This week both my sons came home for Mother’s Day. Stephen had to head back the next morning, but William stayed for a few extra days.

As you might remember from a previous newsletter, William has recently taken up fixing cars as a hobby.

And, I think the universe fully approved of this new phase. Not long after I mentioned it in a prior email, my neighbor Laura called and said she had inherited a huge collection of mechanic tools from her brother who had recently passed away and wondered if William might want them.

Well.

Talk about a kid in a candy shop.

A giant Snap-on toolbox packed with pretty much every tool a mechanic could dream of.

Drawers and drawers of things I can’t even name. Watching William go through it all was honestly kind of emotional. Such a generous gift from Laura and such a meaningful way for those tools to keep being used.

And they immediately got put to work.

Within about 24 hours, William had already fixed a few smaller issues on our car and Stephen’s, with a much bigger radiator job on the Honda scheduled for later this week.

It’s funny how quickly the household list of “things needing William” has suddenly grown now that he has the tools and confidence to tackle them.

And this reminds me a little of farming.

Once you learn how something works .. really works .. you start seeing opportunities everywhere to make life easier, better, more beautiful.

That’s part of why I love sharing flower-growing knowledge with customers whenever I get the chance, whether it’s here in the newsletter, chatting at the flower stand, or diving much deeper inside Grow With Me.

And lately, the flower everyone wants to talk about is peonies.

Not exactly surprising this time of year.

If you grow peonies at home, lucky you.

And if you don’t already know this little trick, it can completely change how you enjoy them indoors.

Most people wait too long to cut peonies.

The best time to harvest them is before they fully open, during what flower farmers call the “marshmallow stage.” The bud will still be mostly closed, but when you gently squeeze it, it feels soft — kind of like a marshmallow.

You’ll also notice the buds often feel sticky.

That sugary coating is called nectar, and yes, it’s one of the reasons ants are so attracted to peonies. Contrary to popular belief, ants aren’t actually required for peonies to bloom, but they do happily feed on that sweet coating while the flower continues developing.

(And before you bring them inside, a gentle shake is usually enough to send the ants on their way.)

But harvesting peonies early is where the magic happens.

Instead of only getting a couple of days with a fully open bloom, you get to experience the entire transformation.

That tight little ball slowly unfurls day by day into those giant, ruffled blooms that honestly barely look real.

And because peonies are admittedly a bit dramatic (beautiful, but dramatic), their vase life is fairly short once fully open — often just a few days. Cutting them early gives you extra time to enjoy the whole show.

So if your peonies are starting to bloom, bring a few inside.

Trust me, it’s worth it.