardens [music] are unplanned gardens. Have you ever been at a garden center and you just, you know, last minute grab a plant, put it in your garden, and that ends up being the [music] most successful plant that you grew that year? So, if you're not planning out your garden yet, that's okay. You've got plenty of time. [music] I tend to dive deepest into my garden planning in January. [music] That's also when I tend to order baby chicks for the summer, but that's another [music] story. Nicole in January cannot be trusted with farming garden cataloges. There's been more than one occasion where boxes will just show up at my door and I have no memory of ordering that. And I know I'm not alone. [music] Now, it's not just the veggie gardens we are planning out. Many of us are thinking about landscaped areas. I have a huge project coming here at the Boone Street Nursery. We're creating a botanical garden on about an acre of property. Now, this will be a mixture of trees, perennials, annuals. Now, I [laughter] need to figure out and do some research about what will work best in my climate. This garden is going to be amazing, and my guest coming up, I'm hoping, will be able to help me out with that. She's actually a professional landscape designer. I'm excited to pick her brain. Now, as we are organizing and dreaming about our future gardens, let's talk about organizing that seed stash. Now, I know a lot of us have drawers and boxes and even those photo holder containers that you can get at the fabric store. I've been using those for a long time. But I learned something from a mentor of mine and it's really helped me out so that I don't forget to start a certain seed variety. Now, you're familiar with the back of the seed packet. It'll tell you how many weeks before frost to start it or if it's a direct sew. So, what I do is I take all of the seeds that need to be started in a certain week by counting back from my last frost date and I put all of those seeds together in a ziplockc bag and I label the week number that it needs to be started. I found that that has helped me out tremendously because sometimes several weeks will go by and I'll find a rogue seed packet and by that time it's too late to start it. So, that's one of the ways that has helped organize me with my massive seed stash. Also, be careful not to store it in cardboard boxes and in your garage because that [laughter] that has been a problem for me. One year, it was a couple of years ago, I had a huge shoe box full of beautiful seeds and I was so excited during the winter. I went in the garage and I opened up the box just to find that mice had gotten in there and quite literally made a feast of all of those seeds. So, that was a hard lesson learned. Make sure that wherever you're storing your seeds, it is mouse proof or rodent proof because they can absolutely destroy your season. Now, I also keep a spreadsheet. This is, you know, just a Google spreadsheet where I lay lay out all the seed varieties, when to start it, whether or not they need light for germination, whether or not they need to be heated for germination with a heat mat. We'll talk about all of this stuff more in depth in a seed starting episode coming up, but I want to get you guys thinking about planning out your 2026 garden space. Okay, so we're talking about new seed varieties, and I want to introduce something here. We're going to call this the seed of the day. Now, I am so excited about this one because I've been seeing it all over social media. It's a new in the lineup of botanical interests this year. It is called the blue tea butterfly pea seed. Now, if you've never seen this flower, it is the most vibrant blue. It does form a pea pod and that pea pod is edible. You would cook it like you would a sugar snap pee or a green bean. But that's not why this plant is prized. You might be surprised that it's Well, maybe you're not surprised because it's kind of in the name. It's blue tea. Yes, you can take the flowers off the plant, harvest them, and you can make culinary surprises. You can make a beautiful blue tea and uh fun party trick. If you add some lemon drops to this blue tea, it changes color. It changes to purple. It's really cool. So, it has some very rich history. This plant traces back to Southeast Asia where they've been using it for hundreds of years now. It has a mild, earthy, and slightly sweet taste that is often enhanced with other ingredients. Now, it's caffeine-free herbal infusion. It's not a true tea. It's used in a popular rice dish that's called nasi karabu. It is a most beautiful blue rice dish. They actually use the blue flowers to dye the rice blue. Absolutely gorgeous presentation. I think I might try that this summer cuz this seed is on my list for 2026. And believe it or not, it's actually used in skin care products in some countries because it has an antioxidant in the flower itself. Now, coming up in the garden, we will chat with Julia from Y Garden. I am so excited to chat with Julia. She is a professional garden design expert and um she is going to be giving me all of the trending topics in the garden for 2026. Hello everyone. Welcome back to In the Garden with Flower Hill Farm. I'm so excited about today's guest. She's been a friend of mine on the internet for a few years now and I am so excited that she's joining us here today. It is Julia from Y Garden. You guys might be familiar with Julia from her Instagram and her YouTube channel. Hi, how are you? Welcome to In the Garden. >> Hi. Thank