Had that many seasons really passed? Grandma would have my hide!
When the iris finished blooming in May, I knew they needed renewal. I couldn’t remember when we’d last unclogged the planter, but the merging of purples and bronzes told me we were overdue for a revival. Of the more than ten varieties I had planted in the beginning, only three colors bloomed this season, evidence the rhizomes had overgrown one another and the iris couldn’t thrive. Time for the gardener’s knife to strike.
I clipped off the old foliage, my husband dug up the roots. We bagged the overwhelming numbers, then cleared out the top layer of soil. He transported the homegrown compost I make from kitchen vegetable scraps and coffee grounds to the empty planter, then added a layer of barn compost he hauled in from a local company. The combination would promote new healthy plants. For the summer, the planter would support border dahlias.
In the fall I will replace a few of the rhizomes. My gardening friends will get the rest.
Like my garden, the Bible talks of renewal. In John 15:1 Christ compares our relationship to Him like a vine with many branches. Our heavenly Father is the vinedresser. In 15:2 He says, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
Verse 15:4 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches, He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
God set the example in our gardens . The iris, the dahlias, the petunias, all need pruning, moving, tending. In the gardens our souls, without the vinedresser, we too would grow out of control in need of His care.
My garden is almost ready for summer. The larger dahlias are up and tied to their poles. The border flowers are planted. A few weedy spots need a hoe and my patio umbrella needs hoisting, but other than that we are ready for the sun to shine.
Can you smell the barbecue?
