The Test Garden: The Great Untangling
Memorial Day weekend has passed, and it’s been almost two months since I planted my first Test Garden seeds. I’ve just finished potting up the last of the cosmos and tassel flowers in their new homes, and for the first time, the garden is finally looking somewhat “done.”
The cosmos had really gotten themselves into quite a mess. The tassel flowers weren’t far behind. Roots had woven into mats beneath the cells, and every time I lifted a tray, something seemed connected to something else.
The Great Untangling had begun.
Over the past week or so, I finally started separating and potting things up — gently teasing apart roots, deciding what would stay, what would be given away, and what had truly earned a place in the garden.
Some cosmos and tassel flowers went to my mother. A few parsley starts found homes with friends and neighbors. The rest began settling into terracotta pots, window boxes, and open spaces throughout the garden.
A mass planting of some of the cosmos, with a single pink bud forming. All photos by Parsley & Petal.
Some of the The Test Garden cosmos and tassel flowers potted up in containers on the deck. I also started “Sugar Daddy’ snap peas and ‘Spring’ Broccoli Raab in window boxes.
The tassel flowers, one of the earliest surprises of the Test Garden, were moved into their own containers. Some were grouped simply in terracotta pots, while others became part of two muted mixed arrangements with ‘Diamond Frost’ Euphorbia and ‘Silver Falls’ Dichondra — soft, airy combinations that feel more atmospheric than loud.
A simple Irish poet tassel poet flower arrangement.
Tassel flowers, ‘Diamond Frost’ Euphorbia, and ‘Silver Falls’ Dichondra beside David Austin’s ‘The Lady Gardener’ rose.
The two lone Verbena bonariensis? They’re being protected in a container for now, with a tassel flower to keep them company. I plan to move them out into the garden in a spot where I hope they will reseed and multiply.
The two lone Verbena bonariensis ‘Vanity’ seedlings flanking a tassel flower plant will stay in a container for now.
I bought a Verbena plant last year that failed to reseed. Perhaps these two seedlings will be luckier.
I also learned that Verbena bonariensis, along with Dianthus (which failed to produce any seedlings in my test this year), benefits from cold stratification when started indoors, and that a couple of weeks in the refrigerator can help improve germination. Perhaps next year, I’ll give that a try.
Meanwhile, the garden itself continued weighing in on my plans.
One rabbit managed to eat a cosmos seedling almost immediately, which earned the remaining plants a protective cage. Gardening has a way of humbling optimism quickly.
Rabbit protection for my newly transplanted cosmos.
Still, there’s progress everywhere I look now.
The ‘Sugar Daddy’ peas finally emerged after about two weeks, followed closely by the Broccoli Raab ‘Spring’. The ‘Bush Blue Lake’ beans were sown once the temperatures warmed a bit more and just started showing signs of life after over a week.
‘Sugar Daddy’ Peas about 2 weeks after sowing.
‘Spring’ Broccoli Raab about 2 weeks after sowing.
‘Bush Blue Lake’ beans finally sprouting almost 10 days after sowing.
I also added a few nursery herbs to the mix this week: rosemary, thyme, and tarragon, alongside a lemon mint I successfully overwintered from last year. It may be one of the smallest victories in the garden, but after winter, even one surviving herb feels encouraging.
For the Mediterranean herbs, I amended the soil with gravel and a bit of sand for sharper drainage, then topped the pots with gravel mulch. The terracotta, stone, herbs, and afternoon light near the gravel garden have created the kind of quiet working-garden atmosphere I’ve been slowly moving toward.
Parsley from the Test Garden, with tarragon, thyme and rosemary in nearby pots.
And maybe that’s the real story of this stage of the Test Garden.
Not just growing seedlings, but figuring out where things belong.
Some plants needed more space. Some needed protection. Some looked prettier grouped. Others became stronger once the roots were separated.
New holes have been dug, while containers have been placed where they belong,
The garden is beginning to untangle itself, and things are finally settling in.
Whether you’re tending vegetables or potting up flowers, watering, deadheading, and all that summer suddenly asks for, The Seasonal Edit is there when the garden starts asking for everything at once.
The Seasonal Edit
The Seasonal Edit is a recurring garden checklist of what’s emerging, what can wait, and what deserves attention now. Practical tasks. Clear structure. Timed to the season as it unfolds.
Suggested Reading