you so much for having me. This is so exciting. >> So, for those who are not familiar, fill us in about um just your background and uh where you're gardening and what your season is like. >> So, I garden in northern New Jersey. We recently have been upped to zone 7. We have been zone six forever, but um I still don't quite believe all the zone changes. So I garden pretty much like a zone six. I um like to zone push anyway. So, I do have some zone seven and zone 8 plants, but um I've been gardening all of my life ever since I was age nine, believe it or not. And I started gardening, um with seeds, and it never stopped. It kind of like piled on the house plants and the perennials and shrubs and bulbs. Um uh and then I became a landscape designer because I just wanted to follow my passion as they say and opportunity kind of fell in my lap and I did it and I could not could not be happier. >> So you have this magical way of creating spaces for people now. So in your real nineto-ive that's what you do right you help people design. Talk about that process. Okay. So, [laughter] we only have 20 minutes. I can talk about it for two days. [laughter] >> Um, so basically I design um uh properties both residential and commercial more so residential and I love working with families because I can really um ask them what they're looking for in their space. And I do interrogate my clients um before I start working with them. I have a very extensive five-page questionnaire because I think people miss that step in designing their garden. They don't quite know what they want. And you need to sit down and examine your life and the life of your family. Do you entertain? Do you like to read outside? Do you like to uh look at birds? Do you like to grow food? Do you like to start plants from seed? And um how many people do you have in your family? Do you have any pets? All of that is super important because if you don't have that structure in your garden, um everything else kind of falls apart. And I think most people make the mistake and I know we're all passionate gardeners. So, um I'm a landscape designer, but I'm also a gardener as well. And I am as obsessed as the guy next door about plants. So, you know, I run into the nursery and I grab the plants that I love and then I have no idea where to put them. So, like this is our, you know, we all do this, but when you have a structure in your garden, you're kind of creating these pockets >> and then you have a designated uh space that solves a problem in your garden as well. Um, where I live, there are a lot of privacy issues. So the houses are closer together. So we have to come up with some sort of beautiful solution. >> Not only to block your neighbors, but also make it pretty. Don't make it like a um like a prison kind of situation. I'm just trying to block off my neighbors, >> but it's uh this double duty kind of landscaping. So I think um >> yeah so there's there are many many steps um in garden design before you actually go out and uh buy those plants or start your plants from seed you have to examine your outdoor space your site conditions what you would like in the garden your garden style as well which is super important I don't want um I don't know if you want me to dive a little bit into [laughter] that as well >> but yeah it's it's a really Um, it's a kind of it seems like a lot of work, but once you start doing the process, it is so much fun. >> Yeah, everything kind of falls into place once you realize, you know, the look or the vibe you're going for. Now, are there any trending plants that you're seeing that are becoming really popular or not not only plants, but trending colors that you're seeing in um in the garden world? So the trending colors um in the last I would say five years have been all always that pastely kind of bluish purple but also uh lemonade like like pink lemonade is >> I think is going to be huge in 2026. But um color is its own um kind of beast in the garden because a from my research everyone perceives color differently. >> I don't know if you remember that dress that was going around in the internet. Some people yes some people said no it's it's this and some people said no no no it's absolutely this. And you could have two people standing and looking at the same photo and saying it's different things because we we truly perceive color differently. And uh from my totally unscientific research, [laughter] I noticed that people who are older like brighter colors because as you age, the cells that are responsible for color perception in your eyes disappear like with hearing and all the other things. >> That's so interesting. Yeah. So, a lot of the clients that I have that are as of age, you know, more senior, they they almost all of them want those brighter colors, maroons, oranges, reds, and I am starting I don't know if it's age showing, but I [laughter] am starting to to kind of lean in towards that. U I've always been a pink, purple, blue kind of gal, but now I'm like, give me a good maroon. gave me [laughter] a good like something bright in my garden. >> Oh, I love that. So, one of the things that I I love to watch on your Instagram is how you plant for pollinators, and I know you have so many beautiful plants in your garden. If someone's looking to plant for pollinators, so they'd love to see the the butterflies and the bees in their yard, where should they start? >> Um, this is a great question. I am a huge advocate for native plants, for pollinator plants and um it's also a