In the Garden

"I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses..."

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to sing this old hymn at my uncle's funeral-a celebration of his life and his exit to a heavenly place. As I prepared my mind by wandering my own garden, I pondered how gardens have always held a special place in human history. Gardens are personal; whether they are public, or private, they reflect the artistry and tastes of the gardener. They are a place we go to for reflection and refuge. A place of quiet where we can listen to our own voice, and the voice of our Creator.

Let me share some of my garden with you, reminding myself of all the special and sentimental pieces that make up the quilt that is evolving there. I'll also share some of the spiritual milestones that happened in gardens.

God placed His creation, man and woman, in a garden. Genesis 2:8

The beginning of humanity, makes me think of spring. It's one of my favorite seasons because everything is fresh and new. The sweet blossoms fragrance the air, and the weeds haven't had a chance to take hold yet. Living in a 100 year old house, you'd think I would have had all the wonderful, spring bushes and plants that should be in an old yard-lilacs, peonies, old roses. But the truth of the matter is that all we really found was a beautiful flowering crab-apple tree. It was in full bloom when we first looked at the house.

This beautiful tree, the path to our woods, our ravine, and the soothing sound of a train in the distance had us hooked, no matter how brown and gold the interior of the house.

There were some wonderful, spring woodland plants that came with the property.

Jack-in-the-pulpit, virginia bluebells, ferns, and lily-of-the-valley lend a sweet innocence to the spring garden. To add the old house charm I so desired, I've been adding the lilacs and peonies through the years.

Unity was broken in a garden. Genesis 3

Groundcovers. They can be beautiful and invasive at the same time. At my last house, violets were taking over. I spent hours ripping them out. I've come to a new peace with them and actually put some into my new garden. A wise gardener friend once told me, it's a weed if you don't want it there. I suspect the opposite it true also.

Because I love junk and anything with patina, I've collected some great yard art pieces through the years. A contractor friend pulled this copper sink out of an old bar. There's no way I was parting with this gem! When the kids were younger, they would float playmobile boats in it, and even pretend it was a swimming pool. Now I like to float flowers in it and create a floating arrangement. The green of the copper is beautiful.

Loyalty was betrayed in a garden. Luke 22

Blues...I love them as much as I love green, pink and yellow. Incorporating windmills into my landscape is my way of pretending I have a hobby farm. The reality is I long for a barn, a granary and outbuildings, but that will have to be in my heavenly mansion. I've already told God that I'd prefer a hobby farm over a castle, since He's preparing my place up there.

Hope arose in a garden. Luke 24

The vegetable garden. Provides food and sustenance. This year it hasn't really happened, due to other involvements that I will tell you about later. But it does still contain our antique cupola from my brother-in-laws 1800's barn, perennial herbs (mint, oregano, chives, lemon balm, parsley) and some wonderful raspberries and asparagus! On a good year, the whole family spends spring and summer evenings here planting and tending tomatoes (18 plants, once), cukes, zucchini, peppers, lettuce, beets, radishes, sugar snap peas, ground cherries, and green beans. Come August, we are usually up to our ears in veggies! An old mailbox works great for handheld garden tools, twine, seeds, etc. Someday I will have a perfect, weed-free garden, but for now...my kids are my priority!

And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses...

The bridal veil spirea has faded, but a family favorite-hostas-keep on faithfully looking handsome. The full spectrum of greens are showcased in their endless varieties, and we have quite a few. My dad was a member of the hosta society at the Arboretum for a couple of years, and we therefore inherited quite a few from him. Mr. Fix-it loves to divide them in the spring and spread their no-care beauty everywhere.

I am planning on putting some impatiens in that broken birdbath. If it won't hold water, it can hold a container of flowers! You know how I feel about that aqua color.