My Dear Gardeners,
Happy hello from the middle of winter! How long will winter last, predicted this week’s groundhog peek? Looks like we’re in for six more weeks.
Though the calendar could have told us that, what hope this earthy creature stirs as a century-old tradition, that just maybe we can get to our spring gardening a little early! I confess I’ve started seeds outside this week, since we received an almost-summer burst of 80-degree weather. No doubt I will have to cover tender seedlings before spring officially arrives, but it is worth the risk, to paraphrase Elizabeth Lawrence’s outlook as quoted in My Father is the Gardener (see page 65).
Not to give winter a cold-shoulder—actually, it is our favorite season. My husband and I love chilled cheeks on our walks and a game of Scrabble by a blazing fire. I always hope to get at least one snowy dusting so I can photograph our hyssop shrub and watch God’s Word come alive with the treasured reminder from Psalm 51: We are cleansed by God, washed whiter than snow.
We have enjoyed a quiet yet wondrous winter so far; mostly for me it has been a season to lay the groundwork for bigger works ahead, beginning with an overhaul of our home offices and a deeper prayer appointment. Before there are more books, there must be more prayers! Along with digging deep in God’s Word for sustenance to supply the Garden in Delight Devotions Blog, which will start back up with the beginning of Lent on March 5th.
A new Lenten Series will post on Thursdays for the 7 weeks leading up to the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection, overlapping with Purim and Passover. Want a hint to the garden theme for this year’s devotions? It is smaller than a bread box…it fits in a bread box…do you remember bread boxes?!
That’s right, bread is mentioned in the Scriptures over 200 times, and we will consider together the garden grounding given to spiritual metaphors of bread, preparing us to cherish our Bread of Life with a deeper love.
Thank you for joining me in the adventure of growing faith in your garden. God bless you and keep you.
Sincerely,
Shelley S. Cramm
author & gardener
I’ve kept my feet on the ground, I’ve cultivated a quiet heart. Like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content. Psalm 131:2 The Message
From the Homeland
Field Trip to La Palmilla, TX
It’s been a homebound winter after our house-full for the holidays, besides a special retreat to La Palmilla, a resort venue southwest of Fort Worth. I visited with my precious prayer group for a 2-day silent retreat – who says God doesn’t still perform miracles when a group of 15 women comes together without eating or talking?! LOL! We fasted, prayed, and sought the Lord on these holy grounds, with a Lectio Divina reading to usher us into the sanctuary of God’s Word.
This sunrise view of the Casa Del Rey chapel captures the full moon still in the sky, enhancing the tranquility of this amazing place. The whitewashed façade of the building hardly reveals the breathtaking colors awaiting indoors. Hand-crafted with imagery from Revelation 4, the sanctuary space is adorned with stunningly rugged stained-glass windows and crown-topped carved pine pews. Our spontaneous worship songs easily filled the hall with happy sound.
Proceeding from the chapel courtyard, guest villas are sited in simple landscape plantings, punctuated by dwarf, fan-leaved palm trees reflecting the venue’s name, along with fragrant rosemary shrubs, a palette of sun-loving perennials, and a perimeter of Carolina Sapphire Arizona Cypress trees in heavenly blue.
Beyond the chapel, a pecan grove and trails to the Brazos River edge beckon, and the expanse of quiet surroundings invites the Lord to be talkative, hallelujah! Our visit bathed the holy ground in even more prayers as we each sought His Presence and looked to Him to fill our hearts and make His way for the year ahead.
From the Nightstand
Reading to warm the winter nights
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To Garden With God by Christine Sine (comforting, common sense reflections from a fellow author devoted to seeking God in the garden)
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Two Gardeners, A Friendship in Letters by Emily Herring Wilson (in the glow of Christmas card writing, enjoy this heartful, classic exchange of letters between Katherine S. White and Elizabeth Lawrence)
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Abundant Simplicity by Jan Johnson (a captivating book to help lead a life filled with yearning for Jesus; She also wrote Meeting God in Scripture on the practice of Lectio Divina)
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Listening to Nature’s Voice by Pamela Baxter (beautiful prose for your pause in the day, this faithful author helps guide us back to our Creator through His creation)
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Melania by Melania Trump (a new autobiography to compliment my collection/obsession of books about our First Ladies—a special gift from my mother!)
Find more in-depth book discussions in Devotions Blog Book Reviews at Garden in Delight
From the Garden
Overwintering papyrus Exodus 2:3 & Job 8:11
How many of your houseplants are on loan from your garden? My longtime followers will remember that I don’t do houseplants. I am terrible with houseplants! But for a Biblical plant that needs temporary shelter during frost-prone days, I will make an exception. Actually, I am harboring olive, myrtle, and papyrus this winter, a trio from My Father is the Gardener, which all prefer zone 9 temperatures that Texas mimics most months of the year.
You may remember this papyrus, Cyperus papyrus ‘Prince TutTM‘ was a souvenir from my GardenComm trip to Garden Crossings Garden Center near Grand Rapids, MI. I normally grow papyrus as an annual, but the sentimentality of this specimen prompted me to bring it indoors for the winter. Besides, I had a flash of insight to keep it on our bathroom counter to show off its dramatic, airy form and let it enjoy the shower’s humidity while seeing a daily reminder of the hope we have in God (Job 8:13).
Sadly, the fronds of the grassy flowers are dried out on the ends because, yes, even though this plant is right here in our bathroom, I forgot to water it. Even Job’s friend Bildad knew that reeds wither without water (Job 8:12). Mercy me!
Learn more about papyrus in the Garden in Delight Plant Guide:
Blurbs & Praises
Featured on Roots & Refuge Farm YouTube
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discover the wonderful, faithful homesteader Jessica Sowards of Roots & Refuge Farm AND enjoy her recommendation of my first book, God’s Word for Gardener’s Bible in her “A Gardener’s Gift Guide” – promoted at the 25:33 minute mark
Refresh with a Poem
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with snow dusting the hyssop and papyrus’ houseplant hope, let’s look up the alliteration in the A-to-Z Primer of Plants in God’s Word
Quoted in Martha Stewart Gardening Online
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many thanks to Samantha Johnson for quoting me in her article at MarthaStewart.com>Garden>Flower Gardens “10 Perennials You Should Always Cut Back in the Fall, According to Pro Gardeners”
Winter Prayer
O Father, thank You for this winter season to draw close to You—though every season has a reason! There is plenty of beauty to take in, even with bare branches, dried flower stalks, faded stems, and frozen ground. Besides, I need the recall to simplicity.
Let me gaze on the landscape from indoors and get to know You better (Romans 1:20); let the retreat of leafy growth reveal more of who You are and how You are working in subterranean aspects of my life. O Lord, in all my ways, I want to acknowledge You (Proverbs 3:6), from sunrise to moon’s glow, from first snow to spring’s hope. You are my God and I pray to grasp Your hand and hold on forever and hope always (Psalm 131:3). In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
