My Dear Gardeners,
All the best to you this autumn! We’re at the halfway mark of fall, teetering in a few more unadorned moments before the glorious gush of Thanksgiving, Chanukah, and Christmas moves in. Storms are predicted this weekend to usher in cold weather for much of the nation, like a holiday herald. Let us be still today in the bee feast that has been this flower-full stretch of warm autumn—and catch up together.
The bevy of yellow flowers above are from our arugula run amuck. I am so amazed by this mustard cousin, which self-seeds and keeps growing through our beastly summers, that I let it sprawl and spread in our raised bed. As a reward, I can garnish every sandwich and salad with “taste and see faith” in a handful of fresh, wake-up-flavor leaves in almost every season. Such a lazy style of garden-keeping yields this bee-autiful, bright patch of buzzing delight, such mercy!
Similarly, it has been a season of broadcasting God’s garden Words, as I have spoken at several garden clubs and this week, shared plants of the Bible to know and grow with elementary school students. The enthusiastic embrace of children and seasoned gardeners alike is overwhelmingly endearing, and I hope to come soon to a garden club near you.
Next month, I head back to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., for the great gift of planting bulbs in the rooftop Biblical Garden. Care to join me? I am gathering a volunteer crew on December 10th to plant crown anemones, tulips, and narcissus, creating a spring wildflower display like one might have seen in the Holy Land if they were following Jesus in Luke 12:26-28 (as featured in chapter 5 of My Father is the Gardener). I’ll be signing books for holiday gift-giving, too. Click here for more event information.
Sharing a few snapshots below from my garden life to yours—may you find inspiration and connection to God in all you do the garden. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Sincerely,
Shelley S. Cramm
author & gardener
P.S. that’s Heirloom Rustic Arugula from Renee’s Seeds (affiliate link)
We were very happy to share with you not only the gospel of God but our very lives—because you had become so dear to us. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 TPT
From the Homeland
Field Trip to the Herb Garden at Log Cabin Village, Fort Worth, TX
Local curiosity still compelled me this fall, even among trips to New York featured in my Devotions Blog, to visit the Herb Garden at the Log Cabin Village in Fort Worth, Texas. This sheltered spot is maintained by members of the Greater Fort Worth Herb Society (I will be speaking at their monthly meeting next February), and I explored for a fun afternoon of precious views and welcoming aroma.
Rugged stone paths and rustic plantings help create a pioneer feel to this hillside garden, tucked among preserved homes and frontier buildings, next door to the blacksmith shop. This vignette of herbs makes an excellent display of how to plant at home, similarly sized to a modest residential backyard with a mix of sunlight and dappled shade to see-for-yourself and understand plant preferences.
Herb gardens are full of plants of the Bible! I am always eager to take a Scripture inventory as I walk the paths and whiff scented branches. On this warm, early fall visit—and summer temperatures continue to linger here in north Texas—I spied rue, mint (contained in the whiskey barrel) and fennel, along with a few Bible-gesturing plants, like garlic chives and Jerusalem sage. The crown of the visit for this Bible gardener? The bay laurel, kept as a bushy, large, luxuriant shrub in the center of the space. I hope to visit in the cool season to see more Biblical favorites from the Apiaceae family, like dill and coriander.
Come join me at the Greater Fort Worth Herb Society meeting on Saturday, February 21st at 9:30 am to learn about herbs of the Bible. Non-members and guests are encouraged to come!
From the Nightstand
Fall’s longer nights makes it a season for more intense reading
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The Chocolate Lover’s Garden by Sheri Ann Richerson and Tom Ogren (From the GardenComm-National Garden Bureau Authors Talk Gardening Fall Book Party: a story of patient endurance and chocolate indulgence from a gardener’s point of view)
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Simple Hospitality by Jane Jarrell (a 20-year-old favorite to refresh for holiday hosting, wise and funny in basic and beautiful faith, quoted in God’s Word for Gardeners Bible)
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Wife Mother Drunk by Emily Redondo (written by my friend with brutal eloquence, this horrific addiction story has been a struggle to tell, in hopes of helping the one who needs this lifeline.
