Similar Yet Different

Today both my hibiscuses are blooming! Though the differences don’t show in the picture, the red hibiscus plant is tall and lanky, and the orange one is a small mound of dark green leaves. The red flower measures seven inches across while the orange is only four inches in diameter. And of course they sport different colors and petal structure. The red petals are long and curl back gracefully while the orange petals are shorter and curve only slightly. Yet they’re both hibiscuses. They’re both flowering plants. They’re both green, leafy plants. They’re both created by God to beautify his world. People also come in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors but we’re all people. In fact, every person who has ever lived on the face of the earth can trace their lineage to the first people on earth—Adam and Eve, and more recently than that, to Noah and his three sons and daughters-in-law. We’re all kin. We’re all God’s creation (though not “all God’s children” see Romans 8:14). One person is really tall and another is really short—so what? One person is black, another brown or white—so what? There’s only one race—the human race. Though we’re all one people, God likes variety in his plants and animals and in his people—it’s the spice of life.

Oh Deer!

My miniature pomegranate is settling in and blooming well--but only on the less sunny side though its tag says that it needs full sun. The tag also says that it’s “deer resistant”. That’s a good thing I’m sure, but if a deer ever leaps up here to my second floor balcony, though technically it’s probably possible, it will be a strange day and I’ll be leaping somewhere else! Fortunately we don’t even have squirrels near us. The last place we lived was overrun with them; they ate my plants down to the nubs. They seemed to especially like purple flowers—my specialty. Though I tried really hard to think of them as cute, I couldn’t any longer. I prayed to be able to appreciate this creation of God’s. And I prayed some more. At last, I focused on their amazing acrobatic ability and praised God for his wonderful creation. But I was reminded of the time, in the movie Fiddler on the Roof, when the village rabbi was asked if there was a blessing for the Russian Tsar. The rabbi responded, “May the Lord bless and keep the Tsar…far away from us!” Ditto the squirrels. However, I’m the one who had to move.

Planting Eden

As an artist I often hear of God being portrayed as the ultimate Artist, the One who created everything. Therefore, since he created us in his image (Genesis 1:27) we too are creative—in one way or another. This morning though, as I continued my rereading of the Old Testament (first in a while), I saw that not only did God create all the plants but he planted the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8)! Before he put Adam there to “work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15), God was The Gardener who arranged particular plants in particular places. I like that a lot. And since we’re all made in his image, we are all, to one degree or another, gardeners—underdeveloped gardeners maybe but gardeners nonetheless.

I also felt affirmed as a visual artist in reading that God made the trees in the garden “pleasing to the eye” (Genesis 2:9)—even the food trees. Making things beautiful matters.

*Oil Painting Glorious Garden

In the Pink

The Hawaiian Ti plant has a lovely new leaf. Overall, the dark green leaves have a hard, shiny appearance—nothing spectacular though they do reflect light. But oh those pink edges! The sun and even today’s pale “liquid sunshine” shines through the pink and lights it up. What a creative touch God, the Master Painter, added to this plant!

I’m ready for him to brighten up my edges—I’m still recovering from a nasty cold. But recovering is the operative word—I am rounding the corner!

O Come Let Us Adore Him!

Don’t blame the innkeeper for sending Mary and Joseph out to the stable for Jesus to be born; it was all a part of God’s plan. It’s only fitting that when the Creator of everything (the Ultimate Artist; Colossians 1:15-17) was born among his creation, that he would literally be born among his creation. Historians say that the “stable” was likely a cave where livestock were kept, in effect, outdoors. The Star shone above, in the sky he created and the animals he created slept nearby.

Where else could the shepherds, outdoorsmen that they were, get in to see and worship the baby Jesus, the “Savior…Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:8-11)?

Winter begins today with a forecast of 70 degrees! Maybe the globe is warming but whether it’s a normal cycle or caused by excessive fossil fuel use—excessive fossil fuel use definitely damages plenty; we need to take care of God’s creation, which includes us and our health.

100th Post!

I began this blog last July as a fun summer project to share my balcony garden with you. One hundred posts later (didn’t know I could!), it’s become much more. It has helped discipline me in my writing and I’ve taken hundred’s of photos of many aspects of my garden. I’ve been happily stretched.

One friend is amazed that I can have such diversity in such a small garden. Plants change as they grow—that’s part of what I like about gardening. Several—even non-gardeners, have said that they find refreshment and stress-relief as they read my posts each day. I’m pleased. That's why I share my garden.

As I’ve shared my successes and not-so-successful gardening experiments with you, people from many parts of the world have looked in. Gardening is, for the most part, universal. Like it or not, small gardens will likely become the norm as cities and populations throughout the world grow out—and up. One doesn’t have to own acreage to grow a beautiful garden.


I’ve been amazed at the variety of natural kingdom visitors making their way to my “tree house” garden, some enjoyable like this tiny frog, and others such as the leaf-chomping giant grasshoppers, dreaded.

