Grow where you are planted

"The violet is a nun." Thomas Hood

Grow where you are planted. No plant does this better than the violet, bringing beauty and good cheer wherever she blooms.

The viola has always been one of my favorites -- in the wild we call them violets. In the garden we call them violas or pansies. Whatever we call them, they are stalwarts in the garden.

The viola has a very interest history and meaning. Followers of Napoleon who promised to return from Elba with violets used the violet blossom as their insignia in promise of their return.

The viola has been called heart's ease, having been given this name in honor of St. Euphrasia, a nun who was sainted. Her name in Greek signifies thoughtfulness of mind, and she was known for her modesty, humility and charity. Hence the violet has become known as the "humble" violet.

Pliny the Elder (Roman soldier, naturalist and author) wrote that violets worn as a crown mitigate the scent of wine, as well as prevents headaches and dizziness. Briton's used the violet flower as a cosmetic. Violas have been used as dyes, as medicine and for perfume.

The viola family includes violets, violas, pansies and johnny-jump-ups. They grow wild as weed in our lawns, and cultivated in rock formations, in flowerbeds, borders, pots and containers. They come in a rainbow of colors -- white, yellow lavender, blue pink, bi colors, tri colors and speckled. They are small (as small as a half inch) and large (as large as a 4 inch face).

The viola family thrives in cool, moist, partly shady weather. But they will bloom in hot weather. They spread by self-sewing, runners, or can be purchased. And they are prolific bloomers in both the spring and fall.

The viola family is perhaps the most adaptable and hardy plant in the garden. The metaphor for the violet is the humility with which it has been associated for many hundreds of years. It blooms where it is planted, bringing color and beauty to any surrounding. It bears the cold and the rocky soil. It brings a rainbow of colors, sizes and faces to the garden. It blooms in the wild, uncultivated, nurtured and protected.

The metaphor of the violet is to bloom where you are planted. To be humble and modest, and to bring beauty and light in spite of whatever circumstance we may find ourselves.

I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; Put me to doing; put me to suffering; Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you, exalted for you or brought low for you.
Let me be full, let me be empty; let me have all things; let me have nothing; I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.

From John Wesley's Covenant Prayer

Mating for Life

If you feel the urge, don't be afraid to go on a wild goose chase. What do you think wild geese are for anyway?
Will Rogers

We have a pair of Canada geese dwelling in the wetland behind our house. They have been returning for quite a few years now. The photo to your right is our pair with their new gaggle.

Like most birds, Canada geese are migratory, flying overhead in their familiar V shaped formation. They often fly in family clusters and are known to return to the same breeding ground every year. One goose is always in the lead of the V formation. After time, the goose allows another to take the lead. The head movements of the lead give signals to the others.

In the second year of their life, geese find their mate. Most geese pair stay together all of their lives. If one dies, the remaining goose may find another mate, but have been observed to experience a grieving process. Both parents protect the nest while the eggs incubate. Like the order in flight formation, the goose family is often seen with goslings in a line flanked by one parent in the front and one in the rear.

Canada geese reveal a spirit of unity both in their choice of a mate for life, and in their family and flight formation habit. Unity in the family -- where each member has a specific purpose and they stick together. And unity in the greater body, as evidenced in the flight formation is also observed.

Like the geese, we are at our best when we stick together, as mates, and as families. We are not created to live in isolation and total independence. We are created to be in relationship with one another. It is the natural order. Like the geese, we protect each other, nurture each other, and establish a home and family. Like the geese, we gather as community and share the lead with others and the needs are revealed.

The owl will nest there and lay eggs, she will hatch them, and care for her young under the shadow of her wings; there also the falcons will gather, each with its mate. Isaiah 34:15

The high cost of things we love...

And leaves of that shy plant,
(Her flowers were shed) the lily of the vale
That loves the ground, and from the sun withholds
Her pensive beauty, from the breeze her sweets.
William Wordsworth

The lily of the valley is an innocent and pure plant with a beautiful sweet scent, commonly used in perfumes. Its pure and delicate ivory white bell like flowers are used in clusters for wedding bouquets. For years I looked forward to when they would burst through their heavy green leafy foliage, then pick the lovely blooms to bring them to the dinner table. I have done this for over forty years.

And yet, if I come within ten feet, I experience physical pain and misery. It took a while to be fully convinced that they were solely responsible for my migraines, heartburn, runny eyes, and eventually trouble breathing. They are toxic to me. And yet I love them. I still grow a rather large patch not more than 25 feet from my back door.

