Grape Trellis Based on John 15:2

NOTE: An update to this article from August 31, 2013 may be found at John 15:2 - Pruning Produced Better Grapes.


Today we finished the construction of a grape trellis in the Gethsemane Prayer Garden. Using John 15:2 as a basis, the two trellis structures are intended to illustrate the power of pruning. The trellis on the right will be pruned each January or February, while the one on the left will not. It is our expectation that the one on the right will "bear more fruit."

The verses in John 15 symbolically compare the grape vine with our abiding presence with the Lord and the commandment to love one another. Jesus begins by describing Himself and His relationship to His Father:

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser." (John 15:1 NKJV)

Then He includes those who abide with Him:

"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." (John 15:2 NKJV)

When the pruning is performed in mid-winter, the grapes have already been harvested but the new growth has not yet started. As a gardener, I can easily understand these two types of pruning. If a branch has not produced fruit, get rid of that branch because it will be less productive and may not bear any fruit at all. For the branch that has produced, excess branches are cleanly removed so that more energy will be directed to new flowers – when insects fertilize those flowers, they become more and potentially larger grapes.

Our hope with this dual trellis system is to see the abrupt difference between the two types of treatment. We should see more fruit on the first, and we should see more leaves on the second. The branches on the first should be more organized because they have been instructed (via the pruners) how to grow; the branches on the second should be much more wild in appearance.

Many interpretations have been put forth regarding what John 15:2 means. When Jesus stated, "I am the vine; you are the branches" (John 15:5 NKJV), I believe he was stating that each plant represents a Jesus/person combination. The plant near the right post is one person that abides in Christ, and the plant near the left post represents a second person in Christ. The branches on each plant get pruned based on the fruit that they do or do not produce.

The timing of the pruning also seems pertinent to understanding John 15:2; it is after the growing season has ended but not at the end of the plant's life. Springtime will soon arrive and the hope is that it will produce more fruit next year. Each person in Christ goes through seasons; the Father removes from each plant that which is unproductive, and He cleans those other branches in preparation for the next season:

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me." (John 15:4 NKJV)

Note the similarity of John 15:2b with John 15:5b for there is synergy between them:

"He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5b NKJV)

For example, in Joshua 7, the leader Joshua was pruned at Ai when his forces lost the battle – he lost prestige with his people. Rather than run or be discouraged, Joshua chose to abide – he fell on his face and sought the Lord. After Achan was exposed, Joshua became more fruitful in the next chapters because he was pruned and he abided.

Gardeners also have the responsibility of promoting the plant's health throughout the year. We will train the plants so that their branches remain attached to the trellis system. If a branch is too wild, it will be cut off and discarded:

"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned." (John 15:6 NKJV)

The Jesus/person plant is not discarded, only that portion that is not bearing fruit. Just as dross is removed from silver or gold, the branch is put through the refiner's fire.

The grape's branches are secured to the vine by arms that are called cordons. In this way, the green growth abides to the vine and allows it to bear much fruit:

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples." (John 15:7,8 NKJV)

The grape vine analogy concludes with the command for those who abide in Christ to love one another:

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another." (John 15:16,17 NKJV)

This answers the question, "Based on these verses, what is the fruit?" It is love. The fruit is not good things that we do as some suggest – concentrating on performing good works can be done without any evidence of love. And the fruit is not the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) as others suggest, although love is an aspect of each of those nine fruits.

Rather, I suggest that those things that we do (good works) are intended to exhibit love. The text says the fruit should remain – the groceries that were left for the needy person will be consumed, but the love that went with the groceries should remain. The pruning removes those things that may inhibit a better revelation of love, and the abiding promotes the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22) to help us manifest love.

Installing a Large Wooden Cross

Yesterday we placed a large wooden cross in the Gethsemane Prayer Garden! In all for 2012, we developed four additional areas this year. The addition of the cross is certainly the most significant.

We started in the spring by clearing a major thicket of buckthorns, wild grapes, and other plant debris. Most of the plant material was dragged to the far edge of Faith Chapel's 79-acre property, and some was buried under 40 yards of sand. We planted that with cosmos seeds which sporadically bloomed for four months during the hot and dry summer.

