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Where Can I Find Bible Plants in Atlanta?

Home » Garden Design » Where Can I Find Bible Plants in Atlanta?
a-light-for-my-path

by Shelley S. Cramm In: Garden Design, Garden Moments, Gardens to Visit on Nov 3, 2016

Once again, The Association of Garden Communicators (GWA) gathered its gaggle of writers, editors, photographers, videographers, marketers, etc. for its annual conference—nothing is more fun than being with a group who loves everything garden and who are crazy to communicate the joy and intrigue in a meaningful way. We took Atlanta by storm; literally the first rainfall in many days drenched us, but did not discourage!

Flower filled entrance to GIbbs Gardens
Gibbs Garden flowerboxes were drenched in rainfall yet welcoming with extravagant color, pure joy!

Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful.

Joel 2:23 NIV

Before sharing more snapshots from the journey, may I repeat my annual mantra: If you have a trade association, join it! Enjoy fellowship on common ground with your colleagues. If you want to associate with fellow gardeners, join ours!! Social media makes us all broadcast journalists at some level, and the hope and goodness in gardening is a story we each have a part in communicating to the next generation.

Are there Bible plants in Atlanta?

Atlanta’s hilly terrain compares to the hillsides of Judea, yet its humid, forested, woodsy ravines and summits create a much different atmosphere that the sun-scorched lands of the Bible. Nevertheless, many plants mentioned in Scripture are easy to spot, especially in edible gardens.

Atlanta Botanical Gardens

chihuly-water-sculpture-atlanta
A Chihuly sculpture in the Levy Parterre water fountain seems to echo Jesus’ solace: He will lead them to springs of living water Revelation 7:17 NIV

First stop, the renowned Atlanta Botanical Gardens, an extensive adventure. These gardens have captured the essence of garden delight! Fun and whim are found around every corner, especially with the current exhibit of Chihuly glass. The woods and Kendeda Canopy Walk to the north surely capture a measure of the splendor of ancient cedar of Lebanon forests.

Yet I spent much of my time in the Edible Garden in the southwestern corner, and found old favorites thriving in the warm Atlanta sunshine. Figs, pomegranates, grapevines—the Deuteronomy 8:8 classics—along with crab apples and bay laurel, some of the more controversial Bible botanicals in terms of discerning precise species.

fig-trees-shelter-bench
Fig trees shelter a garden bench, wouldn’t you like to pause here with the Lord in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8)?

 Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom— there I will give you my love.
Song of Songs 7:12 NIV

hedge-of-dwarf-pomegranate
A hedge of dwarf pomegranates punctuates the end of the edible rows, bright and fruit-full

dwarf-pomegranate-fruits

 

 

crabapple-and-dawning-sunshine

Crab apple trees, Pyrus malus ‘Robinson,’ at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens

Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love.
Song of Songs 2:5 NIV

playful-structures-in-edible-garden-cp

I loved the whimsical play of structure and color at the entrance to the Edible Garden area. Rusted rebar trellises support climbing beans and vines, accenting the terraced beds of deep purple-leaved basil. Above, the structured apple espaliers form a sense of enclosure to this amphitheater-style space. Large, boldly-colored, plastic apples ornament the cultured trees – effective plant tags, wouldn’t you say?!

bay-laurel-and-grapevines
Around the backside of the entrance walls, grapevines cling and show their vitality, with bay laurel trees filling in the far corners.

 

 

 

 

 

They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest
Psalm 107:37 NIV

Private Gardens in Atlanta

Private garden tours equaled the wow of public garden displays, hosted each year by Master Gardeners and garden enthusiasts in the regions GWA visits. I was charmed by glimpses of God’s Word out in the woodland sanctuaries and private collections surrounding Atlanta.

st-francis-statue in an Atlanta private garden
St. Francis statue, a garden favorite
grain-maiden-statue in Atlant private garden
This fair maiden of the grain harvest adorned a formal boxwood knot garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acantacanthus-in-the-woodlandhus, the plant made famous in ancient architecture’s Corinthian columns, thrives in the understory plantings around Atlanta.

They brayed among the bushes and huddled in the undergrowth [acanthus].
Job 30:7 NIV

 

 

Atlanta History Center

The impressive grounds surrounding the Atlanta History Center highlighted the final day. We enjoyed a momentous walk across extreme terrain, criss-crossing ravines and woodlands to take in everything from the splendor of the Swan House mansion to the humble garden plots at Wood Family Cabin. Working gardens such as the cabin’s are rarely without reference to the foods and crops cultivated in the ancient Holy Land, infusing Scripture with the realities and rigor of living close to the earth.

handsome-kitchen-garden
Neat and tidy describes this handsome example of a kitchen garden at Smith Family Farm, resounding the order and nourishment of a well-run household.

Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.
Those who work their land will have abundant food
Proverbs 24:27, 28:19 NIV

 

 

millet-in-a-history-garden
Millet planted next to Wood Family Cabin, an agricultural grain mentioned briefly in God’s Word (Ezekiel 4:9)
cotton-boll
Cotton, an icon of the American South, was cultivated in the ancient Middle East, with likely beginnings in Persia (Esther 1:6)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

leeks from the Atlant History Center Sith Family Farm
Leeks, their loss evoking the wail of the Israelites (Numbers 11:5), are a fuss-free and tasty addition to the home garden
Job verse on a garden plaque
Garden verse in the Smith Family Farm flower beds (Job 14:7-9)

Once again, it was a joy to journey through gardens and discover plants and vignettes that brought me back to the transforming Words from the Bible. Walking up the private garden path pictured above, with the unpretentious lamps poised along the way, seemed to whisper in my soul—

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Psalm 119:105 NIV

Enjoy more information about these gardens online at www.gibbsgardens.com, www.atlantbg.org & www.atlanthistorycenter.org

Photo Credits: ©2016 Shelley S. Cramm

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