When Eric Swenson asked Kristin to marry him, he offered more than a ring.
He promised to plant 1,000 peonies, her favorite flowers, if she agreed to build a life with him.
Kristin wanted to believe him, but part of her remained cautious. Both had experienced difficult relationships before meeting, and a promise involving an entire garden sounded almost too ambitious to be real.
Eric began planting anyway.
Five years later, hundreds of peony plants fill their property, producing thousands of flowers every spring.
Their relationship did not begin with instant certainty
Kristin has said that meeting Eric was not a case of immediate love.
They were independent adults in their 30s, both carrying disappointment from previous relationships. It took about a year of getting to know one another before Kristin began to recognize the qualities that made Eric different.
She was drawn to his kindness, respect and consistency.
When Eric proposed, he explained why he wanted them to become partners for life. During a second proposal at the place where they first met, he added a promise intended to represent the commitment he was making.
He would plant 1,000 peonies for her.
Peonies were Kristin’s favorite flowers, but the promise was about more than filling a garden with blooms. Eric wanted to create something that required patience and continued care.
Peonies do not offer immediate results. Newly planted roots may need several seasons before producing an impressive display.
@helloitskristin My husband, Eric, is a man of grand gestures. Very soon after we started dating he promised to plant 1000 of my favorite flowers, peonies. If… I said yes to forever. Bases my dating history, I was pretty sure he was just love bombing me. Surely, he and his promise would disappear before a single bulb went into the ground. Let’s see how things turned put… #peonies #peony #lovestory #adorationpeonygarden #grandgestures #love #couplestiktok ♬ original sound – Kristin Swenson
He started planting before they owned a garden
At the time of the proposal, Eric and Kristin did not have enough land for the project.
That did not stop him.
Eric began planting peonies in a community garden. He had learned some gardening skills from his grandparents, but much of the work was self-taught.
The plants remained in the community plot for approximately a year and a half.
When the couple later purchased a home, garden space became an important consideration. They needed a property where the growing peony collection could continue expanding.
The established plants were carefully moved from the community garden to their new home.
Transplanting mature peonies can be demanding. Their roots must be lifted without excessive damage, and the growth buds near the crown cannot be buried too deeply.
If planted incorrectly, a healthy peony may produce leaves but few flowers.
The garden took years to build
Eric did not plant everything in one season.
He added new roots gradually, working alongside Kristin and their children. The project expanded each year as the family prepared more soil and found space for additional varieties.
After five years, the garden contained more than 300 peony plants. The couple estimated that the collection could produce approximately 7,500 flower stems during the May blooming season.
The number of flowers exceeded the original promise, even though the garden did not necessarily contain 1,000 separate mature plants.
For Kristin, the annual display became a visible record of years of work.
The flowers appeared for only several weeks, but maintaining them required attention throughout the year.
The video reached millions of people
Kristin began sharing the story through her TikTok account, @helloitskristin.
One of her first videos explained the promise Eric made during his proposal and showed what the garden looked like five years later.
The post attracted millions of views.
Many viewers responded to the contrast between Kristin’s early doubts and the scale of the finished garden. She had wondered whether Eric and his promise would disappear before the first roots reached the ground.
Instead, he continued planting after the wedding.
When Kristin asked why the peony garden remained so important to him, Eric explained that it represented consistent effort rather than one dramatic gesture.
The garden was built one planting season at a time.
The flowers are shared with other people
When hundreds of peonies bloom at once, the family produces more flowers than they can keep inside their home.
Rather than allowing the excess stems to fade in the garden, Kristin and Eric began sharing them.
In one season, they prepared around 60 surprise bouquets for people in their community. Flowers were also donated to a local Salvation Army food pantry and a nursing home.
The garden eventually became connected to other families’ stories as well.
A woman preparing to move out of state contacted Kristin because she could not take her peonies with her. After seeing the couple’s garden online, she believed it would be a suitable place for the plants.
Kristin and Eric collected them and created an area in the garden known as “Abby’s Corner.”
They planned to send photographs to the previous owner as the transplanted peonies continued growing.
How peonies survive for generations
Peonies are long-lived perennial plants.
When planted in suitable conditions, an established peony can remain in the same location for decades. Some survive longer than the gardeners who originally planted them.
Most varieties prefer:
- at least six hours of sunlight each day;
- fertile soil with good drainage;
- space for air to move around the foliage;
- cool winter conditions;
- shallow planting of the root crown.
Peony roots are commonly planted during autumn. The small growth buds, often called eyes, should remain close to the soil surface.
Planting them too deeply is one of the most common reasons a peony produces leaves without flowers.
The plants also require patience.
A newly divided or transplanted peony may take two or three years to become fully established. Flower production generally improves as the root system matures.
The blooms last only a few weeks
The main display in Kristin and Eric’s garden occurs during May.
Weather affects how long the flowers remain attractive. Heavy rain can bend stems and damage large blooms, while unusually warm conditions can shorten the flowering period.
The couple works throughout the year for a display that may last only four or five weeks.
That limited season gives the garden part of its meaning.
Every spring, the plants return larger and more established than the year before.
The promise is renewed without needing to be spoken again.
A proposal promise became a family garden
Eric’s original commitment sounded almost impossible.
Planting 1,000 peonies requires land, money, physical work and several years of patience. There is no immediate transformation after the first roots are placed in the soil.
The couple’s garden grew gradually.
It began in a community plot, moved to a family home and eventually became large enough to provide bouquets for strangers.
For Kristin, the flowers represent the promise Eric made when he asked her to marry him.
For Eric, they represent the work required to keep that promise.
Every May, thousands of blooms show how far the garden has come.
@helloitskristin Replying to @annisa_shol He’s back in the garden for peony season! My husband, a man of grand gestures, vowed to plant 1,000 peonies if I’d say yes to marrying him. I said yes and he’s still planting. And now, six years later, he’s stayed true to that promise. Follow his journey @AdorationPeonyGarden #lovestories #grandgestures #greenflags #peonies #peonytok #adorationpeonygarden #flowertok ♬ The Alchemy – Taylor Swift