While I’ve dedicated this blog to God, the original Artist and Gardener,Creator of everything, I wasn’t interested in making it into a “daily devotional”. If I saw a parable then good, I’d share it with you but didn’t contrive everything to fit a devotional template. I have however, ended up sharing some of the deep things the Lord is working in me, along with the joys of his creation.

http://leafyjournal.blogspot.com/2011/09/same-song-second-verse.html
http://leafyjournal.blogspot.com/2011/09/garden-watered-by-god.html
http://leafyjournal.blogspot.com/2011/10/to-bloom-again.html


I’ve also shared some nuts and bolts of gardening how-to’s from my years of gardening experience, working in flower/plant shops and reading garden books—my first book club purchases as a child.


Of course, as an artist, color is a really big deal for me and
always influences my garden as well as my posts.



I hope you’ll "visit" with me in my garden for many more “sunrises.” I’d love to get your feedback in comments or e-mails (leafyjournal@yahoo.com). There’s even a place at the end of each post to click on “reactions” to the post and a place to click for sharing the post on facebook, twitter or through e-mail—bring your friends, the more the merrier. Thanks for stopping by!

What’s in Your Garden?

Yesterday at church, an elder’s sermon asked the question, “What’s in your garden?” What kinds of thoughts do you plant in the garden of your life; what kinds of TV programs are planted there? Are they the kind that bear good and wholesome fruit or are they more closely related to thorns?

Botanically, thorns are stems that have gone awry through mutation; they were originally created to be stems or branches bearing leaves and flowers but became instead, deadly barbs. Even beautifully flowering plants such as bougainvillea, roses and cacti can have ferocious thorns and must be handled carefully.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, the land became cursed and would no longer produce good things without a lot of hard work—along with “thorns and thistles” (Genesis 3:17-18). The ransom of the earth from the curse brought on by human sin is tied to the ransom of humans by Jesus’ death and resurrection (Romans 8:19-23). Perhaps then, it’s no coincidence that Jesus wore a crown of thorns when he died on the cross.

The above picture is my garden as it was last May— these days, weather and migration to the indoor garden have left it looking sparse. However, I found this morning that a miniature orange zinnia has bloomed. With temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s, spring just may return—and if not, I have some ideas…

To Grow Again

My “revived” avocado has sprouted two new sets of shiny bronzed leaves to replace the spindly top I pruned a month or so ago. Making the cut was a little scary but the plant will be bushier and more vigorous. It won’t reach as great a height but in a small garden that’s a plus.

Yesterday evening the full moon rose over a row of tables crammed with home-cooked foods as my husband and I and dozens of her other friends filled my friend B’s huge backyard. It was good to get out in the country in such beautiful weather. We tree-top dwellers are often limited to parks in order to spend much time with our feet in creation, so it’s especially nice when someone shares their yard. Thanks B!

I had some great art conversations, which sometimes turned to the subject of God’s speaking through his creation—the complexities, variety and sheer beauty of the things he has made. That’s why I’m so drawn to spending time outdoors and in my garden, why I’m refreshed there. God isn’t a part of creation but is revealed through it.

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made…” Romans 1:20

Another Fleeting Beauty

At last! My Mexican Petunia has bloomed at last! The blooms only last a day and the delicate petals are already shriveling but they’re pretty, especially when a plant is covered with them. Happily, there are more on the way.

The plants didn’t seem to “feel” the earthquake but apparently the water main did…it’s broken again. At least the plants got their water since we fill jugs with faucet overflow—I rarely use water straight from the faucet for the plants, which benefits both the environment and our budget.

The Mexican Petunia has competition from the red hibiscus today. Thankfully, the glamorous hibiscus lasts longer. However, contrasts are unfair as they each have their own beauty, doing what they were created to do.

What They Need to Succeed

Today is another idyllic day; it helps make my disagreeable task less so. Today is fertilizer day.

When I had a yard to garden in, I’d measure out some blue stuff into my huge watering can and hose it full. Then I’d haul the heavy thing from bed to bed--an arduous task. I had adjusted the process to fit my smaller scale container gardens but an (indoor) incident a few years ago caused me to be chemically sensitive. Now I use only organic fertilizer.

I like to buy it from the 100 year old+ hardware store in a nearby small town. Shopping there is always a pleasant adventure so I like to keep the tradition going by supporting them. Besides, I couldn’t find any organic fertilizer anywhere else so I asked at the farmer’s market…

The fertilizer is a powdered mix of things that I don’t even want to know about but I know the plants need it, so I get it for them. It’s not that I’m looking to have big, fat, bushy, record-setting everything, I just want them to succeed at what they’re made for. If they’re flowering plants, I want them to flower well. If their main purpose is to display colorful leaves with attractive markings then that’s what I expect them to do. But they have to have what they need.

In the same way, Jesus expects his followers to do what they are created to do—live a godly life. Living a godly life isn’t only for spiritual giants; it’s the simple, basic, norm. And he has given his follower everything they need to succeed.

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3