Besides their obvious beauty, the lily of the valley is reported to have many other attributes. They area believed to improve memory. If you rub their oil on your forehead or the back of your neck, they are said to give you common sense. They lily of the valley signifies the "return of happiness".

The metaphor may be that we sometimes choose to surround ourselves with things (or even people) who have obvious attributes, but are toxic to us. It is like diet coke...I'm fairly sure that consuming several cans a day is not good for my long term health, and yet I drink it daily. I suppose when the misery of being near things that are toxic to us becomes unbearable, we change our habits. I no longer allow either lilac or lily of the valley in our home because of my allergies.

Are there things in your life that you react badly to when you bring it into your home? Are there things that you can admire and appreciate from afar, protecting you from discomfort or harm? Is there anything you should eliminate from your "garden", to ensure your overall health?

How can you say to your brother, "Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye," when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Luke 6:42

Weeds in the Flowerbed; Flowers in the Weeds

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Things rarely turn out the way we plan. How often do we intend to accomplish one thing, and something altogether different happens. Sometimes this life metaphor is so evident in our garden. Our daffodil patch has more weeds than flowers. And some of the most lovely daffodil varieties are shining among the weeds near our compost and burn piles. Why does this happen?

We work and cultivate for one thing to happen -- a great bed of daffodils, for instance. Instead it is embarrassing how prolific the weeds are in this particular bed of flowers. And around the yard, uncultivated and unnurtured by us are the most lovely flowers. I guess we need to constantly remember that we are not in command of what grows.

We simply garden. And the rest is up to the true Master Gardener. This most likely applies to all areas of our life. No matter how we strive and work for something to grow or change...we cannot ensure the outcome. It is out of our hands. The only thing of importance to us is the process.

I am the true vine, and my father is the gardener. John 15:1

"Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds"

Nobles, citizens, farmers, mechanics, seamen, footmen, maid servants, even chimney sweeps and old clothes women dabbled in tulips.
Charles MacKay, author of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, 1841

The tulips reached their peak in Pennsylvania about a week ago. Tulips are particulary lovely and I am hoping to add a few bulbs to my garden next year. The deer decimated my tulips over the years, and I have been reluctant to indulge in a few bulbs again, only for them to be destroyed. This makes it so hard to understand the Dutch tulip mania of the 17th century. Bulbs that would not flower until the following season sold for $2000 each. And it begs the question for all of us...why are we so influenced by popular culture?

It is hard to say why the Dutch become so feverish about the tulip over the rose or the peony. But by 1634 demand was so great that the whole county seemed to turn to the production of the tulip. Tulips had been introduced at extremely high prices, demand was maniacal, but the market suddenly collapsed, leaving the country's economic system in shambles, and many impoverished.

At the height of the craze, is has been reported by MacKay and others that one man paid $40,000 for 40 tulip bulbs. Another reported to have traded wheat, rye, four fat oxen, eight fat swine, twelve fat sheep, hogshead wine, four tuns beer, two tuns butter, one thousand pounds of cheese, one bed, one suit of clothes, and one silver cup for a total of $1000, all for one root of the Viceroy tulip.

In the end, everybody had tulips and nobody had money.

The dot.com craze, the real estate bubble, zhu-zhu pets... they are all the same in some ways. A quick way to make money? Something we must have to gain our neighbors admiration or envy? Why do we succumb to trends and crazes? Why don't we learn from history, such as the tulip craze? What are the things that we invest in that are not worth their cost to us? What are the ways the popular culture influences us to squander our resouces?

In spite of the painful history, the beauty of the tulip, particularly en mass, can't be denied.


Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

Elizabeth: A new life in the garden

My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind.
Michael Jordan

This is a very special blog entry about a very special garden and a even more special gardener.

Today, the garden is in Indiana, in a beautiful women's health center, where my daughter has just given birth to our first grandchild. A beautiful and perfect little girl, Elizabeth, has entered the world today.

If any have any question about the obvious metaphor of gardening and raising children, consider this story: Two women were discussing raising children. The first said that she would raise her children with free will, to be unfettered and unconstrained by the wisdom of the ages. They would be allowed to grow on their own, and make their own decisions.

