A Garden Story

It All Started with Tomatoes

I love a good garden story. In fact, everything about a garden reminds me of God. As I work in my garden, I am learning so much about Him and particularly about His love of beauty. Here’s my garden story. It all started with tomatoes…

In the last three years, mostly because I have wanted my kids to experience it, I have been gardening. We started with tomatoes, red peppers, and some herbs—all in pots. Lots of ups and downs. Big learning curve. I have been a giddy child at watching seeds sprout. I have been super discouraged when I’ve found weird-looking bugs all over my sunflowers, or big beautiful tomatoes from this side—split right open on the other; or tiny red and black bugs camping out all over my milkweed. I have felt the disappointment of failure more times than I can count.

Fruit Trees

For some reason smaller plants felt more manageable to me, so I have avoided trees. I’ve dreamed of fruit trees, but had not ventured out. Intimidation I think.

This year, my husband heard from a friend ( thank you Billy!) about a guy off School House Road (Lakeland Tropicals) who sells all kinds of fruit trees, and he thought of me. Three days later, on a hot Saturday afternoon, I stood looking out my window watching Shane plant an avocado tree, a cherry tree, a Moringa tree, and a Texas Sage in the little garden plot I had covered with cardboard and leaves a few months before. I had not intended to plant anything actually—too much disappointment. But this. This stirred my heart right up.

A Small Orchard

So as you do, I went out and purchased a small orchard.  Like, a lot of trees. and plants. Like I spent more money on these plants than we will spend on that really good mattress we have been wanting for two years.

The guilt and the shame came over me a couple nights ago as I lay in bed at 3AM, awake, feeling overwhelmed at just how many trees I bought, and just how little I know about fruit trees, and just how much money I spent… so I lay there, feeling this sense of dread, like a “what have I done??” feeling… and here was what I was saying/hearing: How could you do this? Why would you think its ok to buy plants when there are children starving and people homeless and loved ones grieving and tragedy striking and …

Beauty is Important to God

But the next morning, I was talking to God, and He reminded me that beauty is important to Him. And that cultivating beauty is just as important as cultivating compassion and kindness. The truth is though, they are not separate. Beauty births life. Where the tree flowers, the fruit forms. And where there is fruit, there is opportunity for kindness and compassion.

A garden is so many beautiful things. It is Life. Nutrition. Provision. Health. Beauty. Peace. Oasis. Solitude. Healing. Friendship. Truth. Discovery. Revelation. It is ‘home’ to a million creatures. It is a place for me to learn and grow.  It can be where clarity comes. It is an unapologetically needy child. It is a wise teacher. It is a constant friend.

I have learned a little bit from a lot of mistakes, so I pray and dig and plant and watch. I have a little bit of faith and apparently I only need a little bit. Letting go of the outcome. Taking a risk.  Believing beauty—all by itself—is worth pursuing. This is why I’m giving the garden another go this year.

What about you? I’d love to hear your garden story, too.