Generations of green thumbs run on both sides of my family. My grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles. I didn’t think I inherited that family gene, especially since I had somehow managed to kill a cactus in South Texas; can you relate? Haha! I had almost given up on gardening until I faced a trial in my life that required me to seek peace and quiet. My mind desperately craved a place that I could retreat to in prayer to find clarity in the midst of a circumstance that was and still is completely out of my control. For years I had planted flowers here and there in pots; never did I think I could tend to an actual garden full of herbs, flowers, and vegetables. I couldn’t even sort out my thoughts during this heavy season of my life or keep a cactus alive, let alone nurture an entire garden.
Furthermore, I remember standing in front of our current home that was not landscaped at the time and thinking to myself, “Well, I can add a few plants around the house.” Pondering the idea that it might be good for me. Now, at this time in my life I was not a fan of digging holes either. So, I would patiently wait until my husband was home from work to help me dig all the holes! I have since come a long way in the hole digging department because now (five years later) I honestly love digging holes for our gardens. It’s become one of my favorite workouts! Anyways, after lightly landscaping around the house I then found myself at our local garden nursery on my lunch breaks almost everyday, reading about different plants, buying a few plants only to experience a lot of trial and error… let’s just say, many other plants then went on to rest in peace with my former cactus plant. Oops. However, I never felt discouraged in the garden, something kept drawing me back to it regardless of my many failures; it was as if the garden had found me.
I wasn’t seeking gardening as a hobby, rather, gardening gradually became my place of peace in a season of desperation and grief. The garden had a way of turning my darkest season into beauty. I felt an unexplainable peace while surrounded by plants. The kind of peace that could only be Heaven sent. Gardening is now apart of my lifestyle and I really don’t know how I mentally operated without gardening in my previous years of life! My garden is like a good friend I can’t wait to visit with at the end of each day. There is always a new bloom or fruit awaiting my arrival, ready to greet me, and provide me with renewed hope, much like our Father in Heaven. All this time I have been trying to grow different plant varieties in my garden to create something good, but what I now realize is that the garden has been growing me all along, redeeming the broken pieces of my soul, and replacing my ashes for beautiful blooming vines within.
If you have been wanting to learn more about different plant varieties, herbs, and seeking some gardening 101, you are in good company! I am blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life that I will be visiting with and introducing you to along my gardening journey to gain plant, garden, and landscaping knowledge from. I will even be bringing fresh garden ingredients back to my kitchen to whip up some delicious recipes. I look forward to sharing my gardening adventure with you and growing together!
“I am the Vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I to you, you will produce plenty of fruit. But separated from me you won’t be able to do anything.” John 15:5
