reap what you sow

This image is the bloom from a Rose of Sharon that seeded itself next to my deck in the back of my house. It was a pleasant surprise and a welcome ‘Good Morning’ from the garden when I let the dog out this morning.

Recently, I have been reading the book ‘grace from the garden: changing the world one garden at a time’, written by Debra Landwehr Engle. It’s full of inspirational gardening stories and I highly recommend it. In one of the last chapters of the book, I read the following garden poem:

for the garden of your daily living:
plant three rows of peas,
1. peas of mind
2. peas of heart
3. peas of soul

plant four rows of squash,
1. squash gossip
2. squash indifference
3. squash grumbling
4. squash selfishness

plant four rows of lettuce:
1. lettuce be faithful
2. lettuce be kind
3. lettuce be patient
4. lettuce really love one another

no garden is without turnips,
1. turnip for meetings
2. turnip for service
3. turnip to help one another

to conclude our garden, we must have thyme.
1. thyme for each other
2. thyme for family
3. thyme for friends

water freely with patience and cultivate with love. there is much fruit in your garden because you reap what you sow.