In the throes of spring and summer, fewer things can bring more joy to an average day than the bounty of colorful, blooming flowers popping up.
This joy is only magnified when the flowers grow in our own garden. And, thanks to this hack from gardener Steph (@mulberriesandmayhem), we can keep those flowers blooming year after year.
The scoop
In the Instagram Reel detailing the hack, Steph plucks dying flower tops from her marigold plant. The seeds are situated inside the base of the flower top. You can collect these tops and their attached seeds, let them dry, and next spring, you'll have a supply of new marigold plants ready to take root and bloom.
How it's helping
"Marigolds benefit your garden in so many ways!" the post is captioned. "They'll give you a pop of color to draw in those pollinators [and] draw in insects to help you with organic pest control."
In addition to providing food and resting spots for pollinators and built-in pest protection, flowers are a simple and accessible entry point for amateur gardeners looking to get started.
Gardening is an activity that can do wonders for mental and physical health. According to Mayo Clinic, gardening has been shown to lighten one's mood and to lower levels of stress and anxiety.
Additionally, adding the routines of gardening to our day — like watering and weeding — can give life a soothing rhythm and ease stress. Planting fruits and vegetables can also be a great way to save money on produce.
Growing your own food has positive environmental impacts, too, as it reduces demand for mass-produced, store-bought, and globally shipped produce. According to the United Nations, around a third of all human-caused planet-warming gas pollution is connected to food, and the largest chunk of this is from agriculture and land use.
🗣️ Which of these benefits is your biggest motivation in gardening?
🔘 Getting outside more 🌱
🔘 Growing healthy food 🥕
🔘 Making my yard beautiful 🏡
🔘 I don't garden 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
What everyone's saying
Instagram users took to the comments section of the video to praise the hack and to offer their own suggestions and anecdotes from trying out similar gardening techniques.
"AMEN!!!! So many just throw them out," one person wrote.
"I just pulled some of these off and immediately scattered them in the ground," someone else commented, "and three days later they've sprouted."
"So cool!" another said.
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