How a Garden Grows

I had the privilege of spending time with my friend Fran in her garden yesterday. Even though the house is in the city, you would not know it because of the expansive garden, pond, sheep and pets, and a feeling of being in another time when people grew what they ate. They planted, pruned, picked, and prepared. There was a connection between good soil and abundance.

I am fortunate to be able to go to a place where I can connect with the earth and smell the dirt. I will be there, as promised, to help pick, cook, eat. It is a good thing to remember and practice the principles of how a garden grows.


I always go down the path of relaxation with self examination when I am walking the land. I see the preparation to receive the seeds or young plants. I see the forethought of planning where to put each row of seeds. I see the weeding and tending of the gardener. I see the pruning that must come in order to produce the best crop. I see the moving of a plant to a new place if it is not thriving in a certain spot, light, or soil. I see the monitoring of daily growth to determine the best time to harvest. I am grateful for the sharing of the bounty, the life produced in the garden.

I heard the parable of the sower (Matt. 13) last night that also stirred up the smells of the verdant crops I had experienced during the day. It was a pleasant reminder of personal inventory of myself being fertile soil, bearing fruit, sharing fruits of my gifts and labors, tending to my garden, willingness to be pruned, and so many more facets of how a garden grows.