The Mayapple is Like a Hidden Treasure (Proverbs 2:1-5)

Proverbs 2:1-5 (NASB):
¹ My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you,
² Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding;
³ For if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding;
⁴ If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures;
⁵ Then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.

The search for wisdom is like the search for hidden treasure. It is like the sudden discovery of the treasures of the Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), a plant of the forest that looks somewhat like an umbrella. Many will pass this beauty by, and some will find the secret it beholds.

In our Gethsemane Prayer Garden, we have a section of Mayapple that grows under the tall canopy of some black willow trees. Other flowers such as astilbe, vinca minor, hosta, and bush clover are also planted in this area. It is a refreshing and relaxing spot, somewhat secluded from the rest of the garden. This location was selected to preserve the May apples that have been growing there many years before this prayer garden was ever conceived.

Sitting above this peaceful area is a wooden bench where one's mind can wander away from the fast activity of life. The Scripture above states, "Make your ear attentive", and "incline your heart", and "cry for discernment", and "lift your voice", and "seek … and search", then you will "discern … and discover".

Most people do not know the flower is there although some will hear about it from someone else. We do not normally find it because we are not looking for it. Yet an attitude of diligently seeking allows us to uncover hidden treasures such as the Mayapple. It is an attitude that says, "Lord, I want all you have for me."


I believe that the wisdom described in Proverbs 2:1-5 is supernatural wisdom. To me, it is not what is generated from the intelligence of our minds, but rather it is what is given by our Lord. It is a gift from our most generous and loving God.

Many people have heard about the gifts of the Holy Spirit; some reject it with steadfast authority, some seek it but do not discern anything unusual or different, and some receive it as the hidden treasure that God intended.

I am convinced that finding and then opening this gift is because of the attitude we have in approaching the Holy Spirit. Yes there is certainly the aspect that it is hidden, but there is also the aspect of sudden discovery that is far more beautiful, wonderful, and powerful than one would have expected.

Proverbs 2:6-11 (NASB):
⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
⁷ He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
⁸ Guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones.
⁹ Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course.
¹⁰ For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
¹¹ Discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you.

Primrose Symbolizes Humility (James 4:6,7)

As the Scriptures say, 'God opposes the proud but favors the humble.' So humble yourselves before God (James 4:6,7 NLT)

As the snow begins to recede in the Gethsemane Prayer Garden each spring, the first flower to show itself is the primrose. Their splashes of color sends a joyous message which continues from late March through June. Consistently people stop me to speak in some way about the brilliant colors yet their very short 6-inch height. To me, it reminds me of the favor that the Lord grants to those that exhibit humility.

We have a small but vibrant area dedicated to our Pacific Giant Primroses. The names of our individual cultivars were never recorded – it is the bold red, violet, yellow, pink, blue, and white pigmentation with brilliant yellow centers that brought us to the decision to purchase each one.

Primrose (Primula X polyantha) generally prefer a shady location. We grow ours in the full sun until July when a large cluster of Russian sage adds considerable shade to the primrose bed. At that point, most visitors never see the primrose as it is hidden by the much larger Russian sage. That is the way of humility, is it not?

Every four or five years we have to replenish our inventory of primroses. Possibly some get pulled by the naive volunteer that is zealous to weed. Recently we discovered that spider mites may be attacking the primrose, possibly causing the weaker ones to die off. We will spray – I do not believe that humility means we allow ourselves to be eaten alive.

Bleeding Heart Flower Suggests A Heart of Compassion (1 Peter 3:8)

"All of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with one another. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude."
(1 Peter 3:8)


Spring means many things to many people: a time of new beginnings as green growth emerges from last year's exhausted splendor; a time to enjoy short or sometimes long walks as the days are warmer and usually not too hot; a time to listen to birds with their many melodies of happiness, some that sing for a mate and some that sing because they just want to; for the flowers that emerge early, a time to bathe in their wholeness that are unhampered by outdoor insects that chew away at the leaves or petals; and for the gardener, a time to accomplish a tremendous amount of cleanup and preparation work while the soil is still moist and most perennials are small.

