How Does Your Garden Grow? – My Father's World

Mary, Mary, quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockleshells
And pretty maids all in a row.

Like a lot of nursery rhymes, the one above has a bit of a dark history. No one can say for sure what is the exact interpretation of this popular children’s rhyme, but some say that the “Mary” here is Mary Queen of Scots and that the “silver bells and cockleshells” represent ornaments on a dress given to her by the Dauphin of France, her first husband. The “pretty maids” are said to refer to her ladies in waiting. Okay, so that interpretation doesn’t seem so dark. The more sinister and seemingly the most popular version of the poem’s origin, however, hinges on the belief that Mary is actually Queen Mary I (Mary Tudor), more infamously known as “Bloody Mary.” When she became Queen, it is said that she tried to change back to the Catholic Church in an effort to break away from the Church of England. In the process, she persecuted many Protestants, so the “silver bells and cockleshells” are believed to be instruments of torture and the “pretty maids all in a row” are those in line to be executed. And the “garden?” Well, that would be the cemetery, growing with the increasing number of graves due to the executions!

That scene is certainly not the scene I envisioned as a little girl when I first learned that nursery rhyme. I just had a simple, peaceful picture in my mind of a woman growing beautiful flowers – like the dahlias in some of the pictures to follow. And the garden was a relaxing place to enjoy some sunshine and admire the scenery – like at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. All of the photos in today’s post were taken in Longwood Gardens in September, 2019.

Longwood Gardens is 1,050 acres consisting of 20 outdoor gardens and a 4.5 acre indoor conservatory that displays an amazing collection of local and exotic plants.

One thing is true about any garden, mine or yours or Mary’s. It will grow what you sow (as well as a few weeds that you didn’t sow – but something else did)! That was God’s plan, as we can read in Genesis 1:11-12. “And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.’ And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” Of course, I know that you all understand this concept, and I know that none of you have ever planted lima beans and expected corn to grow! So why all this talk about gardens in the middle of winter? It’s not the right time to be planting lima beans or corn anyway. Some of you might think it’s never the right time to plant lima beans, but I’m not really interested in physical gardens at the moment. I want to consider the question “How does your garden grow?” from the nursery rhyme and answer it from a spiritual perspective. And maybe you can do the same. Lots of people make resolutions at the beginning of a new year, so it seems like now is the perfect time to be thinking about gardens and what we will be sowing, and consequentially reaping, in the new year and the new decade.

The Peirce family bought the land that is now Longwood Gardens in 1700. In later years, the family created an arboretum and then began collecting a large variety of plants.

The Bible is full of references to gardening – planting seed, harvesting, bearing fruit – and probably the most well known example is Jesus’ parable of the sower. (Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:3-20, Luke 8:4-15) In this story, we see God’s word described as seed, and we see how the seed grows and produces (or fails to produce) in different types of soil, the hearers of the word. Take this first month of the new year to reflect on how well your seed has grown in the past year or years. How do you keep God’s seed growing in your heart, or what changes do you need to make to improve your soil? These are questions that I’m asking myself. If God’s word is the seed I want to be growing, then I know I need to spend more time learning his word – more time reading it, studying it, meditating on it, and praying for wisdom about how to use it. Maybe I also need to do a better job keeping the weeds out of my garden – being more careful about the things I watch on television, read in books, magazines, or social media, and listen to on the radio or on podcasts. Let’s strive to be the good soil, so that when we hear the word, we “hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” (Luke 8:15)

*Pierre du Pont eventually purchased the Peirce’s property and saved the collection of trees that were scheduled to be cut for lumber in 1906.*

Besides considering how my garden grows in my own heart (mind), I have to consider how it’s growing in my home. Am I setting a proper example for my husband, which could be like fertilizer for his spiritual growth? My children are grown and now have families of their own, but my actions still influence them as well. If you still have children at home, I know you don’t need me to tell you that they don’t miss anything! As I watch my granddaughter grow, I’m reminded of this quite often. And we shouldn’t miss any opportunity to nurture, water, and prep that soil – in our own children or in grandchildren, nieces, or nephews! Albert Einstein once said, “Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others, it is the only means.” By the examples we set, we are preparing the soil. What type of soil will it be?

Du Pont made several additions to the gardens, including a Flower Garden Walk and many fountain gardens.

How does your garden grow in social and public settings, like work or recreational activities? A good example is just as crucial in these settings, so I want to share another “example” statement with you. It has been said that there are some things you cannot be, no matter how hard you try, but there is one thing you will always be, whether you try or not – an example. Do your co-workers know you are a Christian? Do you gossip, lie, get angry easily, use foul language, scream at the opposing team or the referees, get road rage, dress inappropriately, and …….? It’s not always easy to stand out and stand up for the right things, but, if we don’t, our influence as Christians is weakened. We are surrounded by people in many social aspects of our lives who are not Christians, and we should be fighting to take that soil away from the devil. One way we can fight is by making sure that our everyday, public actions are having the right influences on those around us.

The Conservatory features displays that change with the seasons. In September, the local dahlia growers were exhibiting the results of their gardening efforts!

Maybe these words have caused you to reflect on your past gardening endeavors and motivated you to become better gardeners in the coming year. I know that I miss many opportunities daily to prepare the soil and plant the seed of God’s word, but my goal is to do a better job of recognizing and taking advantage of those opportunities. There’s another part of this process, however, that can’t be neglected – that of gathering the harvest. Jesus said in John 4:35-38, “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest?’ Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

Longwood offers many educational programs for students and teachers.

Harvest time is always a time of joy and satisfaction. Sometimes the one who does the sowing isn’t the one who does the reaping, but both share in the rewards of the harvest. The late Batsell Barrett Baxter told a modern parable of a group of workers being hired to harvest a field:

Upon arrival, the workers immediately saw the need to sharpen tools, repair fences, and to prepare a shelter for their place of rest. Finishing this, they saw it was now time for a good lunch. They then felt so unworthy of such a great work they all bathed and put on fresh clothing. As they prepared to enter the field, they discovered the day was spent and the sun was going down.
So these wonderful people (like us) turn back, sorrowing with guilty feelings, to meet the man who owns the field. He comes to meet them, expecting shoulders laden with heavy bags of grain, but instead, he finds only beautiful tools and the story of wonderful fences and fine clothes and a good dinner and a shelter to take care of those who work. He asks sadly, “But where is the harvest?” They had no words to speak.

Some of the fountains at Longwood are illuminated with different colors of lights and also set to music.

As we strive to become better gardeners for the Lord in 2020, let’s make sure we cultivate the seed in our own hearts first, and then we can prep the soil, plant the seed, and nurture it in those around us. And don’t neglect the harvest! Gardening is never an easy task, and gardening for God is no different. It takes time and patience, and we aren’t promised an easy row to hoe. Are you ready to rise to the challenge?? Then start sowing, growing, and hoeing, and remember the message in Galatians 6:7-8. YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW! How does your garden grow?

Psalm 126:5-6 “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”

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