P.S.: The title is a play-on-words for “Weapons of Mass Destruction,” a telling acronym for the devil’s havoc in addiction across family generations)
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Black Flora by Teresa J. Speight (another from the Authors Talk Gardening Fall Book Party: stirring nightstand reading to behold floral designer and flower farmer creativity from across our land, a celebration of hard-won ground, one heart at a time, through the generations)
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Unoffendable by Brant Hansen (a practical faith-read essential for holiday gatherings and year-round people-loving, and a must-read in cultivating lasting relationships)
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Revolutionary Mothers by Carol Berkin (from the Fraunces Tavern gift shop in New York City, a hardship story of what women contributed and endured in establishing our nation, a timely read for Thanksgiving, to be forever humbled by those who forged our freedom)
Find more in-depth book discussions in Devotions Blog Book Reviews at Garden in Delight
From the Garden
Ornamental millet for fall floral drama from Ezekiel 4:9
Put a Biblical twist in your “pumpkinscape” this fall with ornamental millet in place of cornstalks, like this pair of Pennisteum glaucum ‘Purple Baron’ plants that I found at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden Fall Plant Sale. Millet is the most common translation for the Hebrew word dohran, one of several grain crops shortlisted for Ezekiel’s suffering diet: Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side. (Ezekiel 4:9 NIV)
Agricultural millet, Panicum miliaceum, is a different species that these ornamental millets, which are bred for their fuzzy, floral appeal; nonetheless the dramatic grasses move us in a gesture towards the ancient Words of Scripture.
I bought a pair of ‘Purple Barons,’ bringing one inside to accompany an assortment of pumpkins on our dining room table, and keeping one in the garden to swap out with every couple of days to get the plant back in the sunshine it prefers. Its deep, blackish purple color splashes keenly against harvest hues for a stunning display, and stirs the eye against garden greens as well.
Sorghum, another “plants of the field (Genesis 3:18)” along with wheat and barley, likely grew in background of Biblical stories and also adapts well as a decorative garden ornamental. Read more about millet and sorghum in the Devotions Blog, “Say ‘So Long Summer’ with Sorghum.”
‘Purple Baron’ millet can be grown from seed sown in early summer, though I have better success buying nursery plants. God bless your Thanksgiving tablescapes as they set the stage for fun and loving nourishment!
Blurbs & Praises
Guest Interviews on Read with Laura Joy Podcast
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Of course, it is sheer joy to Read with Laura Joy, a spirited, up-and-coming fiction author. You will treasure her novels (in Summer News’ book stack) and her welcoming voice. It was a special moment to be interviewed by Laura; she has watched my work unfold as I have watched hers, thanks to mutual friendships bringing us together along the way. We have so much Godly history to share, the interview is in 2 parts:
Refresh with a Poem
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Ready to kickback from the gardening year, yet keep active in the whorl of it all? The A-to-Z Primer of Plants in God’s Word is here to banter with your botanical knowledge! Knock on the latest poem added with the letter ‘K’:
Fall garden-to-table recipes from the Devotions Blog
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Biblical plants go from garden to table, cleaving our communion with God’s Word in cozy “taste and see” recipes from the Devotions Blog: Fall Colors in Lentil Stew, 40 Cloves of Garlic: A Chicken Recipe, Garden Broth, Red Sea Quinoa Recipe
Autumn Prayer
O Lord, thank You for the blessings You put in our lives! Though the nights grow darker and many of our garden adventures must pause, You keep us company in a multitude of ways and continue to beckon us through the garden’s movement—buzzing bees and falling leaves, grasses going dormant and rains soaking the soil. Prepare me as Your kingdom draws near; it is Your desire for me to be ready, to read the seasonal signs and be ready (Luke 21:29-36).
You teach me hospitality through the practice of gardening, O God, in the generosity of abundant flowers and the fullness of plant growth, the radiating warmth of the sun on my face or the showering refreshment as You water everything (Psalm 23:3, Proverbs 11:25), O God of autumn rains! Let me pour out all You have given me as my family gathers for Thanksgiving, and as I celebrate with friends and coworkers, too. Put Your gladness in my heart for others (Exodus 4:14) as I meet and greet and rejoice in Your gracious invitation to be with You in Paradise. In Your astounding Name, I pray, Amen.