This fall, we developed a sitting area for a group of three or four, a planting of concord grape vines based on John 15:1-11, and yesterday placed an eleven foot wooden cross in a third area.

While I am the developer and caretaker of this prayer garden, I could not do it without the help and encouragement of others. In addition to my wife that added her prayers and applause, yesterday there were four of us that placed the cross in the hole.

Jim Boyd is a tremendously skilled operator of backhoes; he knew just how to pick up that cross which which weighs 300 pounds and get it in the hole. Earlier in the day, he carefully picked up a 400-500 pound rock using straps hung from the bucket. Praise God for the skill that He placed in Jim.

Sam Lupo was the man behind the construction of the cross. Taking two pieces of 6"x6" pressure treated wood, he meticulously cut out, chiseled and sanded the 15' piece and the 6.5' cross-arm. He then glued the two boards with Gorilla glue, bolted and counter-sunk two bolts that hold the boards in place, and then applied epoxy to the bolt ends. Finally he used a draw knife to take the sharp edges off the wood, giving it a more "rugged cross" look.

Bill Hastings is the exuberant worker. Highly skilled in many areas of construction, Bill energetically placed a 12"x4' Sonotube casing into the 50" hole that I had dug and surrounded it with runner crush stone. After the cross was inserted into the Sonotube, Bill mixed four 80-pound bags of Quikrete concrete mix, placed it next to the wooden post, and then capped it off at ground level with a little pitch which will drain water away from the wood.

We used a Sonotube form rather than just pouring concrete in the hole to help reduce the possibility of frost heaving. The hole had a very irregular shape due to the many limestone rocks that are so prevalent on our church property. Although the hole is well below the frost line, our concern was that the frozen water would create an uplift in our clay soil if we just used concrete. Maybe that is over design, but we felt that it was better than a tilted cross.

Our Lord gets all the glory for how well this worked out.

It is our hope and prayer that many will come to the cross during more pleasant weather, to receive whatever touch the Holy Spirit sends. Remember, Jesus Christ is the lover of your soul.

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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.

Enjoying Gaura

After a very hot and dry summer, the Gethsemane Prayer Garden has recovered beautifully. The Russian sage are still in blossom, the roses are abounding, there are patches of pink showy primrose which normally bloom in June, the white cone flowers and the even some of the daisies are peaking out their heads, there is a large patch of Japanese anenome in full bloom, and these are adjacent to abundant clusters of yellow coreopsis. There are brilliant red burning bushes next to the church and the ones in the garden have started to turn. And then there are the chrysanthemum, false ageratum and Autumn Joy sedum.

The most stunning of today's flowers are the gaura. Also known as 'Wand Flower', the gaura can be either white or various tones of pink. Close inspection of each gaura flower reveals four petals with a beard-like cluster of stamen and pistil. The flower heads sit on top of a long stalk that sways in the breeze. When one flower dies, the stalk produces another flower just above it in a seemingly endless pattern of beauty upon beauty. True love never dies.

As you first go in the garden, you will see a large patch of the white gaura, and these are the tallest. Elsewhere in the garden there is a mix of the white ones with a soft pink that somehow reminds me of striped candy canes. At the entrance to the garden are two plants, each 30" tall and equally wide. These two enticing gaura, shown above, are a deeper tone of pink.

In our area of Central New York (zone 4), some people have confessed that they have not been successful with gaura. They suggest that it is originally from Texas and may not be well suited for our environment. I think there are two keys to our success: the ones that survive are planted on a slope whereas the ones we have lost were planted on flat ground; and the ones that survive are either grown in sand or had sand mixed into our heavy clay soil. They seem to tolerate some amount of late afternoon shade but really prefer full sun.

If this autumn is like other fall seasons, the gaura should remain in blossom into November sometime. Please pay us a visit and bring your camera. Yes, it is a garden devoted to prayer, but sometimes we see things through the lens of a camera that encourages to dig deeper into that conversation with the Lord.

Many blessings,
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.
Tom Clarke, Caretaker of the Gethsemane Prayer Garden

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.