big trend um in a garden world right now. We're trying to be good stewards of our land and I would say if you want to plant uh let's say three plants that you want to start with that would be echynasia 100% huge for pollinators but also sunbirds. If you leave those seed heads for the winter, they will eat them and that will be your natural bird feeder. Another one is verinicostrum. Uh that's a plant not a lot of people know about. It has these beautiful candlelike um flowers. Uh it can get quite tall, about 5t tall, but it's more transparent in the garden. So you even can plant it in the front of the border and still can see your beautiful flowers beyond that. That plant is one of my top pollinator plants. Um bees just all day long. They they visit that plant all day long. Another wonderful pollinator plant that not a lot of people hear about is wild quinine. Uh which is Yes. It's it's actually a great cut flower plant. >> Yeah. >> Yes. I've done bouquets with that and it actually lasts for almost two weeks. It is be it dries beautifully as well. Yes. Um in the garden it lasts uh the blooms last almost two months which is amazing. You um want to have those workh horses in your garden especially if you have a smaller garden and you don't have enough space. You want to have those plants that perform uh both for you and the wildlife. So [laughter] something something that blooms beautifully and also the pollinators absolutely adore. So I would say wild quinine eynia vernicostrum there's like hundreds of others that you can plant. Also don't forget about the grasses. Grasses provide that beautiful texture in the garden and sunbirds love them and they also go beautifully into the winter interest. So, the winter is coming. Nothing is really happening outside, but if you have if you leave those grasses standing, um they provide that winter structure. >> That's I was going to ask you about winter interest. So, grass for sure. I know that I have some purple fountain grass that I planted along my sidewalk and it's so beautiful right now. It's just that almost like a beigy color, but you know, it's flowing in the wind and it's providing some winter interest. What are some other plants that people can plant so that they're not looking at a sea of dead in the winter time? >> Yes, absolutely. So, I know you're in a little bit different zone than I am. [laughter] >> So, you're more um like where I used to live in northern Russia, um it's it's a it's a tricky spot for evergreens, but any of the evergreens that you can grow like spruces, furs, junipers are amazing. And u they're also deer resistant. I know you battle with deer. >> I do. >> Yes. [laughter] Um I think I actually found that junipers are becoming um more of a substitute to the suya or arbor variety that a lot of people plant. But if you have uh the deer pressure that um it's very high, you know, they chop those the bottom branches so high and they look like lollipops. >> Yeah. >> So juniper Yeah, juniper is a great substitute for that. But again, um, for every species of evergreen like this, you have hundreds of cultivars. You can have a juniper that is spreading or a really thin looks like almost like Italian cyprus. >> Um, that provides that exclamation point for your winter garden. And um, it really is showy. But also, if you plant a fur, uh, white fur is one of my most favorite evergreen trees. They have this classic um Christmas treel like appearance. >> So, you don't even have to cut a Christmas tree or bring it in. You can just decorate your beautiful white fur outside and they're very soft to touch. They're gorgeous all year round. Um so, evergreens, uh like conifer is a great way to go. And they're also broadleaf evergreens. I know in your area they're probably not as successful because you are colder, but for my area or somebody who is uh south of zone five, I would say um mountain laurels are amazing evergreen for winter structure. As they get older, their bottom branches kind of fall and they create that beautiful architectural plant and they bloom so beautifully in the spring. kind of like ro if you if you're done with roodendrrons >> try mountain laurel it's gorgeous >> amazing so another thing that I find that is trending right now because we are entering the holiday season a lot of people are looking to make their own wreaths at home and they're foraging they're making beautiful things with foraged stuff and I remember a couple years ago you decorated a Christmas tree with some stuff that you foraged from your garden. Talk about some stuff that people can plant that they can use to forage for holiday decor. >> Oh my goodness, [laughter] that's like its whole thing. Um I am planning my Christmas decorations right now. Um so the trees uh that I have in my gu in my house. I usually have a few one artificial one, one real and I usually decorate the artificial one with all the stuff from my garden. So it is live. It's artificial, but it's live. >> I absolutely love amaranth, dried amaranth for Christmas decor on your Christmas tree. It's like don't use the the the tinsel ambred. [laughter] [gasps] >> It's absolutely beautiful. Um, you know, they they grow those lawn tassels and they dry really well. They keep color amazingly. Uh, of course, all of the panacle hydrangeas that you can cut from your garden as well as the big leaf. Um, a lot of them keep their color as well. Um, another one I would braid some of my ornamental grasses which is, uh, use gloves, >> super important because they