God, the Gardener

That God once loved a garden We learn in Holy writ. And seeing gardens in the Spring I well can credit it.~Winifred Mary Letts

Genesis 2: 7 - 9 "then the Lord God formed man of the dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.


Of course, now that it's past the middle of January, and the days are getting slightly longer, my thoughts turn to spring. Have I ever mentioned that spring is my favourite time of year?

I was reading Genesis this morning, and it struck me that God is a Gardener. He formed man out of the dust of the ground, then planted a garden in the ground. Out of the ground came beautiful things, tasty things... wonderful things!

And we get to be like God in this, too! Mere mortals we are, yet we can plant flower gardens that are pleasant to the sight, and vegetable gardens that are good for food.

A Garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!
Rose plot,
Fringed pool,
Ferned grot -
The veriest school
Of Peace; and yet the fool
Contends that God is not -
Not God! In Gardens!
When the eve is cool?
Nay, but I have a sign:
'Tis very sure God walks in mine.

~Thomas Edward Brown

(wot: knows; grot:like a cave, secluded)

The gardens I am planning for the Spring will be glorious in colour and texture. They will grab the senses and pique the interest of those who visit. My daughter Adeena sent me some plans for perennial gardens, like the one pictured above. It has

1. 3 Mixed Lupines
2. 3 Crimson Coral Bells
3. 3 Barlow Columbine Mix
4. 1 Scarlet Bee Balm
5. 3 Tenor Tall Hybrid Phlox
6. 3 Montana Skies Delphinium
   

Not only do I want a full-sun garden, a shade garden, and a vegetable garden, I want to plan an herb garden, too.

I will soon pull out the garden manuals and order some seed catalogues. I plan on starting my own tomatoes this year, and I want to make sure I have nicotania, because it smells incredible.

It is such fun to dream of gardens in January!

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth, -
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywere else on earth.

~ Dorothy Frances Blomfield

The garden seems the one spot on earth where history does not assert itself, and, no doubt, when Nero was fiddling over the blaze of Rome, there were florists counting the petals of rival roses at Paestum as peacefully and conscientiously as any gardeners of today. ~ Edmund Gosse.