“Are you working on another book?” I am frequently asked. Well, I think so, Yes…or to be more accurate, another book seems to be growing before me! Out of the cozy moments curled-up, reading to our children, and the sheer delight of the treasured Scriptures and stories contained in plants and landscapes of the Bible, A-to-Z Primer of Plants from God’s Word is growing.
Pitter-patter, rhyme and meter is the voice of this devotional. Linger in these excerpts as they evolve from the Garden in Delight blog to a beautiful, illustrated book to enjoy, give to a garden-loving friend, or read aloud to a grandchild.
A-to-Z Primer of Plants from God’s Word
Click the links below to the alphabet plants from God’s Word as they first appeared in blog posts at www.gardeninDelight.com. Be sure as you are reading to click links to concepts and phrases directly inserted from God’s Word.
is for almond
one of Israel’s best trees
yielding fall nut-fruits
from spring’s busy bees.
“a land flowing with milk and honey,”… See More
is for bitter herbs
the small story beginner
in the deliverance drama
of Passover dinner.
Bitter, harsh oppression the ancient Israelites suffered….See More
is for cedar
but not just any one;
we are sing-songing here
for the cedar of Lebanon.
Splendid in beauty….See More
is for date palm,
a desert delight.
To travelers worn out—
sweet relief in sight.
Straight, slender, tall trunks…See More
is for eaglewood, a sensational soaring
of exotic scent-imagery;
an aroma produced
in the heartwood of Aquilaria trees.
Other given names: agarwood, aloes…See More
is for fig tree,
a Bible plant indeed.
The first species mentioned
that we can taste and see.
More than good, figs are luscious—…See More
is for garlic
O, let us gush!!
In praise and thanksgiving
for the savory rush
of flavor that garlic...See More
is for hyssop
a lowly, green plant,
with a scent and a story
certain to enchant.
Hyssop grows in fierce sunlight…See More
is for juniper
evergreen in Israel’s land,
a lovely respite
from the dull browns of sand
and arid terrain found across its southern region…. See More
is for bay laurel tree
by its leaves we know it;
noteworthy of the noble Lord:
The Word-became-flesh Poet.
In ancient Greece, fresh swags of green…See More
is for mustard
seeds made famous in God’s Word.
Mentioned many times by Jesus,
their message must be heard.
Wake up! The smallest will grow and become…See More
is for nigella,
the prettiest posy yet
to grace in rhyme and meter
the Bible-plants alphabet.
This nice garden flourish….See More
is for olive tree,
if there were only one
to picture the peace
we have in the Son
then olive would show us…See More
is for pomegranate
that makes a big splash;
God’s wonderful blessing
revealed in a flash
of its multitude of seeds—…See More
is for Quercus,
the genus of oak trees,
set apart in Scripture
when one’s faith feels the squeeze.
Questions surely quiz us…See More
is for star of Bethlehem,
a small, Holy Land flower,
which, to a city under siege,
became Samaria’s pricey flour.
A momentary mention in a crisis-story …See More
is for umbellifers,
a family of flavorsome plants
scattered humbly in few Bible verses,
nonetheless grounding God’s Word in the land.
Particular details, the umbels embellish…See More
The Vinedresser’s Creed
Matching species to climate,
and terrain to vine’s need
Of air circulation —
morning’s dew must be freed…See More
is for wheat
earth’s finest flour milled from standing grain;
watered in the holy land
by winter and spring rains.
The ancient cereal is well-known…See More
Let’s celebrate Y
with mYrtle, the leafY trees
whose branches renown,
are lifted ceremoniously
to add festive fragrance….See More
is for zera’
the Hebrew word for “seed.”
A garden’s humble miracle:
this year’s harvest will succeed
in a bounty for next year!…See More
All poems, sketches and photos © Shelley S. Cramm
“The Vinedresser’s Creed” first appeared in God’s Word for Gardeners Bible in the Away from the Last Supper devotions, page 1220