The second mother pondered this, then simply asked this question: "Would you like to see my garden?" The first mother said yes, and they proceeded to a plot of ground with brush and thickets and weeds all around. The first mother said, "This is no garden. "

The second mother said, "I know. I allowed this garden to grow freely, and fettered and unconstrained. I allowed it to grow on its own, with no guidance from me, the gardener."

And so the metaphor of mother (and father) as gardener is profound. At birth, we assume the responsibility of the garden -- watering, providing light, pruning and protecting, and removing the garden hazards. We do this knowing full well that the fruit of our labor is not ours to keep.

And as Samuel Rutherford wrote: "Let you children be as so many flowers, borrowed from God. They are not ours any more than the garden is ours. They are gifts."

And so, today, I am profoundly grateful for the gift --into the grand garden of humanity the Master gardener has brought forth a new blossom -- Elizabeth Jean.

...He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them. Mark 10:14-16

A Blanket of Protection

At their core, when things really matter, people see a need to turn to God for strength and protection. Lee Greenwood

Just as a baby is swaddled in a blanket -- to keep her warm, and to help her to be secure in her environment, the gardener knows that young seedlings and plants need similar protection.

How many of us have planted something, only to watch is freeze in the cold, wither in the sun? An experienced gardener learns to protect the plant.

Mulch is the blanket -- the protective cover. Nothing glamorous about it at all -- and it is material which has been reused, recycled and composted in most cases.

Mulch prevents erosion of the soil. It keeps young plants warm and insulates moisture. It diminishes weed growth, and provides nutrition as it decomposes. Mulch keeps our foods clean, keeps our gardens clean, and maintains a more even soil temperature.

Gardeners have been mulching for at least two thousand years. Pliny the elder (AD 23-79) refers to compost in his writings. citing the effectiveness of piling organic materials on garden plants.

Like the humus of the forest floor, it becomes both protection and the fuel for growth. And best of all is that mulch is a key component of the circle of life --compost, organic clippings and residue are the food for the new life.

We, too need a "blanket" of protection as we struggle to grow, to be strong and healthy -- keeping good things in and the harmful out? What is your blanket? That is for you to answer.

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protections over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Psalm 5:11

Old Wood and Patience

An ancient Chinese proverb says "If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people."

Lilac flowers on old wood. A new lilac, or a pruned lilac often produces few or no flowers for many years. Growing lilacs takes a patient gardener.

It also has been said that you plant a grapevine for your children, and an olive tree for your grandchildren. Interestingly, the lilac is in the olive family (oleaceae).

Our lilac was transplanted from starts given to us about twenty years ago by an old friend, Leo, and his sister, Helena. The seedling was probably about four to six years old, and it has grown another twenty since then. Some things just take time to cultivate. Lilacs are one of those things.

While most flowering plants and bushes flower more profusely when pruned, the lilac does quite the opposite, blooming more profusely when left alone to grow naturally. Pruning generates more wood and green, but a lilac left alone for a few decades will reward the gardener with a spectacular show of color and scent.

Lilacs are another old world plant, brought by immigrants, and typically planted by their front door. Lilacs were cultivated by both Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.

In lore and literature, the lilac symbolizes love. Interesting metaphor for the lilac -- if lilac does represent love, the metaphor is that sometimes it just takes time for love to bloom. The concept of restraint and patience would be important. By not forcing the love by pruning and cutting, the fullness and beauty of the bloom emerges, and love happens naturally.

We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. Hebrews 6:12

Life is Like an Onion...

Life is like an onion. You peel it one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep.
Carl Sandberg

The chives from our kitchen herb planter are now growing and ready to snip, adding a last minute burst of flavor to whatever we are eating. In the garden, the onion sets have been planted. This year we have planted red and yellow onions, shallots and chives, all part of the grand tribe.

The onion tribe: chives, scallions, leeks, shallots, garlic, pearls, red, yellow and white onions. The grand and glorious onion is part of almost any main course, whether as a vegetable or a garnish.

The onion history: Chives (allium schoenoprasum) are the only in the allium genus native to the old and new world. Otherwise, the onion is an old world plant, documented to have been around for many thousands of years. It had been a symbol of eternity for the ancient Egyptians -- a sphere composed of multiple layers. Ancient Greek athletes ate massive quantities of onion to balance blood for sport or battle. Roman gladiators used onion as a rub to increase strength. Legend tell of chives used by Romanian gypsies in fortune telling.

The onion as remedy: Almost any ailment is thought to be cured by the onion by some culture in history. Through history it has been used to treat sore throat, headache, brittle bones, as a diuretic, an aphrodisiac, and much more.

