Gardening:  Celebrating God's Creation
I titled my front page this because of the many scriptural references our Lord used in comparing us to the care of His Garden.  Here are some verses...

 
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.   You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
     I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. "
           John 15:1-8		 Here are some great links!
Virtual Garden Home Page:  great tips, commercial, updated often
  HomeArts:  Bloom!:  similar to the above
  Garden.com:another commercial one, but valuable enough to visit for lost of info
  Water Gardening: A hot new way to garden, great tips on how to get started
  Gardening with the Garden of Weeden: an adorable site of Gardening with a Christian perspective
  HGTV Forum:  and excellent Bulletin Board, rapid turnover, great support!

 
Ah Compost!... Gardener's Gold!!
           Mastercomposter.com...........		 Here is a great compost link!  (I can't believe I found this one!)
How to make compost:
    It's really not complicated.  Start with stuff you already have when you maintain your yard!
1) Gather your clippings and dead leaves whenever they arrive. Think of the two major components as "green stuff" and "brown stuff" (nitrogen rich and carbon rich) You want about the same amounts if you can.  The smaller the particles the better.
2) Choose a spot to pile it.  You can use a commercial compost bin or make it yourself or just make a pile!  The idea in any of these is the same... turn it, give it some air, and some moisture.
3) Let it warm, turn it about once a week and water it when it's dry.  It should feel like a rung out sponge.
4) You may choose to feed it to encourage good bacterial growth and speed the break down process.  Commercial feeds can be bought, or you can just add a bit of finished compost to get it going,  I just heard beer is a good additive too.  It isn't exactly "feeding" but worms are wonderful for your garden and your compost!  Any kind of earthworm, fishing worms will do... they are probably already beneath your grass. They will eat all their favorite "goodies", aerate the soil, produce their own waste (which is good) and speed the compost process along!
5) Other things you can compost are any table foods... the less processed the better.  Avoid meats, fats and starches since they take longer to break down and can attract animals.  Although egg shells are great!
6) You can do this fast by adhering to the strictest principles, or you can be patient and let it go and in a year or so it will all break down.  The turning, the feeding, the temperature control will all make it go faster.
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Here are some spring Jonquils......                 I missed a picture of  my deep purple  tulips...they looked
                                                     great in this corner.  It's a modest beginning, but I have vision!!!
My fence is finally done!!
I love my arbor!  I just planted Queen Elizabeth Rose climbers on either side, I hope for them to shoot up soon.
Here's the crew on our way to the kiddy parade for Fireman's day in our town.  This is a neat view of the fence.  We plan to stain it in the fall after the green treatment wears off.  What color do you think?
My goal for this is to create a sanctuary for myself and the family; a wonderful, miniature retreat that makes any visitor feel like they are a million miles from their problems.
Some Scriptures from the Gardener:
Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed.
As he was scattering the 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.  there seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.   Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-- a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  He who has ears, let him hear."  The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in  parables?"  He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been   given to you, but not to them.   Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.  This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.  In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "You will be ever hearing but never     understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.  For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears,  and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear  with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'  But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.   For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
        "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:
        When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it,  the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 1But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.  The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears
the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.  But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the  word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty  times what was sown."  Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.   But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the  wheat, and went away.  When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.  "The owner's servants came to him and said, `Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'  "`An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, `Do you want us to go and pull them up?' "`No,' he answered, `because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters:  First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the  wheat and bring it into my barn.'"  1He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed,  which a man took and planted in his field.  Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of  garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."    Matt. 13:3-32
My first purple Hyacinth in my backyard!!  They were followed by Grape Hyacinth, Dwarf Irises, some deep purple Tulips, and more! I put in a recycled brick edge, and my husband is putting in a picket fence fence and a rose arbor at the entrance! 
One of the greatest truths is that we have been grafted into the Promise of God!  With the Children of Abraham, because of faith in Christ, we are a part of the body of Christ and His salvation!!   Romans 11:17-24 says:
If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive
               shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing
               sap from the olive root,
          18 do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support
               the root, but the root supports you.
          19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in."
          20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith.
               Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.
          21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
          22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who
               fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise,
               you also will be cut off.
          23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to
               graft them in again.
          24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary
               to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will
               these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
For those of us who have seen how to graft a tree, it is especially meaningful.   Off of the root (and stump) of one tree or bush, another tree can (from a branch) be grafted on, and grow perfectly well.  I found this amazing the first time I learned of it!  Even more amazing is the foreknowledge of the prophecies of Isaiah 11: Jesus is the shoot out of the Root of Jesse!
Gardening God's Way:
 Plant three rows of peas:

   Peace of mind
   Peace of heart
   Peace of soul

 Plant four rows of squash:

   Squash gossip
   Squash indifference
   Squash grumbling
   Squash selfishness

 Plant four rows of lettuce:

   Lettuce be faithful
   Lettuce be kind
   Lettuce be obedient
   Lettuce really love one another

 No garden without turnips:

   Turnip for meetings
   Turnip for service
   Turnip to help one another

   Water freely with patience and
   Cultivate with love.
   There is much fruit in your garden
   Because you reap what you sow.

 To conclude our garden

 We must have thyme:

   Thyme for God
   Thyme for study
   Thyme for prayer


   We have a water garden now. We have some pictures from last year of a little visitor. I will have some new pictures of the whole pond soon.
   I have had lots of other visitors to the pond and other flowers. See if you can find the hummingbird in this one...
   Here are some pictures of my watergarden. This is my second year trying this. Last year we sunk an old bathtub only to find it was impossible to keep the drains plugged. I have lots of challenges keeping it maintained, but it is very rewarding. My kids love the fish and we have a turtle too. By the way if you want to consider a turtle there are some problems that we had. First we had one named Houdini who finally made a successful escape. We got the second one to stay by installing a flower fence. Sheis a red-eared slider named Debbie. The problem is, I have discovered that she throws my nitrites way up and now I may need to get her an indoor aquarium in my son's room.
   I have been working on some new beds these are all slowly expanding...





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