can, you know, uh, damage your hands. But you can create your own ornaments and dried aliums. Um so >> yeah so after um my aliium season is over and I grow many different um kinds like purple sensation uh gladiator ambassador you know those really big beautiful bold ones but also Christophi or shertie they literally look like fireworks and you don't have to do anything with them I know some people spray them with glitter or like gold >> yeah I honestly think that the natural natural look is is just amazing. So, you just stick them in your Christmas tree and boom, you're done. >> Wow. I just I remember your post. It was just so beautiful and it was really inspiring and I want to plant more for that. I do a lot of straw flour and gumrina and those very traditional dried flowers, but I'd love to start drying some of my amaranth because oftent times I grow so much of it that I don't know what to do with it. So those are some great ideas for decoration. >> Yes, it's amazing. >> And another thing that I came into my mind as you were saying that um I actually hung um about 20 or 25 uh alium um seed heads off our ceiling right here for Christmas. And it was magical. It was magical. Everybody who was visiting they're like what in the world? But yeah, it's um as you know the heat comes on in the house, the warm air kind of moves them around. So you have this magical effect of moving volume seed heads. Yeah. >> Mhm. And do they kind of look like beautiful snowflakes or just like spheres? >> Yes. >> Yeah. They give that snowflake effect. Cool. >> Okay. So we're going into the months of winter and I know your winter is a little bit different than my winter, but you still go you still get a decent winter season. So, how do you go about planning for your next season? Are you making lists? Are do you have like a long list of seeds that you'd like to order? Do you plan things out or are you more like spur of the moment? I know you're not spur of the moment. You have some [laughter] spur of the moment. I know you have some, but you like to plan things out. Talk about your process of seed starting and what your seed starting space looks like. >> [laughter] >> I like just asking me that question, you're getting me so excited. I can't >> I know. >> Um so I actually cleared out my seed starting um station downstairs a couple of days ago. I am ready. You would not believe it. I'm actually ready to start seeds next week. Um yes, I'm starting some lizantas. I'm uh going to do some winter sewing. But as for the seed starting, I absolutely have my spreadsheet and I actually gather ideas all throughout the season. So starting this spring and all summer, I see what other people are growing that I would love to have in my garden. I visit a lot of other gardens, both private and public. >> I make little notes. I take photos. And then all of that goes into a wish list. And then when I go to uh online or I start receiving those wonderful seed cataloges, [laughter] I'm ready. I have my I have my list. I generally um plan by a color palette. I have different areas in my garden um with more like pastel, but then as I mentioned, as I get older, I do love more of the brighter colors. So, um, I'm looking to kind of combine those as well together because a lot of times when you combine them, uh, in one bed, it kind of looks haphazard. >> So, you want to have that nice harmonious balanced look, >> but absolutely ready. Um, and of course, I have a lot of seeds left over from the previous season. You know, kind of have to go over it and it's like a nice activity in a cold winter day. Um and then um starting January I am starting Dondra. I'm starting uh stock. Stock is my latest love. I kind >> so much. >> I I know you do. I watched your videos and I learned so much. Um I think stock is it's a little tricky but once you crack the code Yeah. >> it's actually not that hard to grow. Yes. They have a longer season until they bloom, but I think um they're so worth it. Just >> Mhm. I just the scent alone. I have been alone in a car with buckets of stock and it was probably one of the best drives of my life. [laughter] It's so intoxicating. It's so delicious. So, if if those of you who are not familiar, stock is a beautiful like one stem almost looks like a snapdragon, but the scent that it gives off is just spectacular. And it's one of the best cut flowers and it's a cool flower so it's something that you can start early in your garden. So do you tend to soil block? Do you use plug trays? How do you start your seeds or you do a combination of everything? >> I do combination of everything. Uh sometimes I like to experiment and I like that's one of the reasons why I love gardening so much is because every year gives you that chance to experiment and try and see maybe this works better than this. Um, so for lizantas, for example, last year I tried soil blocking. I tried h seed trays. I tried just a regular salad, you know, plastic container and just throw them in there. >> And um I mean they all pretty much perform the same way. It's just a question is whether you want to uh save on plastic, which you know we're all trying to do. And um I definitely see that the soil blocks are easier to plant for [laughter] sure. You know, you just pop those little babies in the ground and um you don't have to, you know, struggle with the cells and get them out of there. But seed starting is so magical to me and that's how I started as a child. My parents got uh a country house at some point. And while they