Transplanting Advice for an Unusually Warm Spring

Yes, this is phenomenal weather that we have been having. As a gardener, I can see that this season is about three or possibly four weeks ahead of schedule. The daffodils, which traditionally open around April 15th, are likely to begin opening next week. Some are already open in protected areas and on the southern sides of buildings; most will open next week as the temperatures sore into the 80's for an extended period of time.

With spring that far ahead, this means that the clean-up work in gardens should happen very quickly. Otherwise, the flowers will be opening with the fall/winter debris still all around and over them. It is much easier and much prettier to have all that debris removed before the flowers come bursting forth.

The writer of Ecclesiastes wrote, "There is a time for everything … a time to plant, and a time to uproot … a time to love, and a time to hate." It is important to know what time we are in.

I have never known a spring where I would consider transplanting so early. As with any garden that has some years behind it, the Gethsemane Prayer Garden has some plants that need to be relocated. Their size, once just perfect for their location, have outgrown themselves and need to be moved. This is what landscapers do and we should not be afraid to do so! That digging and replanting process can, and really should, begin in March or early April this year, as opposed to the traditional April / May time frame that we normally allow for plants.

None of us know what type of spring we will have. Last year's spring started early, although not as early as this. We had such an extended warm spring that by the end of May, I was no longer transplanting anything. If it hadn't been moved by then, it would have to be done at another time. There is certainly the possibility that this spring will be the same way or even more so.

I find that when the soil is moist, as it is right now, I can dig the spade around all sides of the perennial or shrub, pop it out of the hole to place it in the wheelbarrow, and then place it into a similarly sized hole that is hopefully a better location. I bring the hose over to water it at the bottom of the roots (not surface watering as many people do), tamp it in with my feet, and I never have to water it again.

With trees, it is basically the same process but, depending upon the size, often requires more digging to get a good shaped but easily managed ball. Of the thousands of plants that I have moved this way, I have never lost one.

I don't attempt this process when the soil starts to dry up. Other years I stop digging around June 8th or 15th, depending. This year, if the warm patterns continue, it might say May 1st. But then it could turn very cold or have consistent rain which would keep the soil temperatures down. (In the fall, there also is a several week window where this process can be performed, but I find it harder to catch because roots should be reasonably established before the cold weather sets in).

For me, I have procrastinated on doing my taxes, as I do many years, to work on them in the third and fourth weeks of March. I regret that this year – it looks to be a very busy spring bouncing between taxes, outdoor work, and my various writing activities.

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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.

Autumn's Abounding Love

The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
(Psalm 145:8 ESV)

The life is in the leaf. Let me clarify: "To the tree, the life is in the leaf." After the flood, the dove returned to Noah with an olive leaf in its beak. From this, Noah knew there was life somewhere, but he could not yet see it.

When Jesus placed a curse upon the fig tree, the disciples knew the tree had died because the leaves had withered. The life was no longer in the leaf, symbolizing death.

Autumn is a season of hope and a time of faith. There are annuals, and there are perennials. Annuals live for a season, but perennials endure the cycle of life. Annuals depend on their seeds to reproduce themselves, for when their leaves are gone, so is the plant. Perennials shed their leaves with the confidence that the season that they are about to endure is only temporary, for there is hope in something that is not yet seen. Either way, it is a time to say that the old is ending, but there is hope.

I invite you to step into your garden or yard, picking an abundant sample of leaves. Some large, some small; some complicated, some simple; some green, some changing color. What do you see?

I then invite you to take a walk or drive, just looking at the leaves. Again, what do you see: the variation of colors, the bending of leaves to the breeze, the distinctions between top and bottom, or the magnificent selection of type, shape and elegance?

I am fascinated with how thin a leaf can be. A cactus is thick for it stores its water in the leaf. But the leaves of a broadly reaching maple tree, turning yellow or orange or red in the autumn, are really very thin. The needles of a hemlock or pine tree, though not truly leaves, can also be very thin.

How does God get the water into all the extremities of the leaf? Do you remember how your biology teacher explained the process of photosynthesis, where water is combined with sunlight and carbon dioxide to give off oxygen and carbohydrates? My biology teacher was never able to explain how God got the water into that leaf, as thin as it is, so that the miracle of photosynthesis would appear before our eyes.

