Cody Klingenberg has worked to transform and maintain a “zen garden” in his backyard in Colorado Springs. (Video by Skyler Ballard)

Cody Klingenberg is the kind of gardener who got so excited about his first sunflower blooming that he named it “Lil’ Peep” and posted about the flower’s arrival on Instagram with the use of several exclamation points.

He’s also the kind of gardener who, hours after making that social media post, might’ve cried when he noticed his sunflower had been “killed” by something, probably a squirrel.

Right away, there was another update on Instagram. Klingenberg had placed a makeshift headstone where the flower once stood. On the cardboard sign, he wrote, “R.I.P. Lil’ Peep.”

That’s the kind of thing that gets a reaction out of his online followers. “You are so extra,” read one comment, alongside an “Oh no!” and an “I’m so sorry.”

In his short time gardening and sharing about his garden on Instagram, using the straightforward handle @its_a_garden, Klingenberg has become known, as he says, as “not your typical gardener.”

Just look at him. Sporting a mohawk and beard, the 31-year-old sometimes gardens while wearing cowboy boots and American flag overalls and no shirt underneath. He calls everyone “dude.”

But that’s not the only side of Cody.

“I’ve always kind of been someone who doesn’t fit in a box,” he said, offering an example from his high school days. “I was the punk rock kid who still played football and cared about school.”

These days, he cares about his garden. A lot.

Klingenberg works tirelessly on the backyard space when he’s not working as a full-time electrician or not doing what needs to be done as a loving husband and father.

Gardening was foreign to Klingenberg before he and his wife, both Colorado Springs natives, moved to this house in September, partly in preparation for the birth of their first child, Odin.

They inherited a lot of the garden and backyard’s stylish features, including a pond full of koi fish, lush greenery and whimsical stone paths, from the house’s previous owner.

For a while, Klingenberg didn’t touch a single plant.

“I just decided one day that if we’re going to have all this here, I better enjoy it,” he said.

And he better make it his own. That’s what Klingenberg has been focused on in recent months, as he’d added a bee house, hammock, wind chimes and that attempt at sunflowers. His prized addition, though, is a vegetable garden full of things like tomatoes, green peppers, squash and zucchini.

As a lifelong lover of cooking, Klingenberg has enjoyed making hot sauces and cornbread and omelets using fresh ingredients from his garden.

Unsurprisingly, he also enjoys giving his garden an atypical look. One pepper plant is growing in a beer can, for example.

“It’s fun to mess around with it,” he said. “I take my garden seriously, but I’d rather make it fun too.”

Similarly, while the backyard has become his family’s favorite spot to hang out, t’s provided something more serious than that, too.

Shortly after Odin was born in early 2021, something weird started happening to Kelli Klingenberg. The longtime hairdresser felt like she could barely use her arms or hands.

She was soon diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called myasthenia gravis, which she explains this way: “Basically my nerves don’t talk to my muscles.” Her condition required open heart surgery, which she has spent the last two months recovering from.

Since then, she has spent parts of most days sitting outside and soaking in the garden’s sights. It’s been her place to think, drink coffee and dream about what’s next.

“This has been a real place of peace for me,” she said. “I didn’t know how much I’d need this place.”

It’s the same for her husband.

“This has been Cody’s escape,” she said. “With everything going on, this has been so rewarding for him.”

When asked if he agrees, Klingenberg says, “Big time, man.”

He’s had extra fun sharing about his garden on social media. He started the Instagram page in early July to track his garden’s progress. And to ask questions about what to do and what not to do. Questions range from, “Can anyone tell me what type of tree this is?” to “What the heck I am doing?”

He’s started other Instagram profiles before, dedicated to his cooking or deejay sets, but his gardening one has been the most successful. He already has more than 1,000 followers.

Why the interest?

“I don’t know, man,” Klingenberg said. “I think it’s because this yard is so freaking ridiculous.”

Cody Klingenberg poses for a portrait in his backyard at his home in northeast Colorado Springs on August 20, 2021.

Chancey Bush, The Gazette

In his short time gardening and sharing about his garden on Instagram, Cody Klingenberg has become known, as he says, as “not your typical gardener.”

photos by Chancey Bush, The Gazette

Bees collects pollen from flowers at Cody Klingenberg’s backyard zen garden in northeast Colorado Springs on August 20, 2021. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)

Chancey Bush/ The Gazette

The koi pond at Cody Klingenberg’s backyard zen garden includes goldfish.

Chancey Bush/ The Gazette

Cody Klingenberg shows off his vegetable garden in his backyard at his home in northeast Colorado Springs on August 20, 2021. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)

Chancey Bush/ The Gazette

Cody Klingenberg shares his gardening experiences on his instagram account and refers to himself as “not your typical gardener.” (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)

Chancey Bush/ The Gazette

Cody Klingenberg made a bee house that hangs in his vegetable garden at his home in northeast Colorado Springs on August 20, 2021. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)

Chancey Bush/ The Gazette