Planting Daffodils: A Journey of Rooting Into Hope Through Life’s Storms

A few days ago, my best friend and I chatted about the season we are both in: It’s a space where the curve balls are flying faster and hitting harder.

So for a few minutes, we imagined what it would look and feel like if we had a few days FREE from life curve balls.

The imagination was blissful, and I’m sure you’ve imagined this too! Life is challenging, and the big curve balls always seem to happen when we least expect it.

So, I’m pitching my tent here to give you and myself a place to rest and refocus on what you can control:

We can either choose to surrender to despair or sow seeds of hope.

Over the years, digging in the soil to plant daffodils each fall has become my favorite way of sowing seeds of hope during some of the most difficult seasons of my life. Here’s how this simple act has helped me transform pain into growth and darkness into light.

Fall 2020:

In the fall of 2020, my life was in turmoil. I was going through a painful divorce, feeling lost, and uncertain about the future. This is the first time I decided to plant daffodil bulbs in the cool autumn soil with the intention of anticipating spring blooms. It was an act of refocus and it regenerated my mind, soul, and spirit in impactful ways.

I knew in spring, they would bloom, and I clung to that simple, yet profound promise: What I plant now in hope would grow into a good future.

And, a few months later the daffodils bloomed!

At the first sight of their sprouts, I felt their green reviving my soul and celebrating the freedom I was experiencing in my life. Hope, which had been fragile, grew stronger and became the freedom to move forward.

Hope Bloomed from Fear into Freedom.

Fall 2021

The following year, fall 2021, I was juggling a lot of balls in my life — going back to school, managing my small cut flower business, and raising my daughter on my own. The challenges felt hard at times: but, once again, I channeled these stresses into an activity I knew would help root my mind, body, and soul in hope. I planted daffodil bulbs.

I reflected on what amazing feelings these colorful bulbs would bring me in the spring and tucked them away in my mind and heart.

The daffodils sprouted with eagerness by spring and opened up to the sky. The new growth mirrored and celebrated the strength I was growing within. Each flower reminded me of my inner resilience—a strength that had been quietly building while trying to push through all the dirt.

Hope Bloomed from Stress into Strength.

Fall 2022:

By fall 2022, I was working through painful layers of past trauma. Healing from abuse wasn’t easy, and I spent many days in tears. I was exhausted and grieving. But still, I chose to plant daffodils (tears and all), holding on to hope even when it felt impossible.

Spring arrived and the vibrant yellow flowers reflected the regeneration of my heart and mind. I had more space for joy and love thanks to the previous months of healing. Each petal reminded me that hope carried me through the darkest days and bloomed into healing.

Hope Bloomed from Hurt into Healing.

Fall 2023:

This past year, fall 2023, I faced one of my biggest physical challenges yet—a diagnosis of a neurological disorder (Chiari Malformation) and the looming reality of a major surgery. This was NOT part of the plan. I just opened up my therapeutic horticulture practice and was forced to turn around and temporarily shut Daffodilly’s gates. Ouch.

With just enough courage to turn toward my family and utter “help”, my family supported me in planting daffodil bulbs in hope rather than fear. As I prepared for surgery and a six-week recovery period, I thought often about those bulbs resting under the earth, knowing they were waiting to bloom when the time was right.

When spring came, the flowers were radiating and I was in recovery. Once again, I witnessed how hope waited with me in the worry and transformed into something beautiful: a successful recovery.

Hope Bloomed from Worry to Recovery.

Fall 2024: An Invitation to Hope

I can’t believe it but I’ve been intentionally planting daffodils for four years DESPITE the challenges trying to chain me in fear. Instead, I have chosen to root into the freedom of hope with hurt right alongside it. It truly wouldn’t have been possible without surrendering to God and allowing the comfort of others to help me.

Now, here we are in the fall of 2024, and I’m inviting you to plant daffodil bulbs with me.

Whatever you’re facing—heartbreak, trauma, illness—know that hope is your ally and you can find fellowship here. As we plant these bulbs together, let’s root into hope, trusting that by spring, our hurting will turn into healing.

The daffodils WILL bloom and remind us that transformation is always possible.

I hope this practice brings you the same sense of peace and strength that it’s brought me over the years. Will you join me this fall in planting hope?

With 💚 & 🌼,

Chelsea