As you touch the leaf, sense how it bends. God has somehow made a way for the minutest portions of water to be delivered to every part of that leaf. As thin as the leaf may be, you know there is water in there, for if the water was gone, the leaf would not gently bend.

Somehow God gets the water into the leaf, and somehow he gets Christ inside a believer. To me, this is the one of his greatest miracles: putting a believer in Christ and Christ in a believer. "I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me" (John 17:23). The life is in the believer, the source of all hope.

To the tree, the life is in the leaf. To the Christian believer, the life is within and abounding in steadfast 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.

Chameleon Plants: Choose the Right Location

I particularly enjoy a 9" tall groundcover named chameleon plant with beautiful green leaves, adorned with red, pink and yellow highlights. The colors are most vibrant along the edge of a shaded area where they will get more sun. Otherwise in fuller shade, the leaves are green with occasional blotches of cream.

Yet to many, they can feel as if a curse was upon them when they purchased the chameleon plant (Houttuynia cordata 'Chameleon'). The positive side of this extremely aggressive groundcover is that it will quickly fill in spots under trees, choking out most other weeds and plant life. The negative side is that it will also spread to other places in the garden if precautions are not properly taken, and it is nearly impossible to get remove. The plant also has a somewhat pungent fragrance, meaning it is best left for show.

As with most plants, you should be familiar with its growing habits before purchasing them. A sunflower should not be positioned under a tree with low branches, and a cactus should not be planted in the muck of a swamp. An old-time landscaper once told me that a beautiful rose in a corn field is nothing more than a weed.

We have a large area in the Gethsemane Prayer Garden where Austrian pines grow as an established border to the landscaped area. Lawn surrounds the trees on all sides, so I am not concerned about the aggressive nature. The chameleon plant spreads by its roots, so keeping the lawn mowed should restrict the plants boundaries.

We have just finished developing this new bed for the chameleon groundcover. Several weeks ago, I sprayed Round-Up on the grass in the shape of the new bed, approximately 1,500 sq. ft. We had extra soil from another area at the church where a retention pond was being built, so we brought about 10 yards of this virgin soil to a location adjacent to the new bed.

The day before the scheduled planting, I dug up a 6' x 12' bed of chameleon plant that grows vibrantly under the deck at our house. It was nearly impossible to remove all of the roots and that was not a concern – I know that the plant will be fully reestablished in two years. I dug just the roots, leaving all of the soil under the deck.

On the day of the planting, the plan was to simply spread the roots onto the now dead grass and then throw the soil on top. It sounded so easy! Yet I had not anticipated how wet the rich clay had become.

If we had used sifted topsoil, the plan would have worked wonderfully. Instead, we had to throw the heavy clay over the general area, let it dry, and then rake it several days later until it was finally level. The bare roots of the chameleon plant were then pressed into the still moist soil.

My expectation is that the chameleon plant will be fully established in this extended bed within two or three years. At that point, weeds should become a minimal problem. In the meantime, we will have to weed extensively because we are not adding mulch.

In the parable of the weeds in Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus spoke about a field where good grain seed had been intermixed with weeds. When the servants questioned why there were weeds, the master replied 'An enemy has done this.' That is how many feel about the weeds that grow up with the chameleon plant – an enemy did it. With wisdom and patience, I believe that the beauty of this plant can be enjoyed for many years without having to gather all the weeds in bundles to be burned.

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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.

In Review: 2011 in the Gethsemane Prayer Garden

While it may seem early to be writing a "How Did We Do For The Year?" review in the September / October time frame, to the caretaker of a public garden, it makes perfect sense to write this now. By December, flowers have long faded and the interest is more tuned to the next day's snowfall.

The Gethsemane Prayer Garden at Faith Chapel in Syracuse is a one-acre landscaped garden for people to enjoy the beauty of God our Creator and to rest in His presence. The garden is open to the public and there is no admission fee.

The hope at Faith Chapel is that people would visit this small but intimate garden, seeing it as an outdoor sanctuary and a place to experience God and His love. There are fifty perennial flower varieties and several hundred shrubs and trees, intended to usher in God’s peace. Benches are available for a quiet time with the Lord.