The Onion Laws: Some crazy laws have been enacted regarding onions, though it is doubtful they are enforced. For example, in Nacogdoches, Texas young women may not eat raw onions after 6 p.m. See other onion laws: www.aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/onion/onionlaws.html

The onion metaphor is rich. Like Sandburg observes, the layers of the onion reveal the dimension and fullness of life, and the observation that, like the onion, the dimension and fullness and "layers" of life make you weep is so true. But more than that, the onion is part of the heart of the meal, offering full flavor to the most bland, or springlike garnish as an accent. In the Numbers verse below, we see that even the manna from heaven was without flavor. It was the absence of the leek, the onions and the garlic that was lamented by the Israelites.

If our life is like an onion, how can we add that richness and fullness and flavor to all that surrounds us?

We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but the manna. Numbers 11:5-6

Columbine and Forget-Me-Not

"Oh God, Help Me," the young girl screamed in terror.

"Do You Believe in God?" the shooter asked.

"Yes," she replied.

Valeen Shnurr, Age 18

Columbine massacre survivor

Eleven years ago on April 20, 1999, we shared a collective gasp at the carnage and horror of the Columbine High School shootings. We grieved as a nation, and shared a sense of helplessness. As the funerals began, on April 24, 1999, I remember being moved by a parent who asked that people not forget their children.

And so later that day, I began working the earth, planting what would become a memorial garden patch for the victims and their families. Every year as the April sun warms the earth, and the flowers begin to bud, I remember -- and in reading this, today you will remember also. This garden has come to serve as a little outdoor meditation area -- a place to pause from the hurried pace and remember the fleeting nature of life.

Although I will most likely blog at a later date about individual plants in this small garden, here is an introduction to the Columbine garden, which is tucked in a shady corner, hidden from full view. The garden features:

Columbine -- the reference is obvious

Forget-me-nots -- the flower of remembrance

Bleeding Hearts -- shade perennial in the shape of a heart with a tear drop falling from it

Lily of the Valley -- sometimes called "Mary's tears" which fell to the ground at the crucifixion of Christ. Legend has it that this plant is a sign of Christ's second coming.

The garden is nested in an arc of arborvitae, which is known as the tree of life. The tree of life is mentioned in Genesis 3:22, and should not be confused with the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Symbolically the tree of life is Jesus Christ.

Through their attributes and the course of human history, plants have meaning. My Columbine garden shares promise and hope by telling the story of redemption. For any of my gardening friends wanting some plants from this garden, stop by for some starts.

"Down the middle of the city street, on either bank of the river were the trees of life, which bear twelve crops of fruit in a year, one in each month, and the leaves of which are the cure for the nations." Revelation 22:2

Lemon, Dandelions and Pasta

If fate hands you a lemon, make lemonade.

There is really nothing at all in the garden to harvest at this time of year. So, in my sincere desire to eat from the land as much as is possible, I am forced to be adventurous. Making "lemonade" from the only thing to harvest right now: parsley, chives, lavender, rosemary and -- dandelion.

As promised in my last blog entry, dandelions are now part of the harvest. We ate them last night with oil and vinegar, and were surprised. They were tender and peppery, much like arugula. My recipe for dandelions tonight is a new creation from an old favorite, remotely like an old favorite Lemon Pasta recipe from Ina Garten. I am not sure that lemon-dandelion pasta is an appetizing name. So I think I will call it Sunshine Pasta. What do you think?

2 c. cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 c. red onion, chopped
2 c. dandelion leaves, rinsed.
2 T. olive oil
1 t. garlic, minced
1/2 c. grated Parmesean cheese
1 lemon, juiced and grated for zest
Katamala olives (optional)
1 c. heavy cream (or milk -- I use 2%)
1 lb. fusilli pasta, cooked

Saute olive oil and garlic. Add onion and cook slightly. Add cherry tomatoes, until warm, but not cooked. Add milk. Add lemon juice and lemon zest. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook pasta until desired firmness. In separate bowl, mix pasta, cherry tomato mixture, Parmesean cheese and fresh dandelion leaves (or arugula or spinach). Add katamala if desired. Serve immediately.

The field of dandelions is full and ready to harvest. Unexpected, abundant and nutritious food. Who knew? My grandmother did.

But he said to then, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about." Then His disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought Him food?"

"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work. "

"Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest?' I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." John 4: 32-35

It's a Rose, It's a Lily, no -- It's a Buttercup!