were clearing out the weeds, my dad gave me a little space 3×3 and gave me a seed packet of China aers >> which again it's Yeah. Again, it's not a plant that a lot of people grow here. I don't know why. It's incredibly easy. It is a very longlasting cut flower as you probably know. It cuts it lasts forever in the garden as well. So I started those seeds and a week later I saw the little life and for a 9-year-old it's like wait I threw dust in the ground and then I have life and then they bloomed a couple of months later it was just I was hooked like it was no way back. [laughter] >> No, it's one of the most amazing experiences and you want to get that feeling all the time. So, you just want to start more seeds and more seeds and and just to see just to see what you can grow because it is a magical experience. >> Absolutely. Yeah. >> But yes, um the seed starting station is ready. I got my lights all [laughter] >> good. Yes, >> I' I've cleaned up I've cleaned up my trays. I've cleaned up my uh cells and um going, you know, to order those seeds very soon. >> I know it's on it's on the list of things to do. I still have to clean out my seed drum fully. It's just a little a little things I have to move around. I do have some renunculus sprouting down there right now that I need to move out into my high tunnel. Um, but I need to give it a good vacuum from the year before. [laughter] I'm also trying something new this year. I'm I ordered in some heirloom mum cutings. So, I'm going to try to create some mother plants in my basement so that I can take cutings from. So, I I want it to be clean and I want it to be free of any sort of potential for disease before I bring my mom plants down there. So, I have a lot of work to do over the next week or so. >> Yeah. >> But right now is the time to do it. You're probably It's It's pretty cold where you are. >> Yes, it is. >> Yes. >> It is 28 this morning. It's just going to get colder. >> Yeah. I call it the winter gardening season. It is. It's just never stops and I don't want it to stop. I know there are some people who like to take a break in the winter. I I would be on the couch like [laughter] totally depressed if I couldn't garden in the winter. >> And this is why we're friends. [laughter] >> Okay. I have one more question to to pick your brain with before uh we say goodbye today. And as you know, I've talked with you a little bit about this, but we were the recipient of a grant to build a botanical garden here at my retail location. We want to build this winding sidewalk around my main greenhouse, and we want to make it the most beautiful botanical garden that zone 4 in upstate New York can bring. There are a lot of restrictions with our zone and and the cold temperatures that we do have here, but what do you suggest that I start with? because it's the whole process is so overwhelming to me and I know that you have that professional eye. What should I start with? Um should I start with hardscape? Should I start with trees? Like what should I do? >> Okay, so the first thing I actually would start with is the history of the site >> because a lot of times the history of the site will direct uh you where to go as for the design because you want it to be meaningful. >> Yes. What what is what are you trying to um accomplish? Is there um like for example I'm just this is I'm just making this up. Is there some sort of glass blowing factory or something like that that is like the first glass bowl was made and then you incorporate some glass structures in your garden? So you kind of bring in elements that are meaningful for the site and then you maybe incorporate some of the design ideas in those winding paths. Are they going to be a circle? Are they going to be an S shape? Are they going to be very rectilinear? So all of those design design decisions like architectural and meaningful design decisions go into creating an art. You're really creating an art around the site. Um, and then once you get that structure in place, I would highly recommend just researching a lot of native plants because they [clears throat] are so much easier. You don't botanical gardens. Uh, unless you have a a crew [laughter] Exactly. Unless you're going to take care of it, I would definitely just go with something that is indigenous to to uh your area. Uh first of all, it will be it will uh bring a sense of space to to this botanical garden that you're trying to create, which is by the way, I'm like you're a powerhouse. I'm so impressed with everything that you're [laughter] that you are trying to do. >> So yes, um having a place that is bringing the history of your town, bringing the history of your site, history of your family, of what you're trying to do is uh the first step in in is absolutely beautiful and totally align with what I've been trying to do here because this place that I purchased is historic. It was built in 1894 and we're trying to, >> you know, maintain the historical integrity of the space but bringing it up to speed with cuz I can't grow with holes in the wall. So, we're trying to make repairs while we can. But it it has been a giant adventure. And I I think incorporating the history of my little village along with my personal history like with with things that remind me of my grandfather and my family. I think that's going to make the most beautiful botanical garden and I am going to pick your brain so much more after World. >> Anytime. [laughter] >> Anytime. I'm here for it. >> Oh, thank you so much. It has been so