The Volunteer Force
The main purpose of this garden is plants for people, not plants in themselves. May was very wet and July was very hot. While the stress of extreme weather affects the plants, it also affects the garden workers. Some days in the garden were very challenging this year, but each year has some difficult days – this year it seemed that there were more.

We had forty-one volunteers this year which is down from fifty-two in 2010. The volunteer hours spent in the garden dropped 40 percent. Our typical church attendance is around 300 people on any given Sunday, of which nearly half are in their twenties or thirties – as caretaker, I personally am satisfied with the support shown by the older ones of our congregation. By the end of 2011, my own hours will have dropped 20 percent for the year, averaging just seven hours per week.

Garden Quality
Despite the reduced hours, the garden quality has not significantly suffered. Heavy mulching in late May was a significant factor in helping to control the weeds. The volunteers have developed good sensitivity for keeping the quality at a high level and they seem very interested in learning how to maintain a garden environment.

Much attention has been given to the wooden benches last year and again this year. A much-appreciated volunteer has spent an inordinate amount of time improving the quality of our benches and it shows. In a certain way, the quality of the garden is reflected in the quality of the benches, just as the polish on a man's shoe is a reflection of his opinion of himself.

The roses require the greatest amount of time in this garden, but these lusciously sweet flowers are well worth the effort. With the heat of July, we essentially had no blossoms for nearly one month. We lost them again in early September because we did not prune them often enough in August. (Remember the lesson on pruning from John 15). Yet while they were in blossom, the roses looked great as they have matured.

Garden Visitors
While the Gethsemane Prayer Garden is oftentimes without any visitors, we have seen more visitors this year than any previous year. On Monday and Tuesday evenings, my joy has been to see a small group of African refugees spend an hour or so in the garden. Each one takes his or her own bench and has a quite time with the Lord, some singing, some praying, some reading Scriptures, and one watching the two small children. At the end, they gather around the stone altar for a time of corporate prayer and singing. It is so sweet to see – whereas our suburban church folk may not know how to use this garden, the Lord has brought a group from a another continent to teach us by example!

We have also witnessed an increased number of visitors on Sunday mornings and at various times during the week. Articles in Syracuse's Good News paper and in the internet's Ruby for Women have helped this. We had two Garden Tours but they were not well promoted and therefore not well attended – hopefully we can do a better job with promotion next year.

Garden Expansion
This fall we have begun and should finish developing two areas:

• A large rock was "planted" near the northern entrance to the garden, and landscaping will be added around it. We will plant flowers around this rock which will hopefully be more inviting to those that see this area for the first time.
• The garden area in the south-west corner is being cleared. Plant debris near the stream is being removed and truckloads of soil have been brought in. Ground cover is being added around some of the evergreens in this area. The effect should be better integration of this area into the garden and will permit another location where people can seek the Lord.

Thoughts for Next Year
One of the struggles we had in April was overcoming the heavy deer damage from the previous winter. One ornamental pine tree had to be removed and several arborvitae were severely chewed. Later this fall, we should protect more of the evergreens and do this effort in mid-November before the snow starts flying. The fencing around a large cluster of evergreens looks ugly, but without it the deer would devastate them.

The lawn surrounding the garden will hopefully be mowed more often next year. The weather has been a major factor in this because too much rain and too much heat are significant inhibitors to regular lawn maintenance.

April and May are by far the most labor intensive periods in this garden. Hopefully in 2012 we will have much more volunteer participation during this time. As more people start discovering this garden, it will be important to get the garden in shape much earlier in the season.

We have had to put off the construction of the gazebo for another year. Hopefully the funds for this wedding location and center for small gatherings will be come to fruition in 2012.

Submitted in faith,
Tom Clarke

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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.
Caretaker of the Gethsemane Prayer Garden

The Gethsemane Prayer Garden from Google Earth

I was so surprised this week to discover that Google Earth has updated its images for Syracuse, NY and in particular the vicinity of the Gethsemane Prayer Garden. Have you tried Google Earth? In many ways it is similar to the image portion of Google Maps, but it allows you to re-position your view in a more powerful way.