"What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

The Lenten Rose, one of the first bloomers of spring, and a glorious beauty in the garden, is NOT A ROSE. It is also called the Hellebores Lily (Hellebores Orientalis). But, you guessed it, it is NOT A LILY. It is actually in the buttercup family. A shade perennial (and deer resistant, which I love) the Lenten rose blooms March through April, which explains why is is called the Lenten rose. In addition to beautiful rose like flowers, this plant has wonderful summer foliage -- perfect greens for a mid summer bouquet.

Native to Europe, the hellebores, like most plants, has historic medicinal uses (and some that are quite nefarious). It has been said that Russian folk medicine used it as an herb for losing weight. Legend has it that it was used as a purgative by Hippocrates. It is reported to have been used to treat paralysis, insanity and gout. Some of the darker legends suggest the black hellebores had been used as poison, causing a variety of symptoms and eventual cardiac arrest and death. It has also believed that Alexander the Great overdosed on hellebore, leading to his death.

The Lenten rose is deceptive in its beauty. Our plants produce a beautiful apple green flower on a dark green, leather multi-fingered leaf. But no one should be deceived by the sublime beauty of the hellebores -- it is highly toxic to all.

The metaphor is that many things are deceptively beautiful and highly desired. But sometimes the very thing we desire, lovely and innocent as it may appear, can be highly toxic to ourselves and others. And sometimes it is how we use things that are toxic, not the object itself. How do we know what is toxic and dangerous? We must study and learn well what will bring us harm. The problem then will be cultivating self-discipline.

Look after each other so that none of you will miss out on the special favor of God. Watch out that no bitter root of unbelief rises up among you, for whenever it springs up, many are corrupted by its poison. Hebrews 12: 15 NLT

Cooking Dandelions?

If dandelions were rare and fragile, people would knock themselves out to pay $14.95 a plant, raise them by hand in greenhouses and form dandelion societies and all that. But they are everywhere and don't need us and kind of of do what they please. So we call them weeds and murder them at every opportunity. Robert Fulgham

I'm thinking about cooking dandelions. They are just beginning to bloom in our back yard, and I've been told that this is the time to pick the tender stems.

Having a hard time thinking of the dandelion as a much maligned vegetable. In most of the world it is considered delicious and very much part of the menu. It has been used for many centuries as medicine for various ailments.

But for three decades we have been pulling them out and digging them out and yes, poisoning them.

I never really thought about eating them. Apparently dandelion greens and roots are rich with vitamins and antioxidants. They are said to to be one of the most nutritious greens. They have a strong diuretic quality (like asparagus) and can detoxify the blood. They have been used to treat stomach ailments and arthritis and eczema. (Though I doubt that my family doctor husband would advise this).

How to serve them? In salads or sandwiches (raw), or in soup. Dandelion wine? Dandelion tea? I just don't know. Even so, I'll try it tonight, and get back with you in my next blog. Yikes! And this doesn't compare to the food exploration of Andrew Zimmerman.

Is it a medicine? A vegetable? A weed? What do you think? The garden metaphor is (to paraphrase Dorothy Gale) if you ever go looking for the evening's supper, you better not look any further than you own front yard. Seriously. We are culturally influenced to believe that this healthy, abundant vegetable is a dreaded weed. And yet, I love arugula - and am guessing that it really doesn't taste much different than the dandelion leaf.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

1 Corinthians 3:7

Division, Daylilies and Dancing Princesses

"When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other." Chinese Proverb

Dividing to grow, dividing to conquer, or both?

Dividing to grow. Most of our perennials are beginning to reach through the softening earth, sending their roots deeper into the ground, and their leaves and branches toward the sun. And each passing year they grow into an ever widening clump. If we don't divide, they begin to die out in the center. If we do divide, we have healthier, longer living plants, and some to give away. Two to five years is a good rule of thumb for division. A good sign that it is time to divide is when the plant has exceeded it's space.

I have been amazed at how aggressively an amateur gardener can divide--jamming a shovel through the heart of the root structure -- and voila -- you have two or three or more plants ready to go back into the ground.

Today we have started to divide the daylilies. Some have history -- given from friends and neighbors and fellow gardeners. And now we pass them again to our children and other friends. And the more we divide, the more we have to divide. Over the past several years, lilies from our garden have been divided and given to 25 or 30 other gardens. I just wish we were more careful about labeling what we plant and where we plant it. When asked what variety, I can only say, it's a daylily. And I really should know more than that.