nice chatting with you today. It's been too long since we've chatted. We should chat. We should schedule monthly chats just because we need to catch up. But thank you so much. >> In public or in person, I'm ready. >> We should hook. We should go to a garden show together. Let's do that. Okay. >> Absolutely. >> Okay. That's a good way to fill time in the winter as well. So, thank you so much. Before we leave, tell people where they can find you so they can follow your journey. >> Um, you can find me on Instagram. Uh, my handle is Why Do You Garden. You can find me on YouTube. My handle is also why do do your garden but my uh channel name is why garden. >> Yes. >> And thank you so much for having me today. This was so >> a I loved it. [laughter] All right. We'll have you back soon. >> Okay. Thank you. Bye >> bye. >> Now it's time for my favorite segment of the show. It's called Sew and Tell. Now this is where we feature your [music] stories. We want to hear from you. Tell us what inspires you in the garden. [music] Send me your audio or video clips to [email protected]. Keep them about 30 45 seconds. Tell me your name, where you live, and what zone you are growing in. And I'd love to share your stories here on In the Garden. Today though, I'm going to tell you about one of my garden inspiration stories. And there are many of them. So, this is just one of them. Now, in episode 1, I shared with you guys that my love of growing vegetables really was born from my grandparents backyard. and the raised beds that we grew just 15 ft out their back door that was so magical and wonderful to play around with when I was a kid. Today though, I'm going to talk about what inspires me for flowers. Now, this takes me way back to when I was probably 9 or 10 years old. I was hanging out in the treeine at the house where I currently live. I was sitting on a giant rock. I was probably reading an RL Stein book or Babysitters Club or something like that. And I was just sipping my lemonade, drinking, reading on the rock, you know, those lazy summer days. And next to me there were a few flowers blooming and they're what is called dame's rocket. In some places it's considered invasive. Here in upstate New York, it really doesn't get the chance to be invasive. And it is a beautiful flower that ranges in colors from white to pale lavender. And they were just growing right next to me in the shade of the treeine. And something caught my eye one morning and I swear I thought it was a fairy. It had wings like a hummingbird, but a body that was kind of furry. And I I ran inside to tell my parents I was convinced that I saw a fairy. It was magic. And the way that it danced and hovered from each pale lavender bloom was pure magic. So I was pretty adamant that I saw a fairy. And I was mesmerized by its wings, how close I could get to it. And this is exactly the moment when I discovered that nature was simply the best thing in the world, and I wanted to be outdoors all the time. Now, it wasn't until I was in the garden 20 years later when I saw this mythical creature again. It was on a butterfly bush I had planted the year before. This time I ran, I grabbed my camera, I took some pictures, and then I did some research and I found out that my fairy was just a hummingbird moth or a hawk moth as they're known. Well, little did I know that this magical fairy creature was actually quite destructive [laughter] in the garden. But honestly, I didn't care. It was absolutely beautiful. and the beauty of that creature outweighed the potential potential damage and it still does today. Now, fast forward 22 years and I was presented with the manifested opportunity to buy back my childhood home, the home where I fell in love with flowers, my childhood home that my father built from the ground up. And when we did, I was drawn back to those Dames Rocket and that feeling of discovering that magical mythical creature that was a common hummingbird moth. But to my child's eye, it was pure magic. And I knew looking out over the 20 acre property with the rolling hills and and the fields of grass that that grass needed to be replaced with flowers. And that is what inspired me to start growing cut flowers on such a large scale. And in fact, the logo for my business, if you're watching this on the Botanical Interest YouTube channel, I'm wearing my sweatshirt. You can see all these purple flowers at the top of my logo. That is the Dames Rocket and that was my inspiration for Flower Hill Farm. Okay, so thank you guys so much for hanging out with me today. I want to hear your garden inspiration stories. So don't forget to send them to me. It's nicole at botanical interests.com and also follow us on all of the social media channels. We have the botanical interest over on Instagram, Tik Tok, and you can follow my adventures with flowering at Flowerhill Farm on all of the socials as well. Now, don't forget all of the seeds that we're talking about are available at botanicalest.com and you get an extra 5% off with using the code in the garden. You can also check in with your local garden centers to see if they carry the botanical interest line like we do here on Boon Street. Want to see what we're talking about? Check out Botanical Interests on YouTube. [music] And this podcast is in video form there. You'll check it out. You can see some garden tips, ideas, behindthe-scenes fun. All of the links in this episode are in the description. Thanks for hanging out with me today. We will see you next time in the garden.