Here is the view from Google Maps:


In this view, you can see the general shape of the garden, although the shaded area near the stream is covered by the canopy of willows, ash and black walnut trees. At the very center of the garden is a bed of roses with a second bed that is less visible to the left. Between the garden and the driveway are three berms – raised beds where trees and shrubs have been planted to separate the garden from the church area.

By using Google Earth, still another view is possible:


Google Earth identifies the date of this satellite image as June 3, 2011. With this software, it is possible to gain a much better perspective of the garden as well as see some vertical dimensions. Google Earth allows you to zoom left or right, up or down, in or out, or rotate around a 360 degree perspective. Pretty nifty!

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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.

The Blossoms of September in the Prayer Garden

I took the time last night to leisurely stroll through the Gethsemane Prayer Garden where I am the Caretaker. Normally I am busy working in the garden and much too oblivious to the nuances of God's creation around me – it was a refreshing time as well as a time for reflection. Possibly it is a little like the woman that prepares a meal for the company to enjoy but is never able to enjoy it herself.

I was struggling with the direction that I am pursuing regarding the development and maintenance of the garden, as well as my own writing career. Alone in this garden, I asked God some hard questions that all surrounded the thought, "Why?". His response came as an image, and the interpretation was clear and simple, "Allow me to lead in this dance." This was not the response that I expected, but I thank God that the Holy Spirit revealed this image to me.

Many people are not familiar with the gaura, but what a joy it is! Some are taller and white, such as those placed near the main entrance to the garden. Other varieties are deep pink; my favorites are those with a delicate mix of white and pink blossoms. All varieties start to flower in mid-June and will continue in profusion through the first heavy frost.

The gaura has been aptly given the English name "wand flower" because each flower cluster sits on top of a long wand-like stem. The stems are so long and so thin that God seems to have created these flowers so we can enjoy how they dance in the breeze. Even on windless days, days where the air is so incredibly still, the flower heads gently move in response to the heat rising from the ground – dancing in the breeze.

In the Bible, the Hebrew word ruwach can be translated as both Holy Spirit and wind. As this flower dances, the gaura reminds us of the wind, the ruwach, the presence of the Holy Spirit. We may feel spiritually parched as we enter the garden – the gaura is there as a reminder of the refreshing and renewing that God wants to give us.

By September, the precious roses which sometimes go through a dry spell in mid-summer have now come back as the soil gathers more moisture and the evenings get cooler. We have a number of lusciously attractive pink 'Bonica' roses which are complemented by two varieties of 'Knock Out' roses. The roses will continue to bloom through November.

Another of my fall favorites is the false ageratum which blossoms until the first frost. These short bright-blue flowers, with a hint of fuchsia coloring, add an interesting contrast to the red, orange and rust tones that are typically seen in the autumn.

The Russian sage continues blossoming in September although their color can fade to more of a soft blue-gray tone. The broccoli-shaped autumn joy sedum comes alive with fresh, pinkish flowers that eventually change tones many times to eventually become an autumn rust color. Chrysanthemum, blanket flower (also known as Gaillardia), Japanese anemone all blossom in September, as well as some flowers that typically are found in the early summer but God decides to show their beauty one more time before the colder weather sets in.

I hope you take time to visit and use this prayer garden. As a recent visitor wrote to Faith Chapel, "What a sweet place the gardens were. So peaceful, so beautiful, and I can walk the paths easily. Yes, I was thoroughly blessed and hope to make many more visits. It’s a wonderful place to come and be quiet with the Lord."

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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.

The Blossoms of August in the Prayer Garden

I enjoy the cooler evenings as fall approaches – the evening dew seems heavier this time of year as it settles on the soft and delicate flowers and leaves. I also enjoy watching parents as they bring their young children down by the stream to catch a frog, possibly the same one that another child delightfully caught just the day before. And I enjoy the rainbows of August, totally unscheduled events that catch the promising rays of the sun as a sudden shower leaves the area.

Most of the flowers in the Gethsemane Prayer Garden are perennials yet there is one annual, the cosmos, whose self-seeding effect gives the appearance of a perennial. The profusion of pure white, soft pink, ruby red and deep crimson blossoms peak in August, although many first opened in late June or sometime in July. If you sit quietly, you may see a brightly colored yellow goldfinch hop from branch to branch of the cosmos, eating a few seeds and scattering the rest.