In April and May, I typically spend more hours in the perennial garden than all other months combined. Our Gethsemane Prayer Garden is a half-acre of flower beds, an acre of lawn, and another half-acre of undeveloped brush land that is yet to be cleared. After the winter debris was removed, nearly forty yards of mulch were applied to eight of the flower beds. I try to do this early, before the new plant growth gets in the way of mulch application – that is, before the bleeding heart open.

I use the old-fashioned bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis) as my measure to see if I can get it all done in time – this year I did and I am thankful for the help that was provided. The bleeding heart is a delicate pink and white flower that prefers to grow in the shade. The heart-shaped pendulums remind us of compassion and love.

Why the Redbud is My Favorite Tree

The outstanding redbuds have opened! Like everything else in Central New York, these trees are three or possibly four weeks ahead of schedule! The deliciously aromatic lilacs are already starting to open and the fullness of the crab trees are just beginning their vibrant display of multi-colored pinks. The delightful dogwoods are just emerging, some deep purple magnolias are in full blossom, and the soft fragrance of the apple blossoms is in the air. This spring is early and this spring is suddenly gorgeous! Love is in the air.

Give me but one tree, shrub or flower that I would especially want in a newly planted garden, it would be a redbud. I don't know why it is called "red" bud for the blossoms are hardly red at all. But then again, would you call it "purplebud" or "pinkbud"? What is that color anyhow?

The crab trees can be stunning, but all of them have leaves that compete with their flowers. Cherries, pears, hawthorn, and linden trees can arrest us with their beauty, but all have that same competing leaf problem. Forsythia open with very little leaf showing, but please pardon my bias, they're yellow. Only the dogwood and the redbud in this portion of the world are created by God's design to be lovely and leafless for the first week or two. And of the few dogwoods that we have because of our winter extremes, most are white and not pink.

While the redbud is by far my favorite tree, transplanting them is not high on my list. I learned my lesson many years ago when a nurseryman offered me two free redbuds if I wanted to dig them. I cut my landscaping teeth on them! Back in the years when I thought I knew how to play tennis, I talked my regular tennis opponent into tackling them: one for his house and one for mine. It took us five hours to dig those tangled roots out of the rich nursery loam! About four hours into the effort, the nurseryman wandered over, "How you boys doing?" I don't know how he asked that with a straight face.

My advice on planting redbuds? Buy potted plants from a reputable nursery and then select a location with plenty of space so that you will never be tempted to move them again.

In the photo above from the Gethsemane Prayer Garden, you can possibly detect a small shrub with white flowers to the right of the redbud. These are fragrant viburnums and we have three planted three. On a day with a gentle westerly breeze, the most sweet-smelling aroma fills the parking lot of our church, beckoning everyone to come visit. If you are tempted to plant a redbud, I highly recommend this combination.

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End Note: The overall theme for this series of articles is flowers and plants, showing how they point to love. Sometimes I write 'how to' do something, other times the emphasis is a status update, or the article will be about how a plant or flower touched my heart. All of these writings are based on plants from the Gethsemane Prayer Garden in Syracuse, NY. Please consider some of the other blog articles: Index of Articles About the Gethsemane Prayer Garden.

Daffodils Bow Down on Palm Sunday

In Upstate New York as well as large sections of the eastern United States, we are having an exceptionally warm spring that has started much earlier than most years. For those of us that enjoy being outdoors, it has been a most welcome change from what we normally experience.

The daffodils, flowers that express their early springtime joy, first opened about four weeks earlier than normal during a week when the temperatures reached into the mid-eighties! But a week later, on March 28th, we had a killing freeze that brought morning low temperatures around 20 or 21 degrees. Daffodils can easily handle a frost, but a heavy freeze made the plants weak. In particular, the stalks on many flowers bent leaving the brilliant yellow flower heads touching or nearly touching the ground.

Palm Sunday was just four days later on April 1, and the daffodils looked no different that day than they did on the day of the freeze. The yellow flowers just drooped from their normal perky self.

Look again at the photograph above. Palm Sunday is the day that we remember Jesus making his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The people lined the streets, placed palms and even their cloaks on the road as the donkey passed by carrying the Christ that was soon to be crucified. They cried out, "Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna to the son of David!"

I love this image of the daffodils, reverent of the Messiah coming into Jerusalem with their flower heads on their face, giving the highest respect for Jesus Christ who would soon bring salvation for the sinner.

Some see the daffodils in an unfortunate position, broken as if they had lost their joy and their hope. I see reverence in this most appropriate position, in awe and respect of our Jesus Messiah.

Happy Resurrection Day in the life we have today and the hope for tomorrow. He's alive!
Tom

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End Note: The overall theme for this series of articles is flowers and plants, showing how they point to love. Sometimes I write 'how to' do something, other times the emphasis is a status update, or the article will be about how a plant or flower touched my heart. All of these writings are based on plants from the Gethsemane Prayer Garden in Syracuse, NY. Please consider some of the other blog articles: Index of Articles About the Gethsemane Prayer Garden.

Columbine's Contentment

"Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity," (Ecclesiastes 1:2 ESV).

I have been challenged by Ecclesiastes for the last two weeks. Why do I work so hard? In the next verse, Solomon asks the very pointed question, "What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?"

The answer, I believe, comes in the form of contentment. Possibly you can relate to this same struggle.

I have strong work-alcoholic tendencies, finding myself buried in all sorts of busyness. No longer do I work long hours at my professional job – I've moved into semi-retirement, working there on Monday through Wednesday – and yet I very much fill my days and evenings. I am also the caretaker of our church's prayer garden, and the author/publisher of three books with more on the way. I'm trying to learn Hebrew, several challenging software products, and keep up with work at home. I wake up early and go to bed late, do not waste my time with television because I am far too interested in other things. And then there is my marriage – we need to spend more time together.

Possibly you know someone who has similar tendencies. Possibly this is, to some extent, a profile of yourself.

Solomon had tremendous wisdom and wealth, and yet he basically said, "So what?" Why have all this wisdom and yet have it wasted? What good was all the wealth that he accumulated? And he was right because his legacy was wasted on kings that spoiled what he created.

I mentioned that I am the caretaker of my church's prayer garden. While we have a volunteer staff that helps with this work, primary responsibility falls on me when work has to be done and some people do not show up. There was a wedding last Saturday in the garden, requiring all the preparation work to be done in a quality manner. What bride would want weeds to symbolize the partnership that she is stepping into? The work had to be finished.

There is an abundance of deep-purple columbine that are currently flowering in this garden. The marriage ceremony was conducted adjacent to a large grouping of them. Over the years, I have scattered the columbine seeds in various areas to promote an exhilarating richness over several of the flower beds. The effect is both breath-taking and relaxing.

In my book A Garden of Love, I associated these beautiful columbine with "Kindness", but I think I should have chosen "Contentment" instead. Here, in the depth of a garden where I toil for others to enjoy, I found a peace that too often alludes me. Solomon, after writing his famous monologue about "A time to be born, and a time to die, … " (Eccl 3:2-8), went back to his question about toil. "I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil – that is God's gift to man." (Eccl 3:12, 13)

The columbine flowers point downwards, not looking at the sky as many flowers tend to do, content to show their beauty to those that will find the time to discover them. More than masses of purple royalty, I had to get on the ground to enjoy them. I had to put aside my other agenda, to take the time to appreciate my toil. I had to be shown this gift that came from God; I only scattered the seed.

Why do I toil as I do? I believe God is saying to me, "To experience, to take time to enjoy, to hold dear and precious, to allow love to touch my heart and then to share that touch with others." This is my contentment.

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End Note: The overall theme for this series of articles is flowers and plants, showing how they point to love. Sometimes I write 'how to' do something, other times the emphasis is a status update, or the article will be about how a plant or flower touched my heart. All of these writings are based on plants from the Gethsemane Prayer Garden in Syracuse, NY. Please consider some of the other blog articles: Index of Articles About the Gethsemane Prayer Garden.

Spring in the Gethsemane Prayer Garden

Have you ever visited a prayer garden? In Syracuse, New York, a garden is open to the public based on the words from Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." We have named it Gethsemane Prayer Garden based on the location in Jerusalem where Jesus modeled his personal prayer.

Nearly an acre in size, this garden is maintained by the congregation of Faith Chapel as an outdoor sanctuary and a place to experience God and His love. There are 50 perennial flower varieties and several hundred shrubs and trees; benches are available for a quiet time with the Lord.

As caretaker of this garden, I extend my personal invitation to you to visit this garden. Syracuse is located at the crossroads of I-90 and I-81, so if you are traveling from the mid-west to New England, Syracuse is a good stopping place. And if you live in Pennsylvania or Maryland and are traveling towards Montreal, please pay us a visit.

A review of each month's flowers with photos is available at www.prayergardeners.com/gethsemane/index.html. Here is the excerpt for May:

While April was predominantly a display of yellow-flowered beauties, May turns the hue to a wonderful display of blue tones. Some of the yellow daffodils can hang on for the earlier part of the month, but soon the lusciously sweet and delicate forget-me-not blooms begin filling the garden. The dark blue grape hyacinth display their colors for a few weeks, and a few straglers may be found in unexpected places around the garden.

By mid-May, the columbine begin opening – we have selected a dark blue variety that self-seeds beautifully. And then towards the end of the month, Jacob's ladder again repeats the blue theme as it appears near the center of the garden.

Also in May, the marsh marigolds continue their display for the first two weeks; they are a native plant in this part of the country, and we have relocated many from downstream locations where they were hidden from view. Georgeous pink, red and white bleeding hearts appear for too short of a time.

The leaves on the trees typically open in May, with their soft green colors that will turn more robust by mid-summer. The dappled willow is a special treat, unexpectedly demonstrating a soft pink or light orange color in late May and early June. And the weeping copper beech can be found hovering over the garden in all of its majesty – this tall, slender and weeping beauty symbolizes both our strength in Christ and the humility and grace clothed in this purple clad tree.

We hope to see you this year.

Tom Clarke, Caretaker of the Gethsemane Prayer Garden
and author of "A Garden of Love" www.agardenoflove.com, a look at love as based on the flowers in this garden

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End Note: The overall theme for this series of articles is flowers and plants, showing how they point to love. Sometimes I write 'how to' do something, other times the emphasis is a status update, or the article will be about how a plant or flower touched my heart. All of these writings are based on plants from the Gethsemane Prayer Garden in Syracuse, NY. Please consider some of the other blog articles: Index of Articles About the Gethsemane Prayer Garden.

Spring: A Season of Contrasts

Maybe not so much in southern climates of the USA, but in the north, spring is a time of dramatic change. The weather, changing from slushy days and left-over snow to golf cart days and opening swimming pools, is just one contrast. Temperatures can sore one day to the 70's or low 80's, and then plummet to wet and rainy and even a blustery cold snow-filled days in just a few hours. All this necessary for our Lord to usher us from the bitter winter winds to the dog days of summer.

Iris Godfrey, director of Psalm 19 Ministries, correctly points out that God's plans are not linear but cyclical. The linear view, which many subscribe to, suggests a theme of creation to finality with a bunch of stuff in between; rather, our God takes us cyclically through a helix that is ever-moving forward – like a "Slinky" that is stretched out. The earth rotates every 24 hours, morning to night and then night to morning in a cyclical way, never able to return to where it was. In the same way, the earth rotates around the sun on a slightly tipped axis so that the southern hemisphere has summer while the north freezes, and then six months later it is all reversed.

As I worked last night in the Gethsemane Prayer Garden with two volunteer friends, Bill and Cindy, the contrast was most apparent. Our goal was to clean-up the largest of the nine flower beds in preparation for the new spring growth. The Russian sage with rambling silver-colored branches were cut at ground level. Likewise, the lily, iris, daisy, cat mint, ornamental grass and other flowers were cut back so that the emerging new growth would appear. It was a time of contrasts: last year's growth had all died and needed to be removed so that the beauty of this year's new growth could begin. The flowered area, now cleaned up, looked tremendously different.

In this flower bed, a number of arborvitae had been planted that would eventually grow and become part of a visual screen that protects the garden from the parking lot. Some of the arborvitae had been protected with bird netting, the same type that is used on fruit trees to keep the birds away; and some were unprotected. Again the contrast was most apparent: what had been protected was beautiful when unwrapped, but what had been devoured by the deer had to be either cut back severely or removed. It was like a transformation right before our eyes: the bed had looked damaged and uninviting, but now it is a fresh welcome to the garden visitor.

As gardener and writer Alan Lacy states, our purpose should be to create "An Inviting Garden". There is still much to do in the garden, but last night's efforts made a significant headway as we head into a season of God's beauty beheld in His magnificent flowers and His love.

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End Note: The overall theme for this series of articles is flowers and plants, showing how they point to love. Sometimes I write 'how to' do something, other times the emphasis is a status update, or the article will be about how a plant or flower touched my heart. All of these writings are based on plants from the Gethsemane Prayer Garden in Syracuse, NY. Please consider some of the other blog articles: Index of Articles About the Gethsemane Prayer Garden.

Early Spring in the Prayer Garden

It was a sunny but cool day in the Gethsemane Prayer Garden today. This was my first chance to work in the garden since the sudden snows arrived on December 3rd. And if you are from this area, you know that the snows never left until mid-March.

The garden looked good as the primrose were just starting to blossom and the daffodils were peaking their little green tips, possibly two or four inches high. Its hard to identify the plants this time of year unless you know what is planted where. I found some pretty reddish-purple tips of the bellflower just where they had mostly died off in previous years. I'm encouraged that they're coming back – in time, they will grow stems and leaf out, but for now they are just barely visible to the eye.

The biggest struggle this winter was the deer. Other years, we have never had deer in the garden over the winter; the sudden heavy snow in December caught us by surprise so we did not have time to wrap some of the trees and shrubs. By the time we got out to protect them on December 31st, some of the arborvitae and a real nice columnar pine were chewed right down. We also had damage to some hemlocks which I did not expect at all.

There are several hundred shrubs and trees in the garden and most of them did not get touched by the deer. Our predominate evergreens are junipers of all sorts which the deer did not devour. I enjoy the many various shapes and colors of junipers, some tall and upright, some low and spreading, and many assorted shapes in between. We use them to provide screening from the parking lot which can be busy at times, and to provide private areas within the garden for speaking with God.

The soft stone-dust pathways were a mess when I got there today. The deer had been generous in eating on one side of their body and dropping the digested portions out the other side. Also, plant debris from trees and flowers had blown onto the path so it really looked rough. It always amazes me how much better the garden looks when the walkways are raked this way – inviting us to walk where we want and enjoy our time with the Lord.

As Jesus said to his disciples, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you" (John 20:21).

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End Note: The overall theme for this series of articles is flowers and plants, showing how they point to love. Sometimes I write 'how to' do something, other times the emphasis is a status update, or the article will be about how a plant or flower touched my heart. All of these writings are based on plants from the Gethsemane Prayer Garden in Syracuse, NY. Please consider some of the other blog articles: Index of Articles About the Gethsemane Prayer Garden.