And so the beauty of this garden metaphor is, well, obvious. If we divide and share what we have, we are healthier in all ways. The best way for us to grow is to divide? I believe that this is so. When we collect, we rot. When we share, we grow.

Dividing to conquer. The other division that is wonderful is division of labor, a great way to conquer any work project. Saturday was spent cleaning and clearing and planting and mulching. Ed, our family's lead gardener, had help from two wonderful young high school students. (Thanks, guys) The yard and gardens are beginning to take shape. The sharing of the work makes it so much more productive and enjoyable than doing it alone.

Division is really addition, don't you think?

Me -- I spent the weekend with three of my four wonderful nieces, and together we watched the children's play The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Which led to a discussion of their three favorite flowers -- the rose, the lily and the snapdragon. In their honor, I am thinking about planting a bed with these flowers this year -- just for them. I might call it the Dancing Princess Garden. And since they are curious about the blog, I promised that I would mention them in my next entry. So here it is, girls.

Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. Luke 12:27

Frogs

"It's not easy being green"
Kermit the Frog

Tonight the spring peepers were at full force -- a cacophony of sound, often compared to sleighbells.

We live at the edge of what we used to call a swamp -- then it became known as a wetland, but now I guess it is called a natural habitat. But really, it is just a big swamp. And the frogs are the first wetland creature to make their presence known in the spring by their distinct and deafening high pitched mating call -- direct from their concert venue -- the swamp. Sometimes called the "chorus frog" -- a single frog gives a single "peep" once a second. In concert it is unending noise or music, depending on your perspective. The intensity of the chorus strengthens on warm humid evenings or after a rain, when males congregate to find their mate. Only the males sing. Just a little over an inch long, their vocal sac is very large...which emits the loud "peep" with the discharge of air from the balloon like sac.

The metaphor of the spring peeper is that like the frog, we can only offer a short one second "peep" on our own...together, we can make deafening sound to call attention. So we must gather together in order to be heard on issues of great importance. Collectively we will be heard.

I couldn't resist sharing the Exodus passage on the plague of frogs...sometimes the sound of the peepers is so loud outside our window, it seems as if the plague of frogs is about to enter our home. In the book of Exodus, as a warning to the Pharaoh to release the people of Israel from their bondage in Egypt, ten plagues were sent. Frogs were the second plague.

If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. The frogs will go up on you and your people and all your officials. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.' " So Aaron stretch out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land.
Exodus 8: 2-6

Beauty and the Pear Tree

"There is just as much beauty visible to us in the landscape as we are prepared to appreciate, and not a grain more" Henry David Thoreau

The Cleveland Pear is a glorious specimin of tree. It is the best of a series of non fruit-bearing pear trees cultivated for its stunning white shower of blossoms in early spring, as well as its lovely wax-green foliage throughout the summer and fall. It is very symetrical and compact, and in that it bears no fruit, it bears no seed. (So no little pear trees will spring up across the yard.) It just might be the perfect tree. Right now the pear trees are stunners, and wouldn't trade them for any other.

The troublesome garden metaphor for the ornamental pear, like our Cleveland Pear, is that it reveals some truth about our humanity. At times we know people, or even might be a person who is stunning and beautiful. However, over time, or careful study we find that the beauty, or good hearted nature, or charisma is showy, but quite empty. The purpose, the heart, the reason for living, seems hollow. Beyond the flash of beauty, it doesn't bring any kind of inspiration or new life or purpose. We may know someone, or perhaps we ourselves may be struggling to find a greater purpose. In order to bear fruit and plant seed, we must know who we are and where we come from, and be willing to work hard, bear much, and wear the dirt and stain of the garden.

Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why shold it use up the soil?' "

" 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.' " Luke 13:6-9 NIV

Cleaning the Beds

A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift. Above all, it teaches entire trust." Gertrude Jekyll

We have about 32 raised 4'x8' beds in our garden. Decimated by deer, rabbits and other varmints through the years, we finally constructed a 6' fence two years ago. The raised beds are all enclosed within the fence behind our house.

I don't love working the garden -- I love appreciating the garden. My husband, Ed, however loves to work (lucky me). Even luckier, sometimes my 83 year old father in law comes to help in the garden. Now is the time to clean the garden beds of all the debris from last year. This means removing and composting any dead plants from last year, and pruning any perennials. Our perennials in the enclosed garden are peonies, iris, day lilies, liatris, gladiolas, some herbs, stargazer and other oriental lilies, roses, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and some asparagus.

We always find that we wish we had been more vigilant about cleaning the garden before the winter. But we don't, so now we start with a real mess. Weeds populating through the dead wood and debris from a garden long forgotten. Much more work to be done with this effort. To all my gardening friends -- good luck!

The metaphor of the garden teaches us that we must get rid of the clutter and debris in order for anything to take root and grow. So we must be vigilant about decluttering, clearing, cleaning, discarding, etc.

PURGE! What can you clear out, clean out, dispose of, give away or purge? Unless we can be ruthless about this act, we never make space for new life.

There were no plants or grain growing on the earth, because the Lord had sent no rain. And no one was there to cultivate the soil. Genesis 2:5

Do you think that God's intent in creating us was for us to cultivate -- to garden?

Endurance and Parsley

An honest, laborious country-man, with good bread, salt and a little parsley, will make a contented meal with a roasted onion." John Evelyn (1620-1706)

The ancient Greeks are said to have crowned their warriors and athletes with parsley wreaths. Romans believed that parsley would prevent intoxication. Parsley may have been one of the "bitter herbs" used in the passover feast. It has been used to treat arthritis, kidney ailments. AND it is a crucial ingredient to the Mediterranean inspired hummus or tabbouleh.

But for most of us, parsley is just a garnish. I love parsley because it is the constant in the garden. Planted in both the herb bed outside my kitchen door and in our garden herb plot, our parsley manages to remain green and alive through the harsh winter. I look out my back door and find hope--if the parsley can endure the winter, so can I.

The Jewish people who derive their Passover customs from the Iberian Peninsula region of Europe use parsley as the bitter herb in the Seder. The bitter herbs represent the period when the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt. And so, parsley has been used to represent endurance for the Jews, and as a crown of glory for the Romans. In the garden, it is the metaphor for both endurance and crowning glory. It lasts through the long winter like no other herb or plant. And it crowns our simple meals or great feasts with a freshness and beautiful green flourish of ruffled leaves.

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you many have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
Colossians 1:10-12 NIV

Asparagus

Marcel Proust wrote "Asparagus transforms my chamberpot to a flask of perfume" (1871-1921)

So I just learned that asparagus is a diuretic (makes you pee) and generates a foul (or perfume-like) odor. Hmmm. Good to know. Anyway, the photo to the right is our first harvest of the year. We will have a good month of asparagus for dinner. (And all that apparently goes with it).

Ed planted asparagus in our garden about four years ago, and we have not harvested until now. Unlike most vegetables, the roots must develop a big enough root system, and should not be harvested at all the first year, very little the second and third. Then the bounty comes. If the gardener is patient and vigilant about weeding and cultivating the plants for the first three years, as much as a ten year period of production will come from the plants. Some varieties have been know to produce a human lifetime.

The amazing thing about asparagus is that is is the first vegetable in the spring. In fact, today we picked dinner from the snow-covered garden. Remarkable.

The obvious metaphor is that as gardeners in this life we must be patient and able to bear long years and the winters before the growth and harvest will be possible. I guess I think that asparagus is alot like a teenager. You work and pray and guide and bear much in parenting a teen. And after years of "gardening" amongst the weeds and the snow, good things will come. But we must be patient and vigilant.

And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom
He had formed. Genesis 2:8 KJ

Don't you get a sense that God has been patiently waiting a really, really long time for us to be ready?

Cultivating

And so we begin. As with any new project, new adventure, new relationship, new event, it is always best to cultivate. We must study the soil conditions, then cultivate and work the soil. This step is paramount to a good harvest -- the sweetest fruit or the most beautiful rose. In our garden it is now time to cultivate. The earth in early April is rich and moist and easy to cultivate -- even with bare hands. If we wait too long, the soil becomes harder, more packed and difficult to till. And in untilled soil weeds multiply faster than popping corn.

The garden metaphor is a brilliant metaphor for nearly everything in life. What are we all trying to grow? A relationship? A personal faith? A new career? A new project? In all cases, we must consider how and in what conditions it will be rooted. Is the soil ready? Have you cultivated? Is it the right growing season? Consider the soil in all that you do.


Then He told them many things in parables saying, "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering his seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorn which grew up and choked the plants. Still others fell on good soil where it produced a crop a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Matthew 13:3-8 NIV