Getting started

Written By dawnatella
A moonflower seedling sprouting in a starter pot on mulch, part of a summer garden setup in Greensboro, North Carolina.

A little moonflower emerges.

Last week I planted some seed starts. I’m working with a variety of herbs and flowers. I’m still not especially confident with my growing abilities, so I’m starting with seeds. They’re relatively inexpensive, and it’s not as big a disappointment when it doesn’t work out. I have an entire southern-gothic-meets-whimsical-forest vision for the backyard. That includes planting a moonflower on the A-frame from which the weathered swing hangs, letting it trellis there, and I ordered some seeds from Strictly Medicinal Seeds to give that a try. Today the moonflower emerged from the husk of its seed, and I am ecstatic.

dawnatella

Dawn Shepherd is a writer, a professor emeritus of writing studies, and an enthusiastic amateur of many things. After stepping away from higher education in 2025 to pursue a cross-country van journey and travels through Spain, she is currently exploring the art of the deliberate return. Through dispatches, sketches, and snapshots, she documents the magic of everyday life. She lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she’s figuring it all out. Probably. Maybe.

https://thedawnatellaedit.com
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Wren on a Fence