I also enjoy showing the garden visitor the purple-blue anise hyssop flowers as they reach out with an invitation to smell its refreshing fragrance. "Crush the leaves as you breathe it in," I suggest. "See if you can identify what it smells like."

We also have a large collection of Russian sage in this garden, bluish-purple flowers with sprays and sprays of color. Again I encourage the garden visitor to squeeze a few leaves as we then move on to other plants such as lavender, cat mint and thyme.

To me, the Japanese anemone is the August show-stopper in the garden. Hundreds and hundreds of softly-hued pinkish-lavender blossoms prolifically fill one larger area. Although most people cannot detect a fragrance from these elegant flowers, the honey bees may be seen enthusiastically flitting from blossom to blossom, totally oblivious to people nearby.


Purple coneflowers continue their simple yet multitudinous blossoming in many areas throughout the garden in August. By the end of August, many will have lost their color so we clip off the old dead heads to prevent many new plants from sprouting.

This garden is heavily dependent on a large force of volunteers – some years we have more than others. When we have enough people, we try to trim the spirea so that they can get a second or even a third period of flowering. We have a dozen or so in the garden ranging from white to soft pink to vibrant red, and they are truly beautiful while in blossom.

For more information, see Photo gallery of Gethsemane Prayer Garden: August's blossoms

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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.

Mulching a Flower Garden to Promote Its Beauty

With nearly 10,000 square feet of flowered gardens, the application of mulch is essential for us. Like much of the USA this month, the intense heat and lack of rain has been a significant problem. Many gardens have suffered as flowers open but quickly fade, not able to withstand the heavy stress that this hot and dry spell has challenged us with.

The Gethsemane Prayer Garden in Syracuse, NY is in many respects no different. The intensely beautiful garden phlox, for example, normally turn to seed after more than a month of profuse flowering. This year, because we don't water most of the garden, the upper portions of the flower clusters have turned brown and have faded after only a few weeks. Other flowers don't show the stress that abruptly, but the lack of rain certainly has affected their longevity. Without the mulch, much of the garden would look discouragingly drained.

While we water the roses on a weekly basis, we rely on the mulch to do its work in the remainder of the garden. The garden is located across the driveway from the church building, so to lug the hoses into the garden and then roll them up afterwards is a significant chore in itself. And we don't have the luxury of being able to leave sprinklers running for long periods of time because none of our volunteers live near the church – someone would have to come back to the church to periodically relocate the sprinkler and then wind up the hose at the end of the day.

A thick layer of mulch is therefore essential for us to maintain the garden's beauty, allowing God to water the garden when He thinks it is ready. Mulch keeps the roots cooler during these hot days, protecting the soil from the hot sun. Mulch also helps slow down the evaporation process: somehow through a process that only God could design, the roots find some water that has been enriched by minerals and other nutrients, and sends it on its way to nourish the parched leaves and petals.

Mulching also dramatically helps cut down on the weeding when done correctly. In our location, we start working the garden in April, cleaning up the large amount of fallen debris from the previous growing season and winter. Early May is typically our time for the mulching process. Before the three inches of mulch can be applied, we do as good of a job as we can to remove even the smallest weeds; otherwise, we see the weeds later only this time as more mature plants. Therefore we weed extensively before mulching – we must have done a better job this year because there really has not been very much weeding necessary.

Spreading the mulch is a very arduous process involving many volunteers. If the mulch can be spread before many of the flowers start to pop their heads above the ground, the process takes considerably less time. Otherwise we have to get on our knees to ensure that the mulch is placed right up to the plant.

We buy hardwood mulch by the truck load, normally 10 yards at a time. This year we spread 30 yards over a little more than half of the garden, and then next year we will alternate the process by applying 20 yards to the remainder of the garden. Each year we do one or the other, primarily for cost and labor saving reasons. In the second year after the mulching, the weed control is much more of a problem as the previous years mulch has started to decompose.

