Friends from church are moving to Canada for 3 years and have entrusted their precious community garden plot (or allotment as we call it at home!) to our church family. We are very excited!!
There are tomatoes, basil, lemongrass and poblano peppers and the raspberry canes, freed from the weeds are promising tasty berries now they can see the sun. I'm intrigued by our watermelon plants & I marvel at the variety and quality of produce and flowers the other gardeners have in the plots. The Beloved, Miss O and I headed there early yesterday morning to put in some marigolds and a miniature pumpkin plant. Despite thunder storms being forecast for this week, we are yet to see any rain. So after her first wheelbarrow ride, helping Daddy tie-in the raspberry canes and turn over some earth, Miss O helped me water herself and the plot.
I've always loved gardening, ever since I was a little girl and my Great Uncle Jim taught me to dig, prune, water and nurture flowers and veg. The garden has come to mean a great deal to me as a space where God teaches me about Himself, myself, and this adventurous life.
Below is an extract from a blog-post I wrote in April 2012 - it's as true today as it was then!
" There's something captivating about watching a seed or a bulb bring
forth a plant with fruit or veg or flowers. All the potential for growth
resides in these little pods just waiting for just the right conditions
and time. Brilliant.
I've been thinking about how there are seeds of dreams, desires and
talent in us. We've dreams that imperceptible - we don't even know
they're there yet, and these can spring up where we least expect them.
You just have to watch that they're flowers and not weeds! Other desires
are bigger, we probably can't remember a time when they weren't part of
us and some of these have already brought forth beautiful blooms and
tender fruit. We've talents that are foundational to who we are but like bulbs we have seasons when they're on show and seasons when they
turn ugly and go into hiding.
Some seeds are dormant because it's not yet time.
It dawned on me recently that I've spent a lot of time worrying about
when the dormant ones will appear; concerned that perhaps those seeds
are defective and dead. While the whole time there has been a beautiful
garden full of character, strength, compassion and grace, being lovingly
tended by The Gardener. He has rained mercy on me, feed me in goodness
and kindness, pruned me when needed and delighted over the glorious
floral displays.
He
is making beautiful things out of the dust and ALL things will
bear blooms and an abundant harvest at exactly the right time. So, The
Gardener invites us to wander with Him in the cool of the day, as He
shows us what He has planted and uprooted in our lives. And He implores
us to celebrate the Garden that we are now and rest in the assurance
that He brings all things to completion. "
Then we wandered through a side door into Narnia. The majestic mosaic
grey blue floor of the Luce Foundation Center led us into a Victorianna
haven of wrought iron railings and a domed glass roof. What a hidden
gem. We'd no idea. Secreted away off the narrow galleried walkways are
magical drawers of French miniatures and thin sliced cabinets of icons
and portraits. Pieces of the museum's collections currently not on
display in the main galleries but just too good not to have on show
somewhere!
It's
fitting that we found this space on a day that I had gone to there to
write; to be infected by other people's stories. There are people I
think I've sown up - I know lots about their history and their
perspectives, their likes and their challenges. Yet, there's always
more. There's always hidden gems of patterned paths, intricate
boundaries and treasures just too good to not be on show. If only I'll
go through some new doors and be open to being surprised.
