Somewhere towards the beginning of the pandemic, the one that you are probably working to try to forget, I began to develop an affinity for gardening shows, gardening centric social media accounts and gardening magazines — at least, that is, when I skim through them for a couple seconds in the grocery checkout line. In this way, I suppose I’m like your 80-year-old grandmother who is vigilant in remaining cash positive in her subscriptions to Better Homes and Gardens.
These gardens and flowers are relaxing to think about as we find ourselves trudging through the daily muck the world throws in our paths. They take you out of the moment for a bit and let you focus on something idyllic. Perhaps this fascination, for me, springs from a dream of having a grand flower garden of my own, somewhere to sit and forget about the world. This is my little fantasy that ignores the difficulty anyone in my generation will have in ever owning a home of their own, much less with a sunny backyard to boot. Perhaps the closest I may get is a heavy dose of Monty Don or “The Big Flower Fight.”
As idyllic as those shows can be, there is one fatal flaw you will begin to notice as you binge your way through HGTV: there is never any real conflict, any real stakes. My gosh, will David manage to finish his koi pond before winter? Can Hillary possibly manage to transplant this many roses across the garden, all by herself? Let’s be honest about something. If Nathaniel doesn’t manage to get all his tulips planted before the end of the season, the truth is, well, there’s always next year. I’m over here living life, Nathaniel. I’m trying to afford a carton of eggs, Nathaniel. The tulips are beautiful, but they don’t make for much of a narrative climax.
Now I’m not bashing my man Monty Don, horticulturist and kindly, umbrella-wielding TV host extraordinaire. I’m a big fan. Shows like his, where he comes in and helps people to build their dream gardens, are the perfect comfort food. But those shows are all about gardens — all about flowers. Can you imagine if the host of the garden show started losing it because the wrong variety of hosta was placed in the back corner of the yard? It just wouldn’t work. Maybe the truth is, when it comes to dynamic storytelling, a show about flowers just can’t really handle any spice. At least, that’s is what I thought until recently when I discovered “Growing Floret,” a show about flowers, that entirely hinges upon the possibility of total failure.
Erin Benzakein is the founder and owner of a flower farm named Floret. Erin and Floret function as the centerpoint for this reality docu series that manages to be Emmy nominated and have no critical reviews on IMDb.
Erin has worked her entire adult life to start her flower farm. It’s her passion, and that passion is evident through the hardships she endured to make the dream a reality. Hardships including her and her husband working long hours to afford a house for their family, and working even longer hours to start a flower farm on the land behind that house. Now Erin has the farm. She has a team to work on it. She has an involved internet following and has written acclaimed books about blooms. All of that threatens to crumble out from under her. This show is far from just sunshine and daisies — it has conflict.
The farm’s success means it’s time for Floret to expand. Seemingly lucky for Erin, there’s an expanse of farmland available for purchase right by the current location. After purchasing, Erin will realize something less than fortunate. The soil on this new farmland is dead. It’s devoid of nutrients, incapable of producing vibrant or even healthy plants. Will Floret be able to repair the earth that’s been tarnished by chemicals and heavy machinery in enough time to make a profit before the end of the season? If not, what will happen to the farm and all the people that work there? What will happen to the online followers that rely on Floret for education and community? What will happen to Erin, who’s worked so hard to bring her dreams to life?
Despite this monumental obstacle, Growing Floret is an absolute joy to watch. You get to watch how much happiness the flowers bring to everyone on the farm and everyone surrounding it. Not to mention, the show is absolutely stunning from beginning to end– capable of satisfying all want for idyllic views of blooms and nature.
Bad soil is not the only obstacle Floret will face during the show’s run. In the final episode, Erin talks about the pandemic, the one you are probably working to try to forget. She talks about how it was difficult for her business and how it was difficult for the rest of the world. In the face of all the adversities Floret had to endure, and all the adversities the rest of the world has had to endure, the beauty shines through. As Erin says in that final episode, “In the darkest times is when beauty is the most needed.”
As we all continue to trudge through life’s daily muck, as we push on with the adversities in our own lives, we continue to search for our idyllic release from the toils of a world that makes it difficult to own a sunny backyard, or even sometimes a carton of eggs. But a show like “Growing Floret,” with its beautiful adversities, can remind us that the conflict may make for a more dynamic story, but it can still be all about the gardens and the flowers.