This garden is now in its eighth year which means we have gone through the mulching cycle for several cycles, particularly in the older flower beds. The soil has dramatically improved in these areas because the rotted mulch provides a very nice nutrient base for the plants. This richer soil is also much looser than our native clay soil which means that the roots can extend themselves further in the search for moisture. We do not use a landscaping fabric between the old soil and the mulch – the fabric becomes a barrier that prevents the roots from finding the newer and richer soil.

Newly delivered mulch is typically very hot as it has been rapidly decomposing in the stockyard. If not treated properly, the heat will burn the flowers and trees that it touches. We have the truck dump the mulch on the lawn near the area we will be mulching, and this too can burn the lawn if not treated properly. The trick is to quickly spread the mulch on the lawn, moving it from a four foot pile to a twelve to eighteen-inch high pile. In this way, the heat is quickly dissipated into the air and the mulch quickly returns to a more normal temperature. Then it is ready to be transported into the garden. There may be a small amount of lawn burning but we find it is quickly resolved when the lawn is cut the next time.

So why mulch? To reduce the need for watering, to improve the beauty of the plants, to help with the weed control, and to promote a better soil for the plants to grow in. It simply provides a better environment for the beauty of God's wonderful creation to be exemplified. In flowers it is especially seen how God has placed His wonderful creation, and the mulch enhances that.

In the Gethsemane Prayer Garden, we face challenges such as drought, lack of water nearby, and few if any workers that can devote their time to the regular upkeep of the garden. The mulch compensates by promoting the glory of the garden. It is the same for us.

Please allow me to ask a question: "What is the mulch in your life that will best encourage that creation, allowing the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed despite the adversities and difficulties that challenge you? What will best help promote that beauty?"

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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.

Be Still, and Know That I AM LORD!

Upon a tree on the other side of the curvaceous stream, a shadow moved in a rhythmic motion, darkened one moment and then much brighter the next in no regular form. Immediately I recognized the familiar pattern of the reflected early morning sun, catching the top of the water, sparkling as it danced its refracted rays onto the trunk of the large willow tree. No doubt a frog had spontaneously changed its location at the edge of the still water; soon the patterns became calm again, that is until the little creature chased after whatever it saw next.

As I look back on this early Friday morning time in the Prayer Garden, I think of how God revealed himself once again. I am in semi-retirement now, giving myself the freedom to follow some of my own pursuits on Thursdays and Fridays; this day I chose to photograph more of God's beautiful flowers in the garden. Sometimes I rest near the stream, and this day I was particularly pulled to do so for a more extended period of time.

While the Gethsemane Prayer Garden is not overly large, it does have a long shaded area with tall willow, ash and walnut trees creating a lovely canopy for the plant and animal life below. I sat on a bench that overlooks this semi-naturalized area with its assortment of transplanted flowers and green ferns. Not too far away, a lovely collection of astilbe with variations of pink, white and red plumes stood softly and gently as they suggested quiet, calm and rest.

"Be still, and know that I am Lord." (Psalm 46:10)
Immediately a rustling sound appeared ahead of me, startling the quiet of the moment. My eye quickly tracked the intrusion, but all I saw were the shiny green leaves of the myrtle plant as they bent with the movement of something briskly moving beneath them. Then it appeared – a chipmunk, chasing after a nut or root as it hid its way to cleverly protect itself from me the intruder.

I sat for a seemingly long period of time as the chipmunks began appearing. One dashed to the right and then stopped, looked, saw something else and then off it ran across the heavily mulched area. Another showed up a few moments later, rapidly going now in another totally random direction, halting only long enough to catch its bearings. Over on the grass which had been mowed just the day before, another chipmunk chose to hop like a bunny as it went from one soft grass area to another. "Why not run?" I thought, but this one almost leaped to get where it was going. This family of young "munks" became my source of entertainment as they gleefully pursued their next destiny.

In that time that morning, I contemplated many things. Nothing heavy or earth shattering, just thoughts of a different pace and a different agenda. I dreamed peaceful thoughts, transposed out of the hectic world that I am so accustomed to. Precious was that time, and precious is my Lord.

Thank you Lord for that peaceful time of rest and enjoyment. Thank you for taking care of all the little details that I never would have been able to manage. And thank you Lord for arranging the place, the joy, the rest and the satisfaction – that precious time with you.

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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.