“By the time he planted his first seed and watched it bloom into a bright white daisy, Hart began to feel what he suspected his mom felt every time she was out in the gardens. The joy sprouted on the stem, and in his soul. While other boys were becoming interested in video games, or sports, or breaking rules, Hart got really into flowers. There were some areas in the garden where the flowers grew so high and bountiful that you could walk through them and get lost in tiny worlds. Whole colorful planets at his fingertips. To Hart, there was nothing like it. Cupping a sorbet-colored ball of dahlia in the palm of his hand, breathing in the musky-sweet notes of jasmine, watching the pollen-dressed bees buzzing in the fluff. The flowers made something in Hart's soul stir. Or settle. Or float. He wasn't sure what, but it felt like he'd discovered a secret that no one else knew about. That all you needed to feel perfectly in balance with the world were flowers.” ChildhoodFlowersOne With NatureHorticulturalist Book:Of Earthly Delights Source: Of Earthly Delights
“Hart smelled of clean sweat, sweet earth, and fresh-cut grass, and on days like this Rose was sure she could inhale him whole. There was balance to this, she thought. To her painting in the garden while he tended to it. The kind of balance you could only find in nature. Rose handed him the water bottle and watched his throat work; watched it the way a famished vampire might. She licked her lips. "Ahh," Hart said when he came up for air. She loved that he actually said "Ahh" after taking a drink. She loved that there was a single blade of grass stuck with sweat to the base of his neck, greening him up like botanical jewelry.” BalanceTeen RomanceOne With NatureScent Of A ManNeckShirtless Book:Of Earthly Delights